When a sales candidate accepts a job offer, everyone is all smiles. Those smiles can quickly turn to frowns if you are making any of these sales onboarding mistakes.
1. Not having an onboarding program
When salespeople aren’t performing as expected, few trace the issue back to how the salesperson was assimilated into the organization. Yet, that is oftentimes the root cause of the problem.
Keep in mind that the output of an effective hiring process is not a great salesperson, but rather someone with the potential to be great in your organization. Sales onboarding programs help to ensure that potential becomes reality.
2. Not having onboarding objectives
Many executives, once they recognize the prudence of having a sales onboarding program, begin the initiative by creating content. Meetings are held with key stakeholders and the core focus is on the curriculum — what will be put into the program. Content can be created for an eternity and still not prepare the salesperson to sell effectively for the company.
The starting point when launching an onboarding initiative is the finish line — identifying desired outcomes.
Imagine a salesperson is described as having successfully completed your onboarding program. There are now expectations of that person because he is described as having successfully completed the program. What are those expectations? The answers to that question drive the content development process. Curriculum is needed to support each of the salesperson post-onboarding expectations that you identified.
3. Going it alone
In just about every company, daggers are tossed at the salespeople by others in the organization.
- “Why doesn’t he know this?”
- “How come she can’t do that?”
- “Why can’t he use this?”
When identifying expectations, don’t have one person set the portfolio. Engage all of the key stakeholders to get everyone on the same page relative to outcomes. By doing that, it’s easier to get their assistance with creating onboarding content.
4. Having AN onboarding program
This may seem like circular logic given the earlier points. The issue is the word "an” and thinking of onboarding in the singular form.
You may hire someone from within the industry, outside of the industry, just out of school, or transfer an employee to the sales team. Each of these backgrounds requires a unique onboarding experience if the post-onboarding expectations are to be met .The expectations don’t change, but the roadmap that gets them to the finish line needs to vary given their backgrounds.
5. Turning on the fire hose
We would all love for the new salespeople to sell 60 seconds after arriving at the company, but that’s not realistic. Drowning them in content during their first week leads to little knowledge retention and a lot of salesperson frustration.
Keep in mind that they don’t need to know everything immediately upon arrival. Not only ask yourself what they need to master, but also when it needs to be mastered to be effective in the sales role. Set the development pace such that the knowledge and skills are retained so you don’t have to retrain later.
6. Not assessing proficiency
Oftentimes, sales onboarding only includes curriculum. Once the program is completed, the salesperson is sent into the field with the hope that he generates sales (and quickly). There’s an important step missing, which is to assess their knowledge and skill proficiency.
In most companies, the sales onboarding program represents the most training and development that will ever be offered to the salesperson. If the salesperson hasn’t mastered every critical aspect of the role at the conclusion of onboarding, he has a weakness in his selling game. You don’t know there’s a weakness unless you assess proficiency through written exams and simulations. Not only will strengths and weaknesses be identified, but you may even find that you made a bad hire.
7. Not soliciting feedback
Onboarding can always be improved. At the end of onboarding, conduct participant surveys so you get the information you need to continually enhance the programs. When they first complete the program, ask questions to gauge their confidence when performing the role’s functions. After three months, solicit their input again with question focused on recommendations to improve the program for future sales hires.
Avoid these seven mistakes and you are well-positioned to have salespeople who get up to speed fast.