decision makers, participating in first meetings, converting prospects to opportunities, writing proposals, and, finally, closing. Onboarding is not finished until
new reps have achieved complete proficiency in all components of all areas. For more complex professional sales, that typically takes 15 months. If you hire an experienced rep who has worked in your market, you might save some time. On the other hand, some new reps require 18 months to reach full proficiency. The expert em- phasizes that you must be prepared to stay at it for a while to thoroughly onboard a new hire. And new hires also must be com-
mitted. Although it may include taking classes, onboarding is not training, he says. Each new rep should be given a very detailed list of the proficiencies that must be attained, and then it is the new rep’s responsi- bility to attain them – asking for help from managers or others if necessary. Thorough onboarding is methodical and sequential. A good onboarding program sets specific quarterly goals in each major area of proficiency. The expert emphasizes skills, knowledge, and activities early in the process, then ramps up the push to reach sales goals only later. “We don’t expect [new reps] to close in the first three months,” he says. Lucky breaks, such as a big sale closed early in the onboarding pro- cess, can actually be damaging; they may mislead a young rep into think- ing he or she has learned everything necessary to achieve such results regularly. Because new reps are often so eager, prospects rarely mistake them for sales veterans, even after a big sale. But if the lucky new rep has not learned, for example, how to prepare a winning proposal for a complex sale, it will be difficult for the new rep to replicate these results over the long term. Proficiency does not mean mastery of sales or even that the rep is now a “mature” salesperson. For example, if your best reps sell $5 million an-
nually, and your average veteran sells $2 million per year, the new rep may sell only $750,000 in the year to achieve proficient status. Yet this rep is fully on board when you know he or she can grow into a steady per- former, even if it will take him or her another year or two to hit your sales veterans’ numbers. Onboard your new reps patiently
and thoroughly, and you will have solid performers – or at least reps thoroughly capable of solid perfor- mance. And that makes the last steps of the process – ongoing manage- ment and retention – highly feasible and much easier.
VIDEO:
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A man without ambition is worse than dough that has no yeast in it
to raise it. HENRY WARD BEECHER
VIDEO:
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