10 years ago
January 5, 2015

3 Ways to Get Your New Sales Rep Selling Immediately‏

When your recruiting process is oriented to attract and hire the best qualified candidates you want each new sales rep to start selling immediately.

Rhys Metler

get your new sales rep selling immediatelyWhether your organization hires a new sales rep once a year, once a quarter, or even more frequently, you want each new sales rep to start selling immediately. When your recruiting process is oriented to attract and hire the best qualified candidates, the next challenge becomes equipping the hires you make to succeed in the field in the minimum amount of time possible. Here are three ways that you can make that happen. 

Help Your New Sales Rep to a Quick Success

Too many sales training programs focus on training new sales reps to succeed on paper rather than in person. Although you do want to be confident that your new sales rep understands your organization’s processes and products before putting him or her in the field, don’t make the mistake of keeping your new sales rep in the office for too long. The inertia bred by studying your training materials may stymie initial sales efforts, preventing the sales rep from selling immediately. Keep your new sales rep in the right mindset by: 

  • Pairing your new sales rep with yourself or an experienced sales rep for initial client contacts
  • Creating an initial scaled quota that provides a challenge without being overwhelming
  • Allowing your new sales rep to experience an early success by throwing him or her a hot lead 

Success cultivates success; the productivity gain from an initial sale could have your new sales rep selling immediately if you permit him or her the opportunity. Pair real world, in the field experiences with your new sales rep training program to see results. 

Have Your New Sales Rep Set His or Her Own Goals 

Sales reps at any level tend to perform better and reach self-set goals more often than goals that are set for them. This type of intrinsic motivation can be valuable to your organization, but only if you actively encourage the process with new sales reps as well as established sales reps. Once your new sales rep understands your organization and its goals, ask him or her to set a series of personal sales goals and share them with you. These could include:

  • 30-, 60-, and 90-day cumulative sales goals
  • Targets for prospecting and lead generation
  • Targets for up- and cross-selling, as well as targets specific to base offerings 

When your new sales rep shares his or her goals, set a meeting to discuss what you like about the plan for success and what you would like to see the new sales rep try to do better. Aligning these two visions will help your new sales rep see what it takes to impress you and will be inspired to start selling immediately. 

Treat Your New Sales Rep Like a Top Performer

Your top sales reps receive frequent pats on the back and unerring support from you. Encourage your new sales rep to start selling immediately by treating him or her the same way. No sales rep with the potential to become a top performer wants to disappoint a sales manager, and putting your support behind your new sales rep is an important step in setting the expectations for success. Moreover, your new sales rep will respect you as a coach and mentor if you are supporting him or her from the outset, which makes reaching future sales goals that much easier.

Your program for on-boarding a new sales rep should be designed around giving new sales reps the knowledge base needed to start selling immediately. Remember that the initial on-boarding program sets the tone for your new sales rep’s future with your organization and it will be easier for you to focus on the fundamentals of new sales rep training in order to encourage instant results.

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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