Why Sales Leaders Are Turning To AI For Coaching

Julie Thomas, President & CEO of ValueSelling Associates and a noted speaker, author and consultant.

In today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, sales leaders are tasked with achieving more revenue, more customer satisfaction and more operational efficiency—all with fewer resources. Sales coaching has long been recognized as a powerful tool to improve performance, but traditional methods often fall short of delivering scalable and measurable results. Traditional coaching methods face several challenges: Sales managers often lack the time or training to coach effectively, unconscious bias can influence the coaching process and sales reps don’t always have opportunities to practice new skills.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a game-changing solution that is redefining how sales teams are coached and how businesses can use AI-supported coaching to drive revenue and efficiency.

In its State of Revenue Growth 2025 report, Gong Labs reveals that revenue organizations are finally returning to growth after years of decline. The report highlights how organizations that are already using AI are experiencing a stronger rebound, “with 29% higher revenue growth compared to peers who have not yet begun implementing AI.”

New research from my organization, ValueSelling Associates, in collaboration with Aberdeen Strategy & Research, underscores AI’s transformative power in sales coaching, enabling sales leaders to dramatically boost team performance and exceed quota goals. The research shows that companies incorporating AI into their sales training activities more than tripled (3.3x) year-over-year growth in overall sales team quota attainment compared to companies that are using AI without sales training. This presents a compelling case for sales leaders to integrate AI into their sales training and coaching strategies.

Let’s explore why AI-powered coaching is rapidly becoming essential for sales organizations and the tangible benefits it can deliver.

5 Core Sales Coaching Benefits (And How AI Enhances Them)

According to HubSpot, coaching provides five critical benefits that drive sales success. AI’s capabilities amplify these benefits, making them more impactful and scalable for today’s sales teams:

Employee Retention

Employee retention is a growing concern for sales organizations, especially in high-pressure environments. Coaching can improve retention by demonstrating an investment in employees’ development and success. AI can take this a step further by identifying early warning signs of disengagement or burnout, allowing managers to intervene proactively. Our study found that organizations leveraging AI for coaching improved employee engagement by 30%. By providing reps with targeted support and showing commitment to their success, businesses can reduce turnover and build more cohesive teams.

Information Sharing

One of the key benefits of coaching is the ability to disseminate best practices across a team. AI can enhance this by analyzing vast amounts of performance data to identify the behaviors and strategies of top performers. It can then deliver these insights to the broader team in a scalable manner.

For example, AI can highlight which approaches lead to higher win rates or better customer engagement. By sharing these insights, sales leaders can ensure that every team member benefits from the collective expertise of the organization.

Performance Improvement

Effective coaching directly impacts individual and team performance by identifying gaps in skills and knowledge. AI can amplify this by providing data-driven insights into what top performers do differently and by delivering targeted and actionable feedback at scale.

Empathy

Empathy is an often overlooked but critical component of effective sales. I often talk about the human-to-human connection, and AI should never replace this, but it can help reinforce desired selling behaviors to support human-centered business conversations.

In addition, AI-powered coaching can help managers understand the challenges their teams face. By analyzing performance data and providing tailored recommendations, AI can foster new conversations between managers and reps, enabling more productive coaching sessions.

Practicing New Skills In A Low-Risk Environment

Practice is essential for skill development, but many sales reps end up practicing on real prospects. AI-powered tools provide a way for reps to hone their skills through simulations and role-playing exercises before entering into higher-stakes scenarios. Plus, AI eliminates unconscious bias in feedback, ensuring that reps receive objective and constructive critiques.

AI-Supported Coaching As A Competitive Advantage

Beyond these core benefits, AI-supported sales coaching offers strategic advantages that resonate deeply with sales leaders and customer experience officers (CXOs):

• Scalability: Traditional coaching often relies on the availability and expertise of managers, limiting its reach. AI democratizes access to high-quality coaching by automating data analysis and delivering insights to every team member, regardless of team size.

• Objectivity: Bias is an inherent challenge in human coaching. AI mitigates this by focusing on objective data, ensuring fair and consistent feedback across the board.

• Efficiency: AI saves managers time by automating administrative tasks such as performance tracking and reporting. This allows leaders to focus on higher-value activities, such as strategic planning and relationship building.

The Future Of AI-Powered Coaching

AI’s ability to optimize time and resources delivers dramatic improvements in the effectiveness of sales training and coaching. AI-supported sales coaching efforts deliver maximum ROI in terms of increased revenue and quota attainment, shortened sales cycles and improved profit margins. For sales leaders, the message is clear: Embracing AI in coaching is no longer optional. It’s a strategic imperative for driving performance, retaining top talent and maintaining a competitive edge.

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