Treat a call review as a practice session built around one behavior, using the call as material to inspect. Break the call into its component parts before deciding what to coach.1 Choose the behavior first, then select recordings around it so the person being coached can diagnose what happened before you give your view.2
Choose the coaching target
The target sets the review's boundary. Write it so you can hear or see it in a recording, then keep the session on that behavior.
Create a rubric before the team call-coaching session.3 Study the top performer extensively before you decide what good looks like.4 During the review, listen only for what the representative needs to practice.5
For a discovery call, separate the parts of the conversation before scoring them. The review might cover the questions asked, the response to an objection, or the agreement on a next step. Move on when you can state one behavior in terms the person can rehearse on the next call.
Pick the right recording
Choose a recording that makes the target easy to examine. Select calls for the coaching opportunity they contain, and give the person enough context to understand why you chose the call.
Prefer a call where the representative encountered something useful to coach.6 Include a meeting-booked call as the good call in the review.7 A call that stopped short of the impact level can also reinforce the concept you are teaching.8
If you coach SDRs, have them listen to account executives' sales-call recordings to identify triggers.9
Prepare before the meeting
Preparation gives both people a shared starting point. Have the person being coached inspect the calls, and prepare your own notes around the same behavior.
Have representatives listen to three of their calls and run them through the discovery scorecard before the coaching meeting.10 Ask them to mark missed opportunities in their own recordings.11 Use that preparation to build self-diagnosis and self-coaching into the meeting.12
Watch the calls and put your notes together before the coaching meeting.13 Slice the recording into targeted sections so you can spend time on moments that show the behavior.14 While watching the video, type every discovery question into the scorecard.15
Keep notes close to the moment they describe. A timestamp, the exact question, and the response it produced give the person something to work with immediately.
Run the review
Let the person being coached speak before you explain what you heard. Turn each observation into a practice move.
Pause after the call and ask, "What do you feel like you did well?"16 Compare that answer with your notes, then ask what the person would change at the target moment. If several people are reviewing the call, have them diagnose and score it before you show and model better next steps.17
Bring one specific coaching tip to the check-in conversation.18 Role-play the improvement area on the spot after the call.19 Use the role-play to test whether the person can make the change without another explanation.
When the call is live, the manager can listen and provide feedback immediately afterward.20 For a recorded review, end with one practice instruction and the next type of call to inspect. Move on once the person can describe the behavior, explain the change, and demonstrate it.
Verify the change
A review has done its job when the behavior appears in later calls. Check for recurrence across recordings, then use what you hear to set the next practice session.
Search across calls to see whether the coaching issue appears frequently.21 Use weekly timestamped calls to identify and track coaching issues.22 To check behavioral change, listen to 10 calls and hear whether every representative asks for a next step.23
Let call-review trends set the focus for the week's role-play coaching session.24 Put two hours every week on the calendar when you are being intentional about coaching.25 Selected parts of recordings can let a manager review three or four recordings in a single hour.26
Use both scheduled reviews and ad hoc reviews of important calls.27 Scheduled work shows whether the target is holding over time. Ad hoc review catches a call that needs attention while its details are still useful.
Make the coaching standard inspectable
Call review also teaches managers how to coach. The standard has to travel through the management layer when several people are responsible for reviews.
If you expect managers to review representative calls, review manager calls too.28 Deal-review recordings can show whether managers are applying the process and give you a basis to coach them on it.29
Use the same target, language, and scorecard when you inspect the coaching itself. If a manager gives broad feedback, bring the conversation back to the behavior the recording was meant to test.
What not to do
Keep the review set to the five calls or behaviors that match the coaching target.30
Pair quantitative scores with qualitative feedback on specific call areas.31
Include calls that stopped short of the impact level so the concept gets reinforced where it breaks down.8
When real-time feedback is unavailable, write down your observations instead of relying on memory.32
After teaching a cold-call framework, run three weeks of cold-call reviews to reinforce it.33
If managers review representative calls, make manager calls part of the review practice as well.28