Sales Coaching Questions: 30 to Ask Your Reps in a 1:1
Thirty sales coaching questions managers can ask in a 1:1, grouped by deal, skill and growth, plus how to use the answers. Start free with Koachly.
Zubair Afzal · Founder, Koachly
Last updated · 7 min read
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The best sales coaching questions are open, specific and tied to a real call or deal, so the rep does the thinking and you both leave with one thing to work on. Below are 30 questions for your next 1:1, grouped into deal, skill and growth questions, plus self-review questions reps can ask themselves.
Why questions work better than advice
When a manager just tells a rep what to do, the rep nods and forgets. When the rep works it out, they remember it. Questions also show you how the rep thinks, which tells you what to coach.
A good coaching question has three things. It’s open, so it can’t be answered with yes or no. It’s specific, about one deal or one call. And it’s honest. You actually want to hear the answer.
You don’t need all 30 in one meeting. Pick five to eight that fit this week.
Questions to ask in a sales 1:1 about deals
Use these to understand what is really going on, not just what the CRM says.
- What problem is this buyer trying to solve, in their words?
- Why do they need to fix it now, and not next year?
- Who makes the final decision, and have you spoken to them?
- Who else will be affected, and what do they think?
- What happens if they do nothing?
- What is the next step, and is it in the calendar?
- What could stop this deal from closing?
- What are they comparing us to?
- What would you need to hear to feel sure this deal will close?
- If this deal stalls, what do you think the reason will be?
If a rep struggles with the first four, the issue is often discovery. Our B2B discovery call framework is a good next read for them.
Skill questions about a specific call
Ask these with a recording or transcript open. Talk about one call, not calls in general.
- What did you want from this call before it started?
- Did you get it? What tells you that?
- How did you open the call?
- What was the best question you asked?
- Where did the buyer talk the most?
- What was the first pushback, and how did you answer it?
- How did the price talk feel to you?
- Where did the call lose energy?
- How did the call end, and who agreed to do what?
- If you could redo one minute of this call, which one?
For a simple way to find those moments fast, see how to review a sales call in 15 minutes.
Growth questions for the longer view
Ask one or two of these each month. They show you where the rep wants to go.
- What part of a call feels easiest for you right now?
- What part still feels hard?
- What kind of buyer do you find hardest to talk to?
- What’s one skill you want to be known for on this team?
- What did you try this month that worked?
- What would make you more confident going into calls?
- Whose calls would you like to listen to, and why?
- What’s getting in the way of your best work?
- What do you want to practice before your next big call?
- How can I help you more, or less?
Coaching questions for sales managers to avoid
Some questions sound fine but shut the conversation down. Here are a few to swap.
| Instead of | Try | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “Why did you say that?” | “What were you hoping would happen there?” | Feels less like blame |
| “Is this deal going to close?” | “What has to happen for this deal to close?” | Gets facts, not a guess |
| “Did you ask about budget?” | “What do you know about how they’ll pay for this?” | Open, not yes or no |
| “How was the call?” | “What was the best moment of that call?” | Specific, easier to answer |
Then wait. Silence after a question feels long, but it’s where the useful answers come from. Our guide on the talk-to-listen ratio applies to managers in 1:1s too.
Self-review questions for reps after a call
Reps don’t need to wait for a 1:1. These five questions take two minutes right after a call, while it’s fresh:
- What did the buyer care about most?
- Did I talk too much anywhere?
- How did I handle the first pushback?
- Is the next step booked, with a date?
- What’s one thing I’ll do differently on the next call?
Koachly, an AI sales coach, does a version of this for every call. Its Call score rates the call from 0 to 100 across Clarity, Questions, Momentum, Empathy and Deal risk, and gives 3 fixes tied to moments in the call. Reps can bring that to the 1:1, which makes the skill questions above much faster.
How to use the answers
A good 1:1 ends with action. Here’s a simple way to close it:
- Pick one thing. From everything you talked about, choose the one change that would help most.
- Write the new line. Turn it into words the rep can say on the next call.
- Agree a drill. Say it out loud five times, or run a short roleplay of that moment.
- Set a check. Agree which call you’ll look at next to see if it stuck.
Example“So this week, when price comes up, you’ll ask what they’re comparing it to before you answer. Let’s practice it twice now, and I’ll look at your Thursday call.”
For the drill, reps can practice with an AI buyer on any Koachly plan, including Free. For the bigger picture on running 1:1s every week, read how to coach sales reps.
Sales coaching questions FAQ
What are good sales coaching questions?
Good sales coaching questions are open, specific and about one real call or deal. For example: what did the buyer say their main problem was, or which minute of that call would you redo. They get the rep thinking instead of waiting to be told.
How many questions should I ask in a sales 1:1?
Usually five to eight. Pick a few deal questions, a couple of skill questions and one growth question. The goal is a real conversation that ends with one thing to work on, not a checklist.
What should a rep ask themselves after a call?
Ask what the buyer cared about most, where the call lost energy, how the first pushback went, and whether there is a booked next step. Then pick one thing to do differently next time.
How do I turn coaching answers into action?
Pick one thing from the conversation, agree a short drill for it, such as saying a new line out loud or a quick roleplay, and check it on the next call you review together.
Related reading
Written by Zubair Afzal, Founder, Koachly.
He started Koachly to help reps during the call, not days after it.