Why Most Sales Reps Are Falling Behind, and How AI Can Help

AI is fundamentally reshaping the role of the seller. Informing and educating buyers used to be a core part of a seller’s role. But now, machines do it faster, more consistently, and with more objectivity.

We’re not completely there yet, but the old approach to selling is on its way out. Soon, simply showing up to pitch or share information will be obsolete. 

To stay relevant, sellers need to become something else: Trusted Partners. That means knowing how to solve problems in new ways: creating unique solutions, navigating resistance, and driving demand.

This isn’t optional. It’s the future of selling. And the difference between those who adapt and those who don’t? It’s staggering.

The Challenge: Why Sellers Are Struggling to Make the Shift

To make the leap from information-pusher to Trusted Partner, sellers don’t just need encouragement or call stats. They need real development.

And that requires coaching that does three things:

1. Diagnose the gap: What’s missing? What’s holding the rep back from leading better sales conversations?
2. Align to the gap: A coaching session that connects the dots on why this matters, and what specifically needs to change.
3. Develop through practice: Reps need repetition. Time to rehearse, apply, and refine new skills until they stick.

It’s a clear model for what effective development looks like. But here’s the problem: steps two and three take a tremendous amount of time. And that’s exactly what most managers don’t have.

Which is why coaching is typically just a conversation or show-and-tell. It becomes reactive instead of developmental. And the kind of growth reps actually need, the kind that leads to real behavior change, never gains traction.

This isn’t just a manager problem. The ripple effects hit reps fast, derailing how they learn, practice, and grow.

The Hard Truth: Most Managers Are Underwater

Ask any sales leader what’s getting in the way of consistent coaching, and the answer is rarely intent. It’s capacity.

Frontline managers are buried, juggling forecast calls, internal meetings, customer escalations, and a never-ending stream of fire drills. Even when they believe in coaching, the calendar doesn’t.

And because time is scarce, coaching gets compressed. It turns into pipeline triage or deal inspection. Maybe a quick Slack message after a rough call. Managers aren’t avoiding development. They’re stuck in a system that rewards inspection over instruction.

Time isn’t the only issue. Most managers were never shown what good coaching actually looks like: how to go beyond deal review and deliver feedback that sticks. So even when coaching happens, it’s often reactive or skewed toward the squeakiest wheel.

This leads to a familiar pattern: coaching becomes an aspiration instead of a habit. A best practice that’s honored in theory but buried in execution.

And in that vacuum, development stalls. This isn’t just a manager problem. It cascades down, impacting how reps learn, practice, and perform every day.

Reps Want to Grow. But the System Makes It Hard

This isn’t just a leadership issue. Sellers feel the gap too. Most reps genuinely want to improve. They want to level up, lead better calls, and close more meaningful deals. But without structure, even the most motivated reps struggle to improve.

Without timely feedback, reinforcement, and the chance to practice in the flow of work, even high-desire sellers plateau. Even when reps know they need to evolve, they’re not getting enough practice, or the coaching that turns effort into progress.

The learning that does happen is often too generic to apply or too delayed to be useful. Reps face a constant disconnect between training and the real work moments that matter. They’re expected to translate abstract concepts into live calls without guided practice or reinforcement.

It’s not that reps are uncoachable. It’s that the system makes it hard to grow with momentum.

They rely on instinct. Or grind it out. And sometimes, they disengage.

The Cost of the Gap Is More Than Performance

This gap between desire and development has real consequences. Maybe you’ve seen it before:

• High performers start coasting. 
• Strivers burn out. 
• Managers shift from coaching to chasing. 
• Average reps quietly fall further behind. The result is a quiet erosion of performance, morale, and culture.

At this point, enablement becomes about firefighting, not transformation. Culture starts to calcify around output, not growth. And by the time leaders realize they’ve lost ground, it’s already showing up in missed numbers and rising attrition.

The effects ripple far beyond sales metrics: employee morale suffers, leadership credibility erodes, and the organization risks losing top talent to competitors who invest more in development.

That’s why AI matters. Not as a silver bullet, but as a way to break the cycle by removing friction, delivering timely insight, and giving both managers and sellers a better path forward. AI doesn’t replace coaching. It unlocks it. By surfacing coaching moments in real time, it makes development scalable and puts managers and reps on the same side of the table.

How AI Can Actually Help Sales Teams Win

AI can help close the coaching gap. It can analyze sales calls to surface key moments where reps miss the mark, giving managers clarity on what’s driving results and where to focus.

It equips leaders to run more impactful coaching sessions and helps reps build new skills through guided practice. Even better, it delivers the right content at the right time, when it’s most useful.

With this kind of support, managers can finally focus on what only they can do: inspire change, build trust, and develop plans to hit the number.

