Sales Management for New Managers: Coaching and Targets

Lead your sales team with practical coaching, performance diagnosis, one-to-ones and a weekly management plan.

Created byDr. Law Payne

Last updated 11/2026

English

What you'll learn

Connect sales targets to a specific coaching diagnosis.
Allocate coaching time within realistic capacity and participation constraints.
Distinguish leading indicators, activity and commercial outcomes.
Build accountable coaching actions and review progress using evidence.

Course content

2 sections • 10 lectures • 1h 47m total length

Targets and the Coaching Diagnosis10:44
You've got the sales manager title. Now the team's missed its number, and you can feel yourself wanting to jump in and fix every deal. That instinct makes sense. But if every email needs your approval, when do your people get to develop their own judgement? Let's work through how you investigate a missed target and choose a coaching priority you can actually observe.

I personally designed the Sales Target and Coaching Diagnosis Card to help you slow that decision down. Download the fictional case brief, learner card and worked diagnosis from this lecture's Resources area.
Coaching Capacity and Feasible Priorities11:08
Ever planned a week that only works if nobody needs anything unexpected from you? Coaching can end up that way. You promise to observe every call, approve every message and fix every delay. The plan sounds supportive, but the time isn't there. Let's use a limited block of management time to choose what deserves attention, what each activity can establish and what you'll have to leave for later.

I personally designed the Sales Coaching Capacity Planner to help you make those choices before the calendar fills up. Download the case timetable, learner planner and worked allocation from this lecture's Resources area.
Leading Indicators and Interpretation Limits11:10
Three out of five. Sixty percent. Put that on a dashboard and it sounds like a clear result. But what did you count, and what decision should change because of it? That's where the useful work begins. We'll define one coaching indicator, examine who belongs in its denominator and use the finding without turning a small sample into a promise about future sales.

I personally designed the Sales Coaching Indicator Definition Card to help you question a number before you act on it. Download the fictional observation log, learner card and worked interpretation from this lecture's Resources area.
Test the Assumptions Behind Management Action10:51
You've checked the calculation. The number is right. Does that mean the action you're about to recommend is right too? Let's put a little space between those two decisions. We'll examine a skill question, a process problem and an opportunity review, so you can choose support that fits what you've actually learned about the person and their work.

I personally designed the Sales Management Assumption Test to help you question your explanation before acting on it. Download the fictional evidence packet, learner worksheet and worked reasoning from this lecture's Resources area.
Foundation Sales Management Workshop10:55
You've got four hours and three people who need different kinds of support. You can't do everything. So what should Elena do first, and how would you explain the choice to her team? This workshop brings the evidence together. You'll build a weekly coaching plan, practise the opening of a real management conversation and decide what you'd need to see when you review progress.

I personally designed the Foundation Sales Management Workshop so you can try those decisions before you're making them in a crowded working week. Download the initial case packet, planning workbook, separate update and worked recommendation from this lecture's Resources area.

Sales Coaching Practice Lab10:38
You're in the coaching conversation. You can see what the representative could do differently, and you're ready to show them. Hold that thought for a moment. If you do all the thinking, what will they be able to do when you're not there? Let's work through how you move from a real example to an explanation, a rehearsal and a second attempt that gives the person room to develop their own judgement.

I personally designed the Sales Coaching Practice Lab so you can rehearse that middle part of the conversation. Download the role brief, learner conversation planner and worked dialogue from this lecture's Resources area.
Accountability and Practical Constraints10:44
You agreed on the next step. Then the review arrives and the work isn't there. Before you decide someone hasn't taken responsibility, what was actually agreed—and did they have what they needed to do it? Let's build a coaching agreement that makes those questions answerable. You'll practise responding to a missed action while keeping ownership, dependencies and the next review clear.

I personally designed the Sales Coaching Accountability Agreement to help you have that conversation fairly and directly. Download the fictional commitment brief, learner agreement and worked follow-up from this lecture's Resources area.
Sales Coaching Progress Review10:35
You've had the coaching meetings. Everybody showed up. Before you call the week a success, what did you learn that changes what you should do next? That's the question we'll work through here. You'll inspect what came out of the coaching cycle, decide what the evidence supports and choose whether to reinforce the skill, change the practice or investigate something else.

I personally designed the Sales Coaching Progress Review to help you recognise progress without pretending it proves more than it does. Download the fictional weekly update, learner review log and worked interpretation from this lecture's Resources area.
Contrasting Sales Management Cases10:42
Two representatives miss their targets by the same amount. Would you put them on the same coaching plan? The dashboard can make them look identical. Let's look behind those numbers. You'll compare two new cases and decide what each person needs first, using the reasoning you've developed with Elena rather than simply repeating the technique you used with Asha.

I personally designed the Contrasting Sales Management Cases to help you notice when a familiar answer doesn't fit a new person. Download the two-case packet, comparison workbook and worked recommendation from this lecture's Resources area.
Applied Sales Management Workshop10:32
Rehearse a sales manager's decisions with limited time and two representatives needing support. Complete the Applied Sales Management Workshop, prepare evidence-based conversations, allocate feasible contributions and revise the plan when new information arrives.

Resources also include the Advanced Self-Study and Capstone ZIP: six optional practice units with learner worksheets, worked examples and a capstone rubric. Complete the applied knowledge-check questions before opening their answer explanations.

Requirements

No specialist qualification is required. Bring a real or hypothetical business situation and a way to complete the downloadable exercises.

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Yesterday, you were responsible for your own sales number. Today, you are responsible for a team—and repeating your best sales advice does not automatically make you an effective manager. Your people need direction, useful coaching and realistic decisions about where their time goes.

Sales Management for New Managers: Coaching and Targets helps you move from knowing the terminology to making a better decision in a specific business situation. Build a practical approach to targets, capacity, leading indicators, coaching and accountability. You will inspect what a performance signal actually means, decide what to observe next, and practise coaching the behaviour that needs attention instead of managing through pressure alone.

I’m Dr. Law Payne. My background includes a Doctor of Business Administration specializing in Organizational Leadership and Development, alongside a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing. I bring that business and leadership perspective into the practical choices we examine together.

I created this course for new sales managers, first-time team leaders, founders and experienced salespeople moving into responsibility for others. You can work with the fictional cases provided and then adapt the tools to a situation from your own work.

Across ten teaching lectures in two sections, you will diagnose the decision, inspect the evidence, compare possible responses and practise an integrated application. The cases are designed to make you think: what do we know, what are we assuming, and what would justify the next step?

I personally designed the downloadable practice materials to help you put the teaching to work. Your tools include Sales Target and Coaching Diagnosis, Sales Coaching Capacity Planner, Sales Coaching Indicator Definition Card. Open the relevant lesson’s Resources area, complete your own attempt, and use the worked examples to compare your reasoning. The exercises help you identify missing information, explain your choices and turn the lesson into a usable work product.

Bring a willingness to examine your assumptions. You do not need a specialist qualification, expensive software or a perfect real-world case. Pause when prompted, make the decision yourself and revisit your answer as new information appears.

If you want a practical way to approach this subject with more clarity and professional judgment, join me. Let us build a result you can use and explain.

Who this course is for:

New sales managers, first-time team leaders, founders and experienced salespeople moving into responsibility for others.

Sales Management for New Managers: Coaching and Targets

What you'll learn

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Course content

Foundations and First Decisions5 lectures • 55min

Applied Decisions and Workshops5 lectures • 53min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: