"Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them."

Timothy Gallwey

Coaching, at its core, is not about telling salespeople what to do, it’s about unlocking what they’re already capable of doing.

Most sales teams don’t struggle because they lack information; they struggle because they lack belief, clarity, and ownership.

When leaders shift from teaching to coaching, they move from managing activity to activating potential.

For a CEO, this distinction matters because teaching creates dependence, while coaching creates thinkers.

Salespeople who are coached learn how to diagnose situations, ask better questions, and make confident decisions in real-time with clients.

This autonomy builds trust, both internally and externally, and trust is the true accelerator of sales performance.

Coached salespeople don’t wait to be told what to do; they take responsibility for outcomes.

When a coaching culture is embedded, results become more predictable and scalable.

Coaching develops leaders, reduces the need for micromanagement, and strengthens accountability.

This aligns perfectly with Selling from the Heart, helping salespeople show up authentically, think critically, and build meaningful value with clients.

To all the CEOs out there, buckle up, as this ride is going to get a bit bumpy and it starts right now.

As we kick start off our time together, how would you answer the following... Do you know what makes your salespeople tick and what are they truly capable of?

Time to Open the Sales Window

I believe most CEOs don’t have a sales execution problem; they have a leadership blind spot issue.

On paper, things look beautiful, smart people, a competitive offering, and clear revenue targets.

Yet, sales results keep landing just short of expectations, quarter after quarter.

Not because your sales team isn’t working hard, but because effort without clarity never unlocks full potential.

Here’s the question most CEOs don’t ask themselves soon enough... Am I leading my sales team toward who they’re capable of becoming or simply reacting to the numbers they produce?

When sales performance stalls below its perceived ceiling, the root cause is rarely talent, its leadership alignment, belief, and direction.

This has nothing to do with lack of care, nor a lack of intelligence, but a lack of disciplined coaching, conviction, and clarity around expectations.

This isn’t about motivation, it’s not about comp plans, sales tech, or the tactic of the quarter, this is about something far more foundational... Are you developing who your salespeople are becoming or are you only inspecting what they close?

If you’re willing to take an honest look in the mirror, then I encourage to keep reading.

The Ceiling You Don’t See Is the One You Installed

Every sales organization has a ceiling. This isn't about a market ceiling, nor product ceiling, but a leadership ceiling.

Salespeople almost always rise or stall, at the level of belief, clarity, and expectation set by leadership.

Here's a mirror moment, and you must answer this honestly...

• Do you believe your salespeople are capable of more than they’re producing right now?

• If yes, what specifically are they capable of that they're not doing today?

• If no, why are they still on your team?

Most CEOs live in the dangerous middle ground, as they believe their people have more potential, but they’ve never defined it, coached to it, or held anyone accountable to it.

Hope is not a sales strategy, and belief without discipline is just optimism.

Salespeople Don’t Need Pressure, They Need Permission

Most salespeople are not underperforming because they’re lazy or unmotivated.

They’re underperforming because they don’t feel safe growing.

By this, I mean safe to...

• Ask better questions

• Challenge clients and prospects

• Slow down the sale

• Walk away from bad deals

• Be themselves instead of a script

These people don’t want rehearsed reps, what they want are credible, confident professionals who know who they are and why they matter.

Here's what I do know, your salespeople won’t show up that way unless you create the environment.

Your mirror moment...

• Do your salespeople feel safe telling the truth about stalled deals?

• Do they admit when they don’t know how to move an opportunity forward?

• Do they sugar coat their pipeline because honesty feels risky?

Sales cultures don’t collapse from lack of skill. They collapse from lack of trust, internally first.

You Can’t Coach What You Don’t Understand

I know there are CEOs out there who say, we coach our sales team.

What they consider coaching is...

• Forecast reviews

• Pipeline inspections

• Deal pressure at month or quarter end

You know what? That’s not coaching, it's management.

Coaching starts with one fundamental question... What drives this salesperson to perform at their best?

This is about their quota or comp, but their internal drivers.

Your mirror moment, if you struggle to answer the following questions for each salesperson on your team, then you’re guessing, not leading.

• What do they care about beyond money?

• What fear holds them back in sales conversations?

• Where do they default to comfort instead of courage?

• How do they define winning personally?

• What belief about selling limits them?

Salespeople don’t need more tactics, what they need are leaders who are willing to know them.

Capability Is Not Activity

Many sales teams are busy, but busy does not mean they're being effective.

CEOs often reward their salespeople based upon their...

• Activity

• Effort

• Responsiveness

I believe sustainable revenue is driven by their...

• Ability to create meaningful value

• Ability to navigate complexity

• Ability to earn trust early

• Ability to lead conversations, not react to them

Your mirror moment...

• Can your salespeople clearly articulate the business problems they solve?

• Do they understand your client’s world better than your client's do?

• Are they still leading with features, pricing, and proposals?

If your salespeople can’t clearly explain why they matter, your clients won’t believe they matter.

This one will hurt, if you as a leader aren't coaching to that clarity, then all of this falls on you.

Discipline Is the Missing Ingredient CEOs Underestimate

Let’s openly talk about the word most sales teams quietly push back on, discipline.

