Affect Advisory

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Sales Coaching Training

coach Sales without formal authority

In business, coaching sales performance is rarely straightforward. Many technical experts are sceptical of business development and even more sceptical of being coached on it. Especially when the coach isn’t their direct manager.

Our Sales Coaching Training is built specifically for internal or embedded coaches, practice leads, or capability managers who support teams of professionals in developing commercial confidence without relying on authority, scripts, or traditional sales pressure.

Whether you’re coaching fee earners, project leads, or principals, we help you become a more effective, trusted coach who can influence without dictating and shift mindsets without sparking resistance.

Business Development skills & BD Management Training

Why Sales Coaching is challenging in professional services

Coaching in a context where technical expertise is king and sales is often seen as “not our job” comes with a unique set of challenges:

  • Professionals often don’t identify as experienced, so they resist coaching conversations about selling

  • Senior staff may feel they don’t need coaching, or push back against feedback from someone who isn’t in their reporting line

  • Coaches often lack formal authority, making it hard to enforce accountability or drive consistent application

  • Many coaching conversations drift into advice-giving, rather than skill development or behaviour change

  • Mindset and confidence issues are common but most coaches aren’t trained to navigate resistance or emotional barriers

  • BD activity gets deprioritized in busy periods, and it’s hard to bring focus back without “nagging”

This training gives you the skills, frameworks, and language to coach professionals with empathy and impact, even when sales isn’t their natural comfort zone.

Coaching to build BD skills and pursuit coaching

what you’ll learn in Sales Coaching training

Our program focuses on building coaching skills specifically for the professional services environment. You’ll learn how to have productive, respectful, and forward-moving coaching conversations with professionals at every level, from hesitant juniors to sceptical partners.

Key Topics Include:

Coaching Without Authority
How to influence and lead coaching conversations even when the professionals don’t report to you.

Understanding Professional Mindsets Around Sales
Why so many technical experts resist business development and how to shift those beliefs without creating friction.

Coaching for Skill vs. Coaching for Mindset
Learn when to coach behaviour and technique, and when to challenge thinking patterns that are holding performance back.

Managing Pushback from Senior Professionals
How to navigate egos, skepticism, and “I already know this” attitudes with credibility and calm.

Coaching the Business Development Pipeline
Move beyond generic advice. Learn how to coach around pipeline structure, prioritisation, and focus without micromanaging.

Effective Pursuit Coaching
Step into key opportunities and help your teams strategise and collaborate on major pursuits even if you’re not the deal lead.

Driving Action and Accountability
Tools and techniques to help professionals follow through without you becoming the “BD police.”

Coaching Conversations That Stick
Use proven frameworks to structure your coaching for clarity, action, and results.

Who this training is for

This program is ideal for anyone tasked with supporting business development skills in others, especially when selling isn’t the core part of the role.

Perfect for:

  • Sales enablement managers or capability leads

  • Client development or BD coaches

  • Practice group leads or internal consultants

  • Sales trainers supporting fee earners

  • Talent or HR professionals building internal coaching capacity

  • Firms in accounting, engineering, architecture, IT, wealth management, or consulting

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Ready to level up your Business Development?