Brainshark to Present New Sales Onboarding Strategies at Gartner Sales & Marketing Conference 2018

By STS News Desk On Sep 17, 2018

Taking a Page from Software Development Playbook, an ‘Agile’ Approach to Sales Onboarding Gets New Reps Ramped up Faster and Better

Brainshark, Inc., delivering SaaS-based sales enablement and readiness solutions, will present new approaches and insights to improve sales onboarding at the Gartner Sales & Marketing Conference 2018, Oct. 9-11, at the ARIA Las Vegas. More than 1,000 sales and marketing leaders will attend the event – focused on helping B2B professionals maximize their sales talent, overcome sales productivity and competitive challenges, and improve their sales enablement initiatives.

Among the salient obstacles sales organizations face today is how to get new reps ready – and keep them ready – to sell. The status quo isn’t working. In fact, for more than 60 percent of firms, sales onboarding programs are not meeting management expectations, according to the Sales Management Association.

Brainshark’s chief readiness officer, Jim Ninivaggi, will present a new methodology to help companies structure sales onboarding programs that foster knowledge retention, and improve reps’ time-to-productivity and results. Session details include:

Title: “The Agile Sales Onboarding Methodology: An Introduction”

When: Oct. 9, from 11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. PDT

Highlights: Whether they’re blasted by the proverbial fire hose at boot camp, or learning as they go, sellers often get rushed into the field before they’re truly ready to sell – resulting in lost deals, damage to the brand, and frustration for both buyers and sellers. Ninivaggi will describe a fresh and effective approach, which he recently detailed in a Forbesarticle. Borrowing from agile software development principles (no coding involved!), sales organizations can create onboarding programs that are flexible and responsive, and enable reps to achieve key milestones quickly – so they’re ready to close more deals. Ninivaggi will also discuss how technology can help power and measure the agile onboarding process.

“Sales onboarding is typically the top priority for any sales enablement leader – but for far too long, the programs haven’t driven the desired results,” Ninivaggi said. “It’s time for a change, and there are terrific parallels between what works in software development and in sales onboarding. With agile sales onboarding, reps develop skills – mapped chronologically to key activities – and companies can measure what matters. The result is a better-trained sales force that’s maximally prepared to capitalize on all buyer interactions.”