Key Takeaway: A good sales performance review template answers 3 questions. Did the rep hit the number? Did they run the sales process on real calls? What one change will they make before the next review? Fill in the numbers from your CRM and the behaviors from calls you heard. RevHeat recommends ending with a coaching plan: one behavior, the exact words, and the date you will check it.
What should a sales performance review include?
Five parts. Keep each one short enough to fit on one page.
- Results. The numbers the rep is paid to hit.
- Activity and pipeline. What is coming next quarter.
- Behavior on calls. Whether they ran your sales process, with call examples.
- Skills. Where they are strong and where they are weak.
- One change. The single behavior to fix next, written as a coaching plan.
In Ken’s experience, reviews tend to stop at part 1. Results tell you what happened. They do not tell you why, and they do not tell the rep what to do on Monday.
The sales performance review template
Copy this sales performance review template into a doc for each rep. Review period: one quarter.
Part 1: Results
| Metric | Target | Actual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue closed | |||
| Quota attainment (actual ÷ target) | |||
| Deals won | |||
| Win rate (won ÷ (won + lost)) | |||
| Average deal size | |||
| Average sales cycle (days) |
Part 2: Activity and pipeline
| Metric | Target | Actual | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First meetings held | |||
| New opportunities created | |||
| Pipeline value for next quarter | |||
| Deals with a dated next step | |||
| Deals with no activity in 30+ days |
The last two lines matter most. A deal with no dated next step is a hope, not a forecast.
Part 3: Behavior on calls
List the three to five steps from your sales process that matter most. For each one, review at least three of the rep’s calls and record what happened.
| Process step | Ran it? (always / sometimes / rarely) | Call example (date, account) | What they said |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set an agenda and agreed next step at the start | |||
| Asked about the cost of the problem | |||
| Confirmed who makes the decision | |||
| Asked for a dated commitment at the end | |||
| Updated the CRM the same day |
Swap in the steps from your own playbook. If you don’t have one written down, start with how to build a sales playbook.
Part 4: Skills
Rate each skill 1 to 5. Give one call example for any score of 1, 2 or 5.
| Skill | Score (1–5) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Prospecting | ||
| Qualifying | ||
| Reaching decision makers | ||
| Getting commitment | ||
| Closing | ||
| Following the sales process | ||
| CRM use | ||
| Growing existing accounts |
Why these skills? RevHeat analyzed data from Objective Management Group on 12,745 salespeople. It compared the top 10% with the bottom 10% across 30 sales skills. Some of the largest gaps were in Closing (740.00%), Commitment (476.92%) and Reaching Decision Makers (476.92%). Qualifying (380.00%) and Sales Process (375.00%) were close behind.
Part 5: Manager and rep sign-off
- The one behavior the rep will change next quarter:
- What the manager will do to help:
- Date of the first check:
- Rep signature and date:
- Manager signature and date:
The sales coaching plan template
The review finds the gap. The coaching plan closes it. Write one plan per rep, for one behavior at a time.
| Field | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Behavior to change | One step from Part 3 the rep rarely runs | Asks for a dated next step at the end of every call |
| Why it matters | The deal problem it causes today | Deals sit in “proposal sent” with no meeting booked |
| Exact words to use | The question, word for word | “What date works for us to review this with your CFO?” |
| Calls to check | Which calls, and how many | Every first and second meeting for 30 days |
| What “done” looks like | Something you can count | The question is asked on 9 of 10 calls |
| Check dates | Weekly | Every Friday for 4 weeks |
| Result | Filled in at each check | Week 1: 3 of 8 calls. Week 2: … |
Two rules keep the plan honest:
- One behavior at a time. A plan with five goals gets none of them.
- Check on real calls. A rep saying “yes, I’m doing it” in a one-on-one is not a check.
How do you use the sales performance review template in the meeting?
- Send the numbers two days before. The meeting should be about behavior, not about reading a spreadsheet together.
- Ask the rep to score themselves first on Parts 3 and 4.
- Play one short call clip for the strongest behavior and one for the weakest.
- Agree on the one change. Let the rep say it in their own words.
- Fill in the coaching plan before the meeting ends, including the first check date.
- Put the check dates on both calendars.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Reviewing results only. A rep can hit quota on one lucky deal and still be running the wrong process.
- Using memory instead of calls. Pick the call examples before the meeting.
- Giving a list of ten fixes. Pick one.
- Reviewing once a quarter and never checking again. The coaching plan needs weekly checks, or it becomes a document nobody opens.
How often should you review sales reps?
Run the full review once a quarter. Check the coaching plan every week.
According to HubSpot, the sales performance review is usually an annual evaluation. A year is a long time for a new behavior to go unchecked. In Ken’s experience, training on its own fades fast. The weekly check is what keeps a new behavior alive until it becomes a habit.
What does the weekly check look like?
RevHeat calls the full weekly version of this check The Enforcement Loop:
- Read every call. Not just the ones you had time for.
- Tell each rep what to ask on the next call. Word for word.
- Remember exactly what you told each of them.
- Watch the next call to see if they did it.
- Catch the slip and fix it before it becomes a habit.
- Roll what works into a sharper playbook. Then start over.
For more on the coaching side, see sales performance coaching and how to manage a sales team.
Why do coaching plans stop getting checked?
Look at Part 3 of the template. It asks for three calls per rep, per process step. For a 20-rep team, that is hundreds of calls to find before each review, on top of the weekly checks. The team itself makes about 728 calls a quarter, roughly 243 hours of listening. At 100 reps it is 1,213 hours.
So if your coaching plans go quiet by week three, your managers didn’t lose interest. The hours ran out. When the weekly check does happen, here is what changes by size:
- 5 to 10 reps: By Monday you can say why the last one died.
- 20 to 50 reps: Managers report what happened instead of what they think.
- 60 to 100+ reps: The same word means the same thing in every country, and marketing gets what the buyer said rather than a rep’s memory of it.
FAQ
What is a sales performance review?
A regular meeting where a manager and a rep go over the rep’s results, pipeline, call behavior and skills. Then they agree on what to improve next.
What should I write in a sales rep’s performance review?
Write the numbers against target. Add three to five process steps with call examples, and a score for each key skill. End with one behavior to change next quarter and a check date.
How do you review an underperforming sales rep?
Start with Part 3, not Part 1. Find the process step they skip most often. Write a coaching plan for that one step. Check it on real calls every week. If nothing changes after several weekly checks, you have a clear record for the harder conversation.
What is the difference between a performance review and a coaching plan?
The review looks back over the quarter and finds the gap. The coaching plan looks forward. It names one behavior, the words to use, and the weekly checks.
What KPIs belong in a sales performance review?
Quota attainment, win rate, average deal size, sales cycle length, new opportunities created, and pipeline for next quarter. Add one pipeline-health measure, such as deals with no dated next step.
Can I use this sales performance review template for a sales manager?
Yes, with one change. In Part 3, list the manager’s coaching behaviors instead. Count the calls they reviewed, the coaching plans that are active and the weekly checks they completed.
Related Reading
Ken Lundin is CEO of RevHeat, the Sales Enforcement company. Over 25 years he has sold, run sales teams and helped 200+ teams, including 5 unicorns, generate $1.5B in client sales, with two exits ($250M and $30M) and four appearances on the Inc. 500. He is a Forbes Business Council member and the author of Strategic Selling Unleashed, Broken Playbook and The SmartScaling Formula.