Intake Teams Need Coaching, Not Pressure

 

Watch the full episode above or listen here →

  

 

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Telling your intake team to “do better” isn’t training.

It’s pressure.

And pressure without specific feedback, real examples, and actual coaching doesn’t necessarily improve performance. In fact, it can create exactly the kind of intake culture you don’t want.

Gary saw this firsthand while visiting a law firm where the feedback coming from leadership sounded like this:

Why would we sign this case?
How did we lose this case?
Where is the follow-up on this case?
What was missing?

Positive reinforcement. Specific coaching. Examples of what good performance actually looked like.

And as Gary explains in this episode of The Intake Playbook Podcast, when people feel like they’re constantly being criticized, they don’t necessarily get better.

They get better at hiding mistakes or looking for better opportunities.

Your Intake Team Needs Coaching, Not Criticism

Your intake team—or, as Gary puts it, your sales team—is handling incredibly important conversations every day.

They need consistent coaching.

But there’s a big difference between coaching and criticism.

Good feedback is:
🔹 Specific
🔹 Timely
🔹 Connected to actual calls and conversations
🔹 Clear about what went right and what went wrong

“Do better” doesn’t give someone anything to work with.

Showing someone the exact moment in a call where they lost control of the conversation—and then coaching them through a better approach—does.

Build a Better Feedback Loop

If you want better intake performance, create a system that makes performance visible.

Review calls regularly.
Identify specific behaviors.
Talk through what could have been handled differently.
And don’t only review mistakes.

When an intake specialist handles a difficult objection well, communicates effectively, or executes the process exactly the way you want, surface that too.

Your team needs examples of what good looks like just as much as they need to understand what went wrong.

Use Data to Coach, Not Punish

Visibility shouldn’t make your intake team afraid.

It should help them improve.

That’s the difference between a healthy intake culture and one where employees start hiding mistakes because they’re afraid of what happens when leadership finds them.

Your data, calls, and performance reviews should create opportunities for coaching—not punishment.

Turn On the Lights

If you want a stronger intake department, don’t simply increase the pressure.

Give your team visibility.
Give them examples.
Give them timely, specific feedback.

Recognize the wins.
And give them real coaching.

As Gary says:
Don’t turn up the pressure. Turn on the lights.

Watch or listen to the full episode above.