So many companies make the mistake believing that sales recruitment ends the moment a new sales rep commits to coming onboard.
The process of “Onboarding” is critical and, when done right, protects your hiring investment by getting your new sales talent performing at his/her best.
90% of employees make their decision to stay with a company within their 1st year. Companies need to leverage on-boarding as a way to drive key business objectives such as growth, engagement, and retention.
Common Challenges
- No plan or process
- Logistical issues
- No Orientation
- No process checkpoints
- No Follow-up
Onboarding Best Practices
- Implement the basics prior to the first day on the job.
- (83 % of Best in Class companies start on-boarding prior to day 1 by welcoming new hires warmly and tackling administrative matters in advance)
- Make the first day on the job special.
- Develop a written onboarding plan.
Key areas:
- Company & Product- Service Knowledge.
- Knowledge of the Sales Role: Activities – Process – Resources
- Customer – Buyer Knowledge
- Tools and Systems related knowledge and capability
- Make onboarding participatory.
- Be sure your program is consistently implemented.
- Ensure that the program is monitored over time.
- Use technology to facilitate the process.
- Use milestones, such as 30, 60, 90 and 120 days on the job—and up to one-year post- organizational entry—to check in on employee progress.
- Engage stakeholders in planning.
- Include key stakeholder meetings as part of the program.
- Be crystal clear with new employees in terms of: Objectives – Timelines – Roles – Responsibilities
As businesses begin to grow their sales teams, there are a number of key steps they can take to help accelerate ramp-up times and reduce turnover. These include making sure their companies are sales ready, hiring sales people who fit their success profile, developing a comprehensive training program, providing ongoing sales coaching, assigning well-matched mentors, and measuring and monitoring sales activity levels. By creating this framework, business owners can confidently scale their sales organizations and more rapidly realize a return on their investment.