Diagnose with Precision

Most managers want to develop their teams but are held back by a lack of time and visibility. AI-enabled coaching tools help leaders quickly identify where each rep is struggling, without hours of sifting through calls or CRM notes. This clarity means you can spend less time searching for problems and more time supporting growth.

When you have this kind of visibility, you can:

• Prioritize your coaching time: Instantly see which reps need help with specific skills, so you can be present where it matters most.
• Start every conversation with specifics: Reference real examples from recent calls, making your feedback more relevant and easier for reps to apply.
• Ensure no one gets left behind: Regularly review who’s making progress and who needs a nudge, so every rep gets a fair shot at development, not just the most vocal or visible.

When you can see where your team needs support in real time, you can coach with confidence and empathy, setting the stage for meaningful growth.

Align Coaching and Feedback to Rep Needs

Great coaching isn’t about more meetings. It’s about timely, relevant feedback that reps can use right away. AI-enabled platforms allow leaders to reinforce new behaviors while the details are still fresh, making development part of the daily workflow instead of a delayed, disconnected event.

To make the most of this new rhythm:

• Deliver feedback while it’s actionable: Use timely notifications to address gaps or celebrate wins soon after they happen, so reps can adjust and improve in the moment.
• Encourage reps to reflect: Ask them what they noticed about a flagged moment, turning feedback into a two-way conversation that builds ownership and insight.
• Build a rhythm of learning: Integrate short coaching moments into your regular check-ins, so growth becomes a habit, not a special event.

When feedback is woven into the flow of work, learning sticks, and reps start to see coaching as a resource, not a review.

Develop through Practice in the Flow of Work

Reps don’t need more theory. They need chances to practice the right things, at the right time, in the flow of their actual work. AI can help leaders deliver targeted, relevant practice that fits into the day, not around it.

Here’s how to make practice stick for your team:

• Assign practice that matches real challenges: Use scenario-based exercises that address the specific skills each rep needs to build, so practice feels meaningful.
• Fit development into the day: Encourage reps to complete micro-learning or role-play between calls, making growth a natural part of their routine.
• Track effort and celebrate progress: Notice who’s engaging and improving, and recognize those small wins to keep momentum high.

When practice is personalized and timely, new behaviors become habits, not just ideas that fade after training. This is how teams move from knowing to doing, and from doing to excelling.

Lead Where You Add the Most Value

With AI handling the heavy lifting of analysis and pattern-spotting, leaders finally have the space to focus on what only they can do: inspire change, build trust, and develop real plans to help their teams excel.

Here’s how to maximize your impact:

• Invest in high-impact conversations: Spend less time preparing and more time having meaningful discussions about growth, challenges, and opportunities.
• Personalize your support: Use insights to tailor your coaching, challenging top performers and supporting those who need it most.
• Shape a culture of growth: When leaders consistently prioritize development, teams feel supported, not scrutinized, and growth becomes part of the culture, not just a goal.

Real transformation happens when leaders step out of the weeds and lead the work that truly moves people and performance forward.

Why It Matters: The Tangible Impact of AI on  Sales Performance

This isn’t about piling on more tech. It’s about giving teams what they need to thrive in an era where buyer behavior has already changed.

Today’s customers aren’t short on information; they’re overwhelmed by it. What they really need is a Trusted Partner who helps them filter the noise and focus on what truly matters.

But the real transformation goes deeper than numbers.

Reps in our AI-enabled sales training cohorts are earning:

• 22x more meetings
• 365% increase in engagement with coaching and practice
• 44% average lift in performance across teams

And as a result, Trusted Partners are outselling peers by 105%. 

But the real transformation goes deeper than numbers.  

The best organizations aren’t just tracking metrics. They’re building cultures where feedback is expected, coaching is consistent, and growth is woven into daily routines. Managers become developers, not just inspectors. Reps see learning as part of the job, not a one-off event. Teams move from firefighting to forward momentum.

The gap is already widening between teams that adapt and those that don’t. The difference isn’t just access to AI, but how leaders use it to create belief, not just insight.

AI may be coming for the seller’s old job… but it might also be what helps them thrive in the new one.

Make Growth the New Standard with ASLAN+

If your managers are stretched thin and your reps are eager to improve but stuck without the right support, you’re not alone. Many teams want to build a culture of coaching and growth but lack the time, tools, or structure to make it happen.

That’s why we built ASLAN+.

It’s an AI powered platform that makes coaching easier for managers and development stickier for reps. By embedding guided practice, timely feedback, and actionable insights into the daily workflow, ASLAN+ helps your team grow in the moments that matter most.

If you’re exploring ways to turn coaching into a competitive advantage, learn more about ASLAN+ and see how it helps teams sell like Trusted Partners.