The State of Sales Coaching 2026 Reveals a Widening Gap Between Sales Leaders’ Intentions and Sellers’ Reality
MySalesCoach today launches The State of Sales Coaching 2026, a global study capturing the current reality of sales coaching across regions, industries, and roles.
Drawing on insights from hundreds of sales professionals worldwide, the report includes responses from Account Executives, SDRs, BDRs, Sales Managers, Directors, CROs, and enablement leaders across SaaS, technology, professional services, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and more.
With respondents split almost evenly between frontline sellers and sales leaders, the study offers a rare 360° view into how coaching is being delivered, experienced, and valued.
Download The Survey Here:
The complete State of Sales Coaching 2026 report includes:
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Full data visualisations
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Side-by-side comparisons with 2025
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Insights into coaching effectiveness by tenure
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Perspectives on the value of AI Coaching Technologies
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The impact of coaching frequency on quota attainment
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Commentary from MySalesCoach’s leadership team
- Downloadable graphics for you to share your thoughts on LinkedIn
Why We Conducted the Survey
Coaching continues to be touted as one of the most powerful performance levers in sales. Yet in 2025, the data showed a troubling disconnect: leaders believed they were coaching more, while reps insisted they were receiving less.
The State of Sales Coaching 2026 set out to answer a simple question:
As an industry, has the coaching gap closed—or widened?
According to MySalesCoach Founder & CEO Kevin Beales, the findings are “a wake-up call for the entire sector.”
“Leaders tell us every year that they’re spending more time coaching. But obviously we know that doesn’t go up… and the disparity between leaders and reps has just got bigger. A lot bigger.” — Kevin Beales
But the team didn’t just want to measure frequency. The survey probes deeper into:
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The perceived quality of coaching
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Whether coaching is improving performance
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Whether sales people value AI coaching
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Whether tenured reps are receiving support—or being overlooked
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Why leaders struggle to coach consistently
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Who reps actually want to be coached by
These themes reveal not only how teams are being coached today, but where the industry is heading.
A Disconnect That’s Growing, Not Shrinking
There is a clear and worrying pattern from last year's survey:
Sales leaders increasingly believe they are coaching frequently, at high quality.
Sales reps overwhelmingly do not feel the same.
And according to Kevin, this gap isn’t just frustrating—it’s directly impacting performance.
“Almost half of reps are saying the coaching they’re getting is below average… that was worrying last year. The numbers are even more alarming this year.”
He continues:
“What’s really disappointing is to see that it’s even worse than last year. We, frankly, as a sector—we let our teams down. And it’s getting worse.” — Kevin Beales
What the Survey Looked to Understand
This year’s study aimed to uncover not just what is happening, but why. Key areas of exploration included:
1. Coaching Frequency & Quality
Are reps being coached consistently? Do they feel the coaching they receive is effective? Does the coaching cadence match what leaders believe they’re delivering? What do leaders think about their own coaching? Are they coached themselves?
2. The Coaching Skills Gap Among Sales Managers
Many sales leaders still step into leadership roles without ever developing coaching skills—or receiving coaching themselves. This leaves them ill-equipped to coach their teams effectively.
MySalesCoach Head of Coaching John Richardson explains:
“Most Sales Leaders have found themselves in that role due to being top performing sales people. What’s concerning is how many continue to be promoted without any level of development in the critical skills they need to coach and develop a team.”
This creates a ripple effect through the entire organisation.
“Two thirds of people have never been helped to become a better coach. 80% don’t have a coach themselves… yet organisations want them to coach their teams to success.” — Kevin Beales
3. The Under-Coaching of Tenured Reps
One of the report’s most striking findings?
Experience still equals neglect.
MySalesCoach Head of Growth Richard Smith challenges the misconception:
“There’s a popular myth in sales that tenured reps just want to be left alone to get on with it. This data busts that myth… salespeople who have been around longer are those most neglected yet most demanding of more support.”
Kevin Beales doubles down on this fact:
“As an industry, we dial down coaching with tenure… that presumption that people ‘know what they need’ doesn’t correlate with their desire for more coaching.”
4. The Rise of AI—and the Myths Surrounding It
With AI now mainstream in sales, the study explored whether AI-only coaching is living up to its promise.
The report highlights a sharp rise in AI adoption across sales organisations—but it also reveals a clear mistrust of AI-only coaching models.
“There will be a lot of organisations that want the answer to be AI… but reps don’t believe that. Only a very small minority think AI-only coaching is useful.” — Kevin Beales
Instead, the report highlights a growing desire for human-led coaching supported—not replaced—by AI.
“If an AI solution were to solve all of that for teams, it would be the magic pill… but as we can see, your reps don’t believe that.” — Kevin Beales
So What Does the Future of Sales Coaching Look Like?
While the full findings are reserved for the downloadable report, one theme is unmistakable:
Coaching is still the most powerful driver of sales performance—yet it remains the most inconsistently executed.
And according to Kevin, the path forward is becoming clearer:
“The answer isn’t a silver bullet of buying an AI solution. It’s experts and AI—expert coaching and AI.” — Kevin Beales
Want a closer look and a comprehensive breakdown of what this all means? Sales Coaching in 2026 statistics
