Sales onboarding: don't make these mistakes

How can you boost your sales team's top performance?

In the automotive world, the time it takes to reach top speed varies greatly by model. A similar principle applies to sales teams. According to research by the Rain Group, it takes an average of 15 months for a salesperson to achieve top-performer status. This raises an intriguing question: how long does the average salesperson actually stay with a company? Unfortunately, in many cases, far too short a time.

This dynamic underscores the importance of effective onboarding processes and strategies, and it is essential not to linger too long in the experimental stage. One of the most effective ways to do this is by documenting best practices in the form of a playbook. This is relevant for any IT organization, but becomes crucial when hiring your first salesperson.

From my personal experience, I've learned a few hard lessons that I'd like to share with you:

1. Hiring a salesperson too quickly

Before you take the step of hiring a salesperson, make sure you’ve developed a solid sales process yourself. Research shows that salespeople actually spend only 32% of their time selling. It’s unrealistic to expect a new salesperson to put in the same number of hours to make up for inefficient processes.

2. Focusing on the wrong KPI

It’s essential to give your salespeople the freedom and trust they need to excel, but it’s also important to have realistic expectations. Salespeople are hired for their proactive attitude. During the first three months, don’t evaluate them based on results, but rather on activities such as how often they make calls, send emails, and post messages.

3. The Wrong Decision

It can be tempting to hire a salesperson first because you’re too busy. But take a moment to consider exactly what you’re busy with. Is it marketing or sales? In many cases, hiring a marketer to help with branding, positioning, and generating demand is a better first step. This gives you the freedom to focus on sales.

The Power of a Playbook

Creating a playbook isn’t just a way to document best practices; it also serves as an essential guide for new salespeople to get up to speed quickly and effectively. This document should focus not only on lead generation but also on integrating sales and marketing activities to present a cohesive message to the outside world.

In Conclusion

The lessons shared here offer valuable insights into optimizing sales processes and maximizing the effectiveness of new salespeople. By applying these principles, organizations can help their sales teams reach their “top speed” more quickly while increasing the impact and efficiency of their sales efforts.