"Good call." "You need to improve your closing."
Both sound like feedback. Neither gives a rep anything to work with.
The first cannot be repeated because the rep does not know what was good. The second cannot be fixed because the rep does not know what went wrong.
The structure I use after a double visit comes from the Center for Creative Leadership. It is called SBI: situation, behaviour, impact.
- Situation. Name the exact moment.
- "In the cardiologist's call this morning, when she asked about side effects..."
- Behaviour. Describe what you saw and heard. No labels.
- "...you paused, asked which patients worried her, then answered."
- Impact. Say what it changed.
- "She stopped glancing at the clock and asked two more questions."
Then stop, and let the rep respond.
Two things I have learned using it with reps.
Use it for good calls as often as weak ones. A rep who knows exactly what worked will do it again on purpose.
Leave out "always" and "never". The moment you generalise, the rep starts defending instead of listening.
“A rep can argue with your opinion. It is hard to argue with what you both saw.”
Lesson 4 of 23 in Step 4: Coaching, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.