Skill Drill: Coaching Reps for Print and Packaging

What Is the GROW Model and How Does It Apply to Print and Packaging Sales Coaching?

The GROW model provides a four-step conversational framework that keeps the manager in an asking role and forces the rep to generate their own insights and commitments. It was developed by Sir John Whitmore and Graham Alexander in the 1980s and popularized through Whitmore's book *Coaching for Performance*, which remains a foundational text in professional coaching. The acronym stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and Will, and each step serves a distinct purpose in a call-review conversation.

In a print and packaging context, the Goal step begins by asking the rep what they wanted from the specific call being reviewed—for example, "What did you want to achieve in that re-quote conversation with the regional food brand?" This ensures the coaching targets the rep's intention, not the manager's assumption. The Reality step involves listening to or reading the call transcript together and honestly assessing what actually happened, focusing on specific moments rather than general impressions. The Options step asks the rep to generate alternative approaches: "Before dropping 7%, what could you have asked to understand the buyer's real driver?" Finally, the Will step secures a committed action: "On your next re-quote, what's the one question you'll ask before you touch price?"

This structure is particularly effective for print and packaging sales because the industry's typical pitfalls—discounting too early, failing to uncover the real reason a buyer is shopping, quoting before understanding volume and lead-time needs—are process errors, not knowledge gaps. The GROW model addresses process by having the rep discover their own fix, which research from organizations like the Performance Consultants shows produces higher retention and behavior change than directive feedback. For more on how to apply this to your specific team, see our guide on [coaching reps for logistics and freight](/knowledge/sk0096).

What Materials and Setup Are Needed for This Coaching Drill?

The drill requires minimal preparation but specific materials to ensure it runs effectively in a 50-minute window. The group should be 3–8 reps and team leads, ideally organized into trios with one person acting as coach, one as the rep whose call is being reviewed, and one as an observer tracking talk-time ratio. Each trio needs a real recorded call or transcript per rep, pulled from your CRM or call-recording tool ahead of time—a print discovery call or a re-quote conversation works best because those are where margin erosion typically happens.

The physical setup includes a printed GROW model card for each participant, a "call-review tagging" sheet with columns for timestamp, what happened, and what to try, and a timer. If you don't have recorded calls available, the drill provides a realistic print-and-packaging scenario: a rep re-quoting 50,000 folding cartons for a regional food brand where the buyer says "your number came in 9% over the incumbent" and the rep immediately offers a 7% discount without asking about volume commitment, lead-time needs, or why the brand is shopping. The coach's job is to use GROW to help the rep discover that the buyer's real driver was a missed delivery from the incumbent—price was a smokescreen.

Room setup matters: trios should be at separate tables so audio doesn't overlap, or if you only have one recording, play it for the whole group and have everyone coach the same call. The handout should include the four GROW steps in simple language: Goal ("what did you want from that call?"), Reality ("what actually happened—let's listen"), Options ("what else could you have done?"), and Will ("what will you do on the next one?"). For additional guidance on structuring team training, see our resource on [reading buying signals for print and packaging](/knowledge/sk0086).

How Do You Run the Four Rounds of This Coaching Drill?

The drill unfolds in four timed rounds, each with a specific purpose and a clear definition of what good looks like. Round 1, "Set the Scene," takes 5 minutes and begins with the manager reading a script that names the bad habit of hijacking calls. The script says: "When I started managing, I coached by stealing the call. I'd say 'here's what I would've done' and feel helpful. The rep nodded and changed nothing, because it was my insight, not theirs. Today we practice the opposite: you're going to coach a real call with questions, and the rep is going to do the thinking." The manager then teaches GROW in two minutes using the card and introduces the tagging habit: "We don't say 'be more consultative.' We say 'at this exact moment, here's what happened, here's what to try.'" What good looks like here is every coach can recite the four GROW steps and understands their job is to ask, not tell.

Round 2, "Run the Reps," takes 20 minutes and is the core practice session. Trios form with a coach, a rep (whose call is being reviewed), and an observer. The rep's real call is played or read, and the coach runs a GROW conversation off it. The observer tracks one thing only: the talk-time ratio—is the coach asking or telling? The manager circulates to ensure coaches stay in the GROW structure. After 8 minutes, trios rotate so a new person coaches, allowing two reps minimum to be coached. What good looks like is the coach asks more than they tell, and the rep names their own fix rather than being handed it.

