The hiring process isn’t complete with adding new sales reps to the sales team. Sales leaders should create a sales onboarding process that fully prepares new hires for their new position.

Developing a standardized onboarding process should accomplish the following goals:

• Welcome new sales reps to the sales team
• Train newly hired sales reps in your sales process and sales tools
• Engage new hires and get them started on their sales cycle

When a company values sales training they will give attention to everything new sales hires need to immediately ramp up as a new team member.

Why Does Sales Onboarding for New Sales Reps Matter?

Sales leaders want to support their company’s mission of giving employees – including sales team members – what they need to do jobs.

They are also concerned with the impact that their actions have on the bottom line of their sales organization.

An effective sales onboarding process will support a sales manager in accomplishing these goals.

Sales onboarding may take many forms. An effective onboarding process should be personalized to the sales role and be supported by the entire sales team.

Consider some of the specific information that sales onboarding covers. These things will help new sales reps as they begin the selling process.

• Introductions to many sales peers and the sales management team
• Your company’s sales process overview
• Reminders about company values and codes of conduct
• Product or service training
• Target market analysis
• Training in company technology or sales tools
• Mentoring from experienced sales reps
• Regular feedback for continued sales effort

Benefits of a Sales Onboarding Program

Here are four major benefits of developing and maintaining a sales onboarding process for new reps that join your sales team.

Sales Onboarding Creates Employee Engagement

Having a well-designed sales onboarding plan shows new reps that the company values their contribution as sales team members.

A new sales rep can feel a bit lost. Having the opportunity to communicate with other members of the sales teams and learn from them can have a stabilizing effect.

It creates connections within the sales department that will serve a new hire well into the future as they collaborate and cooperate with their co-workers.

A Formal Onboarding Process Increases Sales Rep Confidence

New sales professionals have a lot to learn about your sales process. Most new sales reps are painfully aware of this fact.

A sales manager can provide helpful support through the onboarding process as a new sales rep acclimates to their new surroundings.

An effective onboarding program will help new hires to feel as if they have the tools to address potential customer objections. They will possess the sales tools needed to convert the prospect to a qualified lead.

Good Sales Onboarding Programs Improve the Company’s Reputation

A sales organization is constantly fighting to attract and keep the best salespeople in a competitive industry.

An employee who feels supported and receives adequate sales training will gain confidence to perform their duties.

They will also be more likely to speak well of your company to their peers, customers, and prospects.

This positive viewpoint can have a great influence on the morale of the entire team, customer retention, and sales throughput.

Sales Onboarding Reduces the Ramp-Up

Sales managers can provide immediate access to sales training for new hires that will help them reach a level where they are ready to sell.

When new team members are further supported by an ongoing system of sales onboarding, it leads to greater employee engagement that drives success.

Sales Onboarding Best Practices and Training Materials

Take a look at some of the best practices that sales managers can follow to provide the best sales onboarding program to their new employees.

This includes an overview of the topics and materials that will get new reps on sales calls quickly.

Highlight the Company and the Sales Team

Sales leaders should take time to focus on an overview of the company. Think about what defines your company and relate that to new sales reps.

The company overview may include details about its leadership, products, and history. Regardless of the specifics, provide what a sales rep needs to differentiate your company from the pack.

This will help the new hire understand the value your business brings and help them speak to your company’s strengths on sales calls.

Don’t forget to push a team-focused outlook. Your new sales staff should have the goal of helping customers build a relationship with the company, not just with the sales rep.

Involve the entire sales department in the onboarding process to begin developing this mentality right away.

Encourage more seasoned team members to interact with new hires to build up team-centric thinking.

Build a Brand

Every new hire that joins your team should be speaking the same message. This doesn’t mean that you are trying to create an army of clones. But your company’s message should be consistently spoken.

Your company has a method of operating that works. New reps should not disrupt that flow. Instead, they should learn it and apply it to the way they work.

You may call it company brand, culture, or even your vibe. Whatever you name it, a business has a way of handling customer relations, communicating with leads, and interacting with internal employees.

Some of these concepts can be communicated to new sales reps through a solid mission statement.

This is your company’s “why”. It is what drives you. Let your fundamental statement shine through to new hires so they can adopt the same message and form one piece of the cohesive whole.

Teach Your Sales Processes

Even experienced sales reps that are new to your company need to understand your specific sales process.

An onboarding program can help address this through workshops and mock sales calls with a team member adopting common buyer personas.

Another useful training resource is a sales process flowchart that visually represents the sales cycle the new employee will follow as they sell.

Introduce Your Sales Tool Options

If sales reps don’t understand how to use the sales tools you have available, such as your CRM, analytics platforms, collaboration toolsets, and sales enablement software, they won’t use them appropriately.

Make sure to include a thorough review of sales tools at their disposal and give training where gaps in knowledge exist.

Support Prospecting

Prospecting for new leads is often a large part of a sales job. The onboarding plan should assist sales reps with starting and maintaining sales conversations.

This may involve a script, or at least notes, on how to make effective calls. Sales agents will appreciate any tools that will help them catch up to the rest of the sales team quickly.

Provide Product Knowledge

Sales onboarding training will review the benefits of your products or services and allow new sales reps to sell them to customers.

New reps will get questions about products. Sales managers want them to be able to answer with authority to build trust with the potential client.

Have the latest product knowledge available as part of the onboarding program so that specifications can be studied. Also, highlight key differences from competitors’ products.

Use Sales Onboarding Software

Sales onboarding personnel may benefit from using a software package that specializes in sales onboarding.

Some systems may provide sales assessment testing and competency checks. Video content that allows the consumption of new concepts in small chunks may prove useful.

Create a systematic process so that the onboarding process remains fresh and content doesn’t become stagnant.

Sales talent will find the most value in the learning process if the principles taught apply to the current market and company objectives.

Conclusion

Your sales onboarding process is an important part of the hiring process. Decisions made at this juncture can mean the success or failure of new hires.

New reps are like fish out of water when they first begin with your company. Use sales onboarding tools to equip them with what they need to reach their goals.

• Show you value a new employee by providing them with well-designed training.
• Improve new hires’ confidence by giving them the tools they need to get selling.
• Give competent onboarding to improve your company’s reputation in the eyes of new sales reps.
• Ramp up the speed with which new reps become qualified to stand on their own.

When you do these things, you will find your sales onboarding program becomes truly effective and leads to better success for both new sales reps and the entire company.