--- title: How To Turbo-Charge Your Sales Coaching With Candor | Rainmaker description: Use a 331 Feedback process to permanently create candor in your sales coaching. Time is precious and candor saves time this is a no-brainer. image: https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Use_a_331_to_create_candor_in_employee_feedback.jpg --- [![](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Use_a_331_to_create_candor_in_employee_feedback.jpg) ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/how-to-turbo-charge-your-sales-coaching-with-candor) # How To Turbo-Charge Your Sales Coaching With Candor Sep 7, 2015 by [Chris Young - The Rainmaker](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/author/chris-young-the-rainmaker) - - - ## The best sales manager I ever had. I would have walked through walls and fire for Steve. When I worked in economic development I had the privilege of working with the best sales manager I ever had. He was seasoned, polished, and expected results.  ![](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Images/Use_a_331_to_create_candor_in_employee_feedback.jpg?width=499&height=344&name=Use_a_331_to_create_candor_in_employee_feedback.jpg) Steve knew how to get the best out of me while softening some of my sharp edges. Two traits I particularly appreciated most about Steve: 1. **He was the real deal.** Steve had "been-there-done-that" and what he didn't know, he would improvise and no one else would know it.  2. **He was candid.** I always knew where I stood with Steve - both good and not-so-good. He provided frequent feedback and never sugar-coated it. ## Candor is difficult. In our world of increasing political correctness where everyone has unlimited potential and everyone is absolutely amazing, candor is difficult.  I believe the huge push on employee engagement is also making otherwise good sales managers fearful of providing candid feedback. Jack Welch best described what the lack of candor does in his powerful book, "[Winning](http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Jack-Welch/dp/0060753943/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441730179&sr=8-1&keywords=winning)".   > *"Lack of candor basically blocks smart ideas, fast action, and good people contributing all the stuff they've got. It's a killer."* Lack of candor is indeed a killer. [![Lack of candor destroys sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/115950/62263a5a-a3dc-454b-ae09-6f39188cc2a6.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/115950/62263a5a-a3dc-454b-ae09-6f39188cc2a6)   ## Why you must have candor in your sales team. As Jack Welch has written, candor gets more people in the conversation and generates speed. The benefits are obvious.  Assuming you have [hired the best salespeople](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/sales-personality-test) in the first place, candor is essential to get the most out of each salesperson.   Maximizing sales is all about speed. The faster you adjust strategy with a particular Prospect or Client, the better you can help them and yourself. The more quickly you help enhance a sales team member adapt their [sales performance](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/the-secret-behind-sales-performance), the better off you will both be. Time is precious and candor saves time. ## 331's bake candor into your sales management through structured feedback loops.  If you "bake" candor into your [sales management](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/the-sales-management-lesson-of-tom-brady) through structured [feedback loops](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/3-feedback-questions-you-need-to-ask-for-employee-coaching), you create a means that cuts through conflict avoidance. The way to do so is to set periodic feedback loops called "331s".  The 331 is a monthly or twice monthly dialogue to create dialogue around the following: - Three things that are going well. - Three things that are not going well. - One thing I need help with. ## Decide. Other than hiring the best salespeople in the first place, this is a no-brainer. Download the template following, customize it to your situation, and get started. [![Download your 331 salesperson feedback and coaching template](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/115950/89c6c8a0-746b-4a2b-8972-b12ebf745977.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/115950/89c6c8a0-746b-4a2b-8972-b12ebf745977)   [Sales Performance](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/tag/sales-performance) ### Recent Posts ![feature image](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Illustration%20of%20competing%20organizational%20priorities%20and%20diverging%20paths%2c%20representing%20Organizational%20DriftTM%2c%20unclear%20direction%2c%20and%20misaligned%20execution.jpg) [ Stop the Drift™ ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/stop-the-drift) Jun 24, 2026 ![feature image](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/iStock-1322139081.jpg) [ Build What Talent Chases™ ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/build-what-talent-chases) Jun 3, 2026 ![feature image](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/organizational-drift-and-structural-misalignment.jpg) [ DRIFT DISCIPLINE ](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/drift-discipline) May 28, 2026 ### Posts by Tag - [Sales Selection (49)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-selection) - [Scaling Up (40)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/scaling-up) - [Sales Management (25)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-management) - [Sales Culture (24)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-culture) - [Sales Performance (20)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-performance) - [Leadership (19)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/leadership) - [Mindset (17)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/mindset) - [Sales Strategy (15)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/sales-strategy) - [Team Effectiveness (15)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/team-effectiveness) - [Rockefeller Habits (7)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/rockefeller-habits) - [Culture (3)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/culture) - [Metronomics (3)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/metronomics) - [Blue Ocean Strategy (1)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/blue-ocean-strategy) - [Employees (1)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/employees) - [Founder Mode (1)](https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/topic/founder-mode) ![](https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=238051740001209&ev=PageView&noscript=1) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Chris Young - The Rainmaker", "url" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/author/chris-young-the-rainmaker" }, "dateModified" : "2022-05-20T18:56:43.545Z", "datePublished" : "2015-09-07T20:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "How To Turbo-Charge Your Sales Coaching With Candor | Rainmaker", "image" : [ "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/Blog_Images/Use_a_331_to_create_candor_in_employee_feedback.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/blog/how-to-turbo-charge-your-sales-coaching-with-candor", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com/hubfs/the-rainmaker-group-logo-top-nav.svg" }, "name" : "The Rainmaker Group" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "The Rainmaker Group", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/TheRainmakerGroup", "https://www.twitter.com/therainmaker", "https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rainmaker-group-inc.", "https://plus.google.com/+Therainmakergroupinc" ], "url" : "https://www.therainmakergroupinc.com" } ```