Round 3, "Pressure Test," takes 10 minutes and introduces resistance. Two trios come together, and one person coaches while the rep plays "defensive"—justifying, deflecting, and blaming the buyer. The manager reads another script: "When a rep gets defensive, the easy move is to give up and just tell them the answer. Don't. Stay in the questions. 'Help me understand what you were seeing in that moment' beats 'you should have asked about volume' every time." Two 4-minute rounds run with swapped coaches, followed by a debrief on whether the coach stayed in GROW or caved into telling. What good looks like is the coach keeps asking even when the rep deflects and lands a Will step the rep actually commits to.

Round 4, "Debrief and Lock It In," takes 10 minutes and closes the loop. Each coach names one moment they tagged in their rep's call, the option the rep generated, and the Will step the rep committed to. Then each rep states what they'll do on their next live call. The manager writes the Will steps on a board so they're public and trackable. The final script says: "Next week I'll pull each of your calls and check whether the Will step actually showed up. That's the whole point—not a nice conversation in this room, but a different question on a live call with a real buyer." What good looks like is every rep leaves with one specific, committed change to make on their next real print or packaging call.

How Can You Adapt This Drill for Different Team Sizes and Skill Levels?

The drill is designed to scale flexibly depending on your team size, the skill level of your reps, and the time you have available. For team size, if you have 2–3 people, form one trio with the manager observing and coaching the coach. For 4–8 people, run parallel trios with the manager circulating to provide real-time cues. For 8 or more, squad it by having team leads run each trio while the manager oversees the entire session.

For skill level, new reps benefit from using one shared call coached as a group with heavy GROW structure—the manager models the questions and the group generates options together. Veteran reps can jump directly to Round 3's defensive-rep pressure test, which challenges their ability to stay in questions when the rep pushes back. Time adaptations include a 5-minute version for pipeline huddles where you play 60 seconds of one call and the manager models a single GROW question, a 30-minute version running Rounds 1 and 2 with a compressed debrief, and a 60-minute version that adds a live round where a rep makes a real follow-up call immediately after being coached.

What Are the Most Common Coaching Mistakes and How Do You Fix Them?

Even experienced managers fall into predictable traps when coaching sales calls, and this drill includes specific cues to address each one. The most common mistake is hijacking the call with "here's what I'd do," which produces nodding but no behavioral change. The cue is: "Your insight changes nothing. Ask the question that gets the rep to *their* insight." Telling produces compliance; coaching produces capability. When the manager owns the insight, the rep owns nothing.

Another frequent error is vague feedback like "be more consultative" or "you need to ask better discovery questions." The cue is: "Tag the timestamp. 'At 4:12 you quoted before knowing volume' beats any adjective." Specific beats general every time in print and packaging sales coaching. Skipping the Goal step is also common because managers jump straight to fixing what they see as the problem. The cue: "If you don't agree what the rep wanted, you'll coach to *your* goal, not theirs." Always start with Goal.

Caving when the rep gets defensive is another trap, especially with veteran reps who have strong opinions about their approach. The cue: "Defensiveness is not a reason to start telling. 'Help me understand what you saw' keeps them thinking." Finally, many managers forget the Will step, leaving the rep with no committed next action. The cue: "A coaching call with no committed next action is just a chat. End every review with one specific change for the next live call." And in print and packaging specifically, managers often coach the price rather than the process. The fix: "The fix is almost never 'discount less'—it's 'discover the real driver before you quote.' Coach the questions, not the number."

How Do You Know If the Coaching Drill Is Working?

The only true measure of coaching effectiveness is whether the rep's next live call sounds different from the one that was reviewed. After this drill, you should see specific behavioral changes: the rep who discounted immediately now asks about volume and lead time before discussing price; the rep who jumped to a quote now uncovers the buyer's real driver first; the rep who got defensive now listens and asks clarifying questions instead of justifying.

To track this, the manager should pull each rep's next recorded call within a week of the drill and check whether the Will step showed up. If the rep committed to asking "What's driving you to shop around?" before discussing price, that question should appear in the call. If it doesn't, the coaching was telling in disguise—the rep nodded but never internalized the change. Run the full 50-minute version monthly and the 5-minute huddle version weekly off real calls. The weekly cadence builds the call-review habit; the monthly version deepens the coaching skill on the managers.

For more structured measurement, use the observer's talk-time ratio from Round 2 as a leading indicator. If coaches are asking more than they're telling, the drill is working. If they're still giving advice, they need more practice staying in the GROW structure. The goal is to reach a point where the coach's default response to any call review is a question, not a suggestion. For additional tools on measuring coaching effectiveness, see our guide on [multithreading deals for print and packaging](/knowledge/sk0057).

Related questions

How does the GROW model differ from traditional ride-along feedback?

