When most people think of coaching salespeople, they imagine it as simply telling them what to do:
“Get out of this challenge by doing this.”
“Overcome that objection this way.”
Overlay MEDDIC on top, and it just becomes a more succinct version of the same approach:
“Engage that Economic Buyer,”
“Build that Champion.”
“Accelerate the Decision Process this way.”
But is that really coaching? If you think about the best sports teams, coaching is not just about giving orders; it’s about enriching individual players, building trust, and fostering a winning team dynamic.
That’s where the 3 Ts come in: Trust, Timing, and Tactics. The reality is, most sales leaders jump straight to tactics, but the best leaders understand that you have to build trust first and understand the right timing to coach effectively.
Trust
Without trust, you have nothing. If your team doesn’t trust you, they won’t come to you with problems. They’ll hide gaps in their deals, avoid bringing up roadblocks, and operate out of fear instead of confidence. A lack of trust creates a toxic culture where issues are swept under the rug rather than addressed head-on.
And it’s not just their trust in you, it’s your trust in them. If you don’t trust your team to do their best, you’ll constantly second-guess their decisions, creating friction and stagnation. High-trust environments allow your team to be open, vulnerable, and honest about where deals stand and what support they need. That’s when real coaching can happen.
Timing
The “when” of coaching is also pivotal. Are you only coaching during forecast calls? Or is it woven into every conversation you have? If you coach at every juncture, every moment you interact with your teams, you can help your team with problems before they arise. Coaching is most impactful when it’s part of the day-to-day
Tactics
This is where most sales leaders focus. Tactics can include sales craft, product knowledge, industry insights, which all drive deals forward. But even if you’re a 10/10 on tactics, without trust and good timing, your coaching falls flat. Why? Because your team won’t bring you the real problems to solve, and by the time you get to it, it may be too late.
Great tactics only work when you have the trust and timing to apply them. If you wait until the weekly 1:1 to address a blocker, you’re already behind. High-performing teams address issues as they surface, not days later.
The best teams lay the foundation for trust from day one. That’s why at MEDDICC we have the Trust Battery. When someone starts, their Trust Battery is at 100%. It can drain, but you can also work to build it back up. That means when someone joins the team, they immediately enter into an environment where they can be vulnerable and open. It proves that the team is real, transparent, and focused on growth.
When leaders adopt this mentality, vulnerability isn’t just accepted; it’s expected. This sets the tone for effective coaching and paves the way for winning sales cycles. You can do this in your teams with the three T’s right away.