The Importance of Holistic Sales Rep Onboarding

Hiring a sales representative, particularly for an early-stage or small organization, is one of the most consequential hires a company can make. An effective hire can positively alter a company’s trajectory, while a misfire can have severe consequences. While companies are often thorough and cautious in the hiring phase, many of the same can be overly cavalier when it comes to the critical task of onboarding. Whether it is in terms of time, content, or financial investment, negligence and frugality can prevent even the best new hires from reaching their potential. It is thus critical to develop a robust and holistic program-and hold leaders accountable to ensure that it is implemented.

Common Mishaps to Avoid

Particularly when companies hire sales reps that come to a role with significant prior experience at other companies, sales leaders have a tendency to wishfully think that the new hire can “hit the ground running” with limited guidance. “Throwing them to the wolves” or “sink or swim” approaches not only decrease the likelihood that the rep will succeed, they can also hurt morale by making new hires feel like their company is not investing in their success.

Others conflate product training with comprehensive job training. In an environment where sellers need to be customer problem-solvers and not merely pushers of features and benefits, an onboarding process that focuses solely or primarily on product education can set reps up for failure and damage their reputation with prospects or clients who are being introduced to them for the first time.

Another common mistake sales and enablement leaders make is a “fixed period” approach to onboarding, meaning that they may have a standard time period for a program (commonly thirty to ninety days), after which there is little to no reinforcement or ongoing coaching. While reps may learn the fundamentals during an initial program, once they “go live” with customers they will inevitably make mistakes. It is therefore important that sales leaders actively participate in and review a new rep’s customer meetings while creating a culture of continuous improvement.

Finally, a company needs to accept its limitations and look to outside support where appropriate. While investing in formal third-party sales training or coaching can often have the greatest impact, lower-cost methods such as reading quality sales books, listening to podcasts, and following leading voices in the sales effectiveness industry can also make a real difference in one’s development.

The Key Components of a Comprehensive Onboarding Program

We’ve established that product-only training is insufficient, but what else needs to be incorporated? When developing a sales rep onboarding program, it’s important to include the following components:

Product, Industry, Mindset, Skills (P.I.M.S.)

• Product: Is the rep provided sufficient knowledge of the product or service they are offering to effectively communicate how it addresses customer needs? Yes, an adequate knowledge of specific product features is also important, but it’s not what potential customers care most about. It’s thus critical that reps understand the challenges their product or service addresses-both at the company and persona levels-and are given access to case studies involving relevant success stories.
• Industry: Does the rep have a solid understanding of their own industry and competitive environment, as well as the industry or industries to which they are selling? Reps need to develop a thorough knowledge of direct and indirect competitors and their respective advantages and disadvantages. They also need to understand how the applications and value proposition of their products or services may vary depending on the end-users’ industry or role. For example, their company may be a leader in serving financial services customers but have limited applications for consumer goods companies.
• Mindset: Is the rep motivated to put in the work required to overcome obstacles and create their own success? Do they prioritize the customer and building long-term relationships over the “quick win”? Are they willing to help their teammates succeed? Do they feel that the company and their direct manager are invested in their success? It is important for reps to have both a realistic view of the challenges they will inevitably face and feel empowered to overcome them.
• Skills: Does the rep have the capabilities to engage with prospects, conduct effective discovery, build value, and advance the sales process when a strong business case has been established? Even the most thorough interview processes will not uncover all of their strengths and areas for improvement. Acknowledging that each new hire’s development needs are unique, conducting a post-hire assessment and tailoring onboarding accordingly is critical.

Effective Onboarding is a Team Sport

Sales managers and enablement leaders need to realize that it takes a village to ensure that new reps succeed. Involving product managers, sales engineers, marketing leaders, and others in the process can make a real difference. Additionally, assigning a successful tenured sales rep as a mentor for a new hire can also be effective, however that person needs to receive something for their effort, such as a financial reward tied to a new hire’s early success or recognition that successful mentoring can lead to career progression for them.

Ensuring that no components are overlooked and multiple departments are involved will go a long way to helping your organization optimize its investment in one of its most critical assets. Thorough onboarding not only leads to better rep performance, it also reduces attrition and improves the reputation of a company as an employer. Investing early and on an ongoing basis will pay dividends.