What I'm referring to is not punishment, micromanagement, or control for control’s sake.

I'm talking about discipline as in...

• Consistent behaviors, especially when motivation is low

• Intentional habits, done before results show up

• Non-negotiable standards kept even when no one is watching

High-performing sales cultures are not emotional. They don’t wait for urgency to act, and they don’t rely on personality, charisma, or good months.

Your mirror moment...

• Do your salespeople prospect consistently or only when pipeline panic hits?

• Do they prepare for sales conversations or rely on talent and hope?

• Do they follow a well-defined sales process or rewrite it to match their mood or ability?

When discipline feels heavy, it’s rarely a people problem, it’s a clarity problem.

Your salespeople will resist discipline when they don’t see how it serves them or the client.

Discipline without belief feels like compliance, while discipline connected to belief becomes ownership.

Your job as CEO isn’t to enforce discipline by being a hard-ass, it’s to clearly connect discipline to purpose, standards to outcomes, and behaviors to belief.

When your salespeople believe in why discipline matters, you won’t have to chase consistency because it shows up on its own.

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Coaching Is Not a Meeting

Here’s where I see many CEOs get it wrong, as they delegate coaching to sales managers without defining what coaching means.

This is not coaching, as this happens every day...

• What happened in this deal?

• Why didn’t this close?

• What’s your number this month?

Coaching looks more like this...

• What were you thinking in that moment?

• What conversation did you avoid?

• What belief showed up when they pushed back?

• How could you have created more value?

Coaching builds sales capability, not just results.

Your mirror moment...

• Do your managers know how to coach mindset, not just metrics?

• Have you trained them to develop your salespeople, not just manage numbers?

• Are they high performers promoted without a coaching skill set?

A sales manager who can’t coach will always default to pressure.

My belief... Pressure creates compliance, while coaching creates growth.

The Trust Formula Applies Internally First

You already know trust matters with clients, but here’s the leadership blind spot that many of you overlook... Your sales team will never build more trust with clients and prospects than they experience internally.

Trust is built through...

• Authentic relationships

• Meaningful value

• Inspirational experiences

• Disciplined habits

Your mirror moment...

• Do your salespeople feel known or just measured?

• Do they experience leadership as transactional or relational?

• Do you follow through on commitments to them?

If trust is low internally, it will show up externally in stalled opportunities, price pressure, and no-decision outcomes.

Your Salespeople Are Waiting for You to Raise the Bar

Here’s something that I believe many CEOs often miss, and that is, their salespeople want higher standards.

They crave...

• Clear expectations

• Honest feedback

• Consistent coaching

• Leadership that believes in them before demanding more from them

Your mirror moment...

• When was the last time you told a salesperson... I believe you’re capable of more and here’s what that looks like?

• When was the last time you challenged someone because you believed in them?

Low expectations feel like safety, while high expectations, when paired with support, create something special that is quite sustainable.

What Are They Capable Of, Really?

Vague expectations produce average results.

Your salespeople are likely capable of...

• Leading executive-level conversations that shape thinking, not just gather requirements

• Creating real meaningful value early, before price ever enters the conversation

• Disqualifying bad opportunities faster, without fear or ego

• Increasing win rates without discounting or throwing in extras

• Building long-term client trust that outlasts a single deal

• Showing up as trusted business advisors, not vendors competing on features

You know what? None of this happens by chance.

Sales talent alone doesn’t unlock this level of performance, nor does experience. All of this happens when the environment demands it.

When you stop asking, why aren’t they doing more?, and start asking the more honest question if, what have I normalized, tolerated, or failed to clarify that’s keeping them here?

Salespeople rarely rise to their potential. They rise or fall to the standards, beliefs, and expectations around them. So, is it time for you to look deeply into the environment you've created?

The real constraint isn’t capability; it’s the environment you’ve built and the one you’ve accepted.

A Call to Action, Three Non-Negotiables

If you want a sales team that performs beyond where they are today, then I ask you to commit to these three actions...

Define What 'Great' Looks Like

This is not about revenue or activity.

Clearly define...

• How your salespeople show up

• How they create value

• How they build trust

• How they operate with discipline

If you can’t define it, you can’t coach it.

Build a Coaching Cadence

This is not ad-hoc, not reactive, nor I'll try it for a bit.

This is about a routine and a rhythm that...

• Develops people weekly

• Focuses on mindset, heartset and skillset

• Reinforces disciplined habits

Coaching is not optional if growth matters.

Look in the Mirror First

Your sales team reflects your leadership.

If they lack...

• Clarity, then examine your communication

• Discipline, then examine your standards

• Confidence, then examine your belief in them

• Trust, then examine how you show up

Sales transformation starts at the top.

Your Last Mirror Moment

I’ll leave you with this... If your salespeople reached their full potential tomorrow, would your current leadership system support them or constrain them?

I'm here to inform you that they’re not waiting for a new CRM or better leads. What they’re waiting for is leadership that sees who they can become and is willing to coach them there.

The question isn’t what makes your salespeople tick, the million-dollar question is... Are you willing to lead them differently once you know the answer?

My promise to you, if you're committed to doing this, everything changes and so does your results.

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.