Here’s a deep dive into the best practices for sales onboarding, using a mix of tech-driven tools, training modules, and mentorship programs to get new Sales hires performing at their best in the shortest time.
“Outstanding people have one thing in common: an absolute sense of mission.” And salespeople are often titled outstanding because they move out with a mission to close a deal.
But when is the right time to feed the right mission and objectives into the minds of your sales teams? The best time is when you onboard a new sales trainee. And to ensure that every sales trainee gets the right training, you must improvise your sales onboarding process.
So, how does an effective and robust sales onboarding process look? Let’s dive in here.
Components of an exceptional sales onboarding
Are you still relying on the traditional methods of sales onboarding? If so, it is time to bring a transformation to your sales onboarding strategy. The modern onboarding process consists of a blend of tech-enabled tools, structured training modules, and dedicated mentorship programs to accelerate the performance of the new hires. An effective sales onboarding ensures that your sales team hits the ground running and contributes meaningfully to the sales goals.
Here are the key components of your next sales onboarding process:
1. Pre-onboarding Phase
It is the foundational step in sales onboarding aimed at preparing new hires and trainees for success before they kickstart their first official day. The phase involves preparing essential documents, setting up workstations, and making sure that new employees have access to all the necessary tools.
2. Initial Orientation
The next step in a dynamic sales onboarding process is the orientation marking the first official day of onboarding. During this stage, the new hires are introduced to the company’s culture, values, and long-term goals.
Here, the new hires get an opportunity to meet the prominent company leaders and stakeholders, they may get a tour of the company premises, and shall be given an idea of how the sales team operates.
3. Core training modules
Training modules are completed in two phases: product training and sales tools training. Product training is one of the most essential components of sales onboarding. In this stage, the new hires fully understand the product or service they will be selling, including the features, benefits, unique selling points, and competitive landscape.
The new hires must be well-versed with the sales tools used in the organization. The phase involves familiarizing reps with CRM systems like Salesforce or HubSpot or other sales enablement tools that streamline tasks like prospecting, etc.
4. Mentorship and shadowing
Every new hire in your sales team will require a seasoned sales representative to guide him or her through everything. The experienced salesperson will act as a mentor to offer the new hire guidance and support throughout the onboarding and initial months of work. The mentor answers questions and offers real-time feedback to the trainee.
Going further, you can also plan shadowing sessions of the mentor’s sales calls to observe effective techniques and customer interactions.
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5. Tech-driven learning
Sales onboarding is no longer a monotonous and unstructured process. With the advent of smart tools, new hires look forward to tech-driven learning.
To achieve this, you should create a centralized platform for delivering training modules, assessments, and knowledge checks. Every individual is unique, and thus, you should design personalized learning paths for each trainee attending the sales onboarding. Another idea is to incorporate gamification, such as leaderboards and points, etc., to foster motivation and enhance engagement in training exercises.
6. Performance tracking and coaching
Finally, the performance of each trainee during the sales onboarding and afterwards should be tracked, followed by a healthy loop of feedback. You can utilize sales dashboards and reporting tools to monitor key performance indicators. These trainees require one-on-one coaching sessions with mentors and managers to improvise and fill performance gaps.
Why do we need a well-structured sales onboarding process?
A well-structured sales onboarding process is crucial because it sets a detailed background for a new sales representative. The process provides necessary knowledge, skills, and confidence to contribute as a productive member of the sales team.
Key benefits of a structured sales onboarding process are:
- Well-trained sales trainees can start contributing to the sales process sooner as they learn the company process, policies, product details, and other information during the onboarding process.
- Offering proper training and guidance will help your new sales reps to close more deals.
- A well-structured training program offers proper guidance to your sales reps. They get happy and happier; reps are likely to stay with your firm for a longer time.
- Properly trained sales reps are more likely to understand customer needs and build rapport with them.
Wrapping Up
A detailed, well-structured, engaging, and personalized onboarding program not only boosts productivity but also improves job satisfaction, increases revenues, and increases employee retention. Following the best practices of sales onboarding, you can ensure that the entire process turns out to be an investment offering returns for a longer time.
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