Traditional ride-along feedback ends with the manager's list of fixes, which the rep nods at and forgets. The GROW model ends with the rep's own next step through the Options and Will steps, producing ownership and behavior change rather than passive compliance.

Can this drill work without recorded calls?

Yes, use the printed scenario in Round 2 as a role-play or have a rep recap a recent real call from memory. Recordings make tagging sharper, but the GROW structure works on any real call the rep can describe, and the pressure test in Round 3 builds the same coaching muscle.

How do you coach a rep whose call was genuinely good?

Use GROW to find the one moment that could have gone from good to great—a deeper discovery question, an earlier trial close, or a more effective way to handle a price objection. Strong reps still leave with one Will step to elevate their performance.

What if the buyer genuinely needs a fast quote and won't tolerate discovery questions?

The fast quote is exactly how you lose margin and lose to the incumbent in print and packaging. Coach the rep to ask one or two discovery questions about volume, lead time, and why they're shopping—this usually reveals the real driver, which is often service, not price.

How often should this drill be run for maximum impact?

Run the full 50-minute version monthly and the 5-minute huddle version weekly off real calls. The weekly cadence builds the call-review habit, while the monthly version deepens the coaching skill on the managers and ensures continuous improvement.

FAQ

We don't record calls. Can we still run this? Yes. Use the printed scenario in Round 2 as a role-play, or have a rep recap a recent real call from memory while the coach runs GROW off the recap. Recordings make tagging sharper, but the GROW structure works on any real call the rep can describe, and the pressure test in Round 3 builds the same coaching muscle.

How is coaching different from a ride-along where I give feedback? A ride-along usually ends with the manager's list of fixes, which the rep nods at and forgets. Coaching ends with the rep's own next step through the GROW Options and Will steps, forcing the rep to generate and commit to a change. Telling produces compliance; coaching produces capability.

My reps quote fast because customers demand it. Isn't discovery a luxury? In print and packaging, the fast quote is exactly how you lose margin and lose to the incumbent. One or two discovery questions about volume, lead time, and why they're shopping usually reveals the real driver—often it's service, not price. Coach the question that buys you that insight.

What if the rep's call was genuinely good? Then coach the next level. Use GROW to find the one moment that could have gone from good to great—a deeper discovery question, an earlier trial close, or a more effective way to handle a price objection. Strong reps still leave with one Will step to elevate their performance.

How often should we run this? Run the full 50-minute version monthly and the 5-minute huddle version weekly off real calls. The weekly cadence builds the call-review habit, while the monthly version deepens the coaching skill on the managers. Consistency is what creates lasting behavioral change.

How do I know if it's working? Check the next live call. If the Will step shows up—the rep asks the volume question before quoting, handles the price push with a question instead of a discount—the coaching landed. If it doesn't, the coaching was telling in disguise. Track talk-time ratios in Round 2 as a leading indicator.

What if the rep gets defensive during coaching? Use the cue from Round 3: "Help me understand what you were seeing in that moment" keeps them thinking and prevents you from caving into telling. The defensive rep is the one who most needs to do their own thinking, so stay in questions even when they push back.

Can this drill work with a group of only two people? Yes, form a duo with one coach and one rep, and have the manager observe and coach the coach. The observer role is less critical in a duo, but the manager should still track talk-time ratio to ensure the coach is asking more than telling.

How do I handle a rep who refuses to generate options? Ask more specific questions within the Options step. Instead of "What else could you have done?" try "In that moment at 4:12, what were your options? What would have happened if you asked about volume first?" Narrow the frame until the rep can generate an answer.

What if my team has never used GROW before? Spend an extra 5 minutes in Round 1 teaching the model. Use the handout and the printed scenario to walk through each step as a group before breaking into trios. The structure is simple enough to learn in one session, and the repetition across rounds builds fluency.

Sources

• Performance Consultants — The GROW Model
• Coaching for Performance by Sir John Whitmore
• Gong — Call Recording and Conversation Intelligence
• Sandler Training — Sales Coaching
• The Challenger Sale — Challenger Inc.
• RAIN Group — Sales Coaching Research
• Harvard Business Review — The Right Way to Coach Salespeople
• Printing Industries of America / PRINTING United Alliance

Related on PULSE

• [Skill Drill: Coaching Reps for Logistics and Freight](/knowledge/sk0096)
• [Skill Drill: Reading Buying Signals for Print and Packaging](/knowledge/sk0086)
• [Skill Drill: Coaching Reps for Medical Device Sales](/knowledge/sk0062)
• [Skill Drill: Multithreading Deals for Print and Packaging](/knowledge/sk0057)