9 years ago
January 7, 2015

On-Boarding and Training Your New Sales Rep

This blog is an excerpt from a SalesForce Search whitepaper, “On-Boarding and Training Your New Sales Rep”. We hope that you find the information her

Rhys Metler

OnboardingThis blog is an excerpt from a SalesForce Search whitepaper, “On-Boarding and Training Your New Sales Rep”. We hope that you find the information here valuable. A link to download the full whitepaper can be found at the bottom of this post.

You’ve recruited and hired a great sales person. You’ve spent a lot of time, money and resources to find this person. Now what? How can you ensure that they will hit their sales targets quickly and stay with your company for years to come?

A common mistake is to hire a sales person and hope they have contacts that can bring in sales. Often companies will ask the sales person how big their “Rolodex” is as an interview question. There are a few problems with this as a question to screen for a great sales person. Firstly, any sales person who has a Rolodex, might be a bit behind the times. Secondly, the reality is that even experienced, well connected sales people need help from their company to be successful.

From our experience, there are 3 main things a new sales person (regardless of experience) needs in order to be on-boarded properly. By having these 3 things in place, it will help the new hire ramp up quickly and help them hit their sales targets. They are:

  • An On-Boarding Process
  • A good sales manager
  • Sales Coaching & Training

On-boarding process – On-boarding is the process by which your company will hire, train, and bring a new hire into the culture of your organization. In our experience, the better the on-boarding process, the better the chances of not only the person performing but the chances that they will stay with your organization. Think about your first day in your current job. Were your company organized? Were your desk, phone and business cards ready? Did you learn about the values and culture of the organization? How did other employees greet you or interact with you?

A new employee’s first few weeks can shape his attitudes and behaviours towards the organization for a long time. Therefore it is important for companies to be organized and have a defined process for how all new employees are on-boarded. Ask yourself these questions before you start designing your process:

  • What does their first day, week, month look like?
  • What are the expectations for this role? Clearly articulate them.
  • What is important for them to know about the company, their role and when do they need to know it?
  • Who is responsible for teaching them about the company, products and services?
  • What kind of support is available through other employees, management or direct reports?
  • What type of training will be done and when will it be done? 

Like what you’ve read? Download the full whitepaper here!

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

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