Salespeople are expensive. Their salaries and benefits packages are hefty investments that can weigh on the company. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) estimates that in the United States, the annual expenditure on sales training is $15 billion.
Obviously, businesses are spending this sum because they want to end up with a strong return on their investment, and with new, lucrative accounts as fast as possible.
But there are problems getting to that goal: Brainshark’s Molly Buccini states that “Three out of five sales reps don’t ramp up for at least seven months.” And this lag is costly for companies to absorb.
That’s why businesses striving to shorten the training process for new hires in the new year can realize greater rewards by putting proven strategies in place to train their B2B hires. Here are seven B2B sales onboarding tactics you should implement now.
1. Roll out your company’s culture information early.
Immersion in company culture should begin even before the start date. Hiring managers should share information about the culture as early in the process as possible, or risk investing in a salesperson who might clash with the team, leading to employee turnover.
A new sales rep’s understanding of your company’s hierarchy, expected behavior and each department’s role will play a part in whether he or she is successful.
2. Create a solid, comprehensive training guide
Haphazard training — done only when hiring managers have a few extra minutes — is a surefire way to set