September has now come and gone, and for many companies, so has another quarter. If you’re a sales manager, I’m going to venture a guess that you spent a lot of your time this week on sales “rescues”: coaching your reps on how to bring in those critical deals they just couldn’t seem to close on their own. (Or worst case, closing them yourself!)

Well, you’re not alone. According to CSO Insights, sales managers report that fully two-thirds of the time they spend coaching their reps is focused on a single, specific opportunity, while only one-third is focused on overall skills development.

Getting to your number matters. No debate there. But doesn’t it also stand to reason that if managers spent more time helping reps sharpen their “bigger picture” sales skills (asking the right questions, engaging the right stakeholders, positioning effectively against the competition, etc.), they might actually close more deals on their own and require less “rescues” at the end of the quarter?

It’s a tough balancing act for managers, particularly when you consider the size and diversity of most enterprise sales teams. The good news is that not only do we know what a successful sales coaching approach should look like, today there are a number of technology applications that can help make that vision a reality.

To help sales managers address these coaching challenges, Qstream has partnered with CSO Insights’ Jim Dickie on a new, 2-part white paper series. In part 1, Jim explores the root causes of why it’s so hard to coach effectively, supported by data from CSO’s 2015 Sales Management Optimization Survey. In part 2, he gives sales managers some practical advice for developing a more formal coaching process, and the role that sales performance data can play in making that coaching time more effective.

Visit our Resource Center to get your copy of these complimentary reports now.

And while you’re there, check out our latest video showcasing Qstream’s own Sales Manager Dashboards. Our Predictive Insights engine instantly sifts and analyzes thousands of data points from your team’s responses to deliver real-time insights that let managers quickly and easily see how their sales teams are performing. At the same time, the system pinpoints highly targeted coaching opportunities that allow your managers to take action immediately – not at the end of the quarter when it might be too late.

Qstream’s unique approach helps managers address many of the core factors highlighted by CSO for coaching success, including timeliness, relevancy and personalization.

Do these challenges and proposed solutions ring true for your experience as a rep or sales manager? We look forward to your feedback!