Overwhelmed and Under-Coached: Why Sales Teams Are Struggling to Keep Up
A recent stat from Salesforce hit hard: 72% of sellers say they’re overwhelmed by the skills required to succeed in today’s environment. That’s nearly three out of four reps, feeling stretched, unsure, or simply burnt out by the growing demands of modern selling.
And can you blame them?
Sales isn’t just about charm and product knowledge anymore. Reps are expected to master new tech stacks, keep up with evolving buyer behaviour, personalise outreach at scale, qualify deeply, manage multiple stakeholders, and close with confidence. They have to do all of this while navigating long cycles, tighter budgets, and constant change.
It’s a lot. And the truth is, many of them are doing it without enough support.
Why the skills gap is widening
The world of B2B selling has changed dramatically in the last few years. Buying committees have grown. Procurement has become stricter. And digital channels have taken over large parts of the journey. To respond, companies are layering on new tools and new processes. But often, they’re not taking a step back to ask: are our reps actually equipped to use all this well?
What ends up happening is a bloated sales motion. Reps are logging activities, switching between platforms, trying to remember what the new methodology says about this stage of the deal. It becomes more about compliance than confidence.
In many cases, they’re simply trying to keep their head above water, and not selling at their best.
Coaching is no longer a luxury
The idea that only underperformers need coaching is outdated. In fact, it’s the high performers who often crave feedback the most, because they want to keep growing. But when managers are overloaded, coaching becomes sporadic. The focus shifts to forecasting and fire-fighting, rather than development.
And here’s the problem: without coaching, the gap between what reps are expected to do and what they feel capable of doing continues to widen.
Even when training is provided, it often doesn’t land. Not because the content is wrong, but because it’s not reinforced. One-off sessions, PDFs in the LMS, or weekly product updates don’t give reps what they really need — which is guidance in the moment, tied to their deals, their language, their behaviour.
What great coaching looks like today
Good coaching is not about micromanagement. It’s not about scorecards or surveillance. It’s about helping reps see what they missed, try something new, and grow through repetition and reflection.
The best coaching is timely. It shows up before a deal goes cold, not afterwards in a post-mortem. It’s specific, actionable, and tied to outcomes that matter — not just activity metrics. And it’s consistent, not based on who shouts the loudest or who’s “on the radar” this week.
But to deliver this kind of coaching across an entire team, especially in distributed or hybrid environments, you need help.
That’s where AI comes in.
How AI can lighten the load (without replacing the human touch)
AI sales coaching tools are designed to fill the gaps most managers don’t have time for. They can listen to calls, flag key moments, and give feedback within minutes. More importantly, they do it consistently. No bias. No delay. Just clear insights.
Imagine a rep finishes a discovery call. Within ten minutes, they receive a short breakdown: here’s where you did well. Here’s what you missed. You asked about pain, but not impact. You spoke for 70% of the call. You didn’t confirm next steps clearly.
It’s like having a mirror — one that helps them adjust and improve, not just perform.
Over time, this kind of feedback doesn’t just fix individual calls. It shapes habits. And habits are what change performance.
AI + Manager = Better Outcomes
AI isn’t here to replace the human coach. It’s here to make their job more effective. When managers aren’t buried in admin or call reviews, they can focus on strategic coaching — the kind that builds trust, develops talent, and moves the needle.
In many teams, AI is helping managers spot patterns. Which reps are skipping qualification? Which deals are going dark after pricing? Which reps are struggling with objection handling but don’t realise it yet?
These are the insights that allow coaching to move from reactive to proactive.
Final thought
When 72% of reps say they’re overwhelmed, it’s not a call for tougher KPIs or more tools. It’s a signal that people are trying to grow, but not always being shown how.
Coaching — especially when paired with AI — is no longer just a nice-to-have. It’s essential. It’s what gives reps the clarity, confidence, and skills to thrive in a complex, fast-moving sales environment.
Because overwhelmed reps don’t need more pressure.
They need more support.
