The longest debriefs are often the ones that change the least.
A full field day. Several calls. The manager has noticed a lot, and says all of it. The opening, the questions, the objection in the third call, the close, the follow-up promise.
The rep listens carefully. Next month, most of those points are still there.
Five points in one debrief is not coaching. It is a list.
What works in my teams is much simpler:
- One skill, agreed in the car park before the first call.
- Watched on every call that day, and only that skill.
- Followed up on the next visit.
Repeat until the rep does it without thinking. Then choose the next one.
The other gaps you notice do not disappear. Keep them for later months. A rep who fixes one thing properly each month is a very different rep by the end of the year.
This is also easier on the rep. They know what you are watching for, so the field day feels like practice, not an exam.
The hardest part is on the manager's side: saying nothing about the other four things.
“Fix one thing until it sticks. Then choose the next one.”
Lesson 3 of 23 in Step 4: Coaching, with the full guide and a checklist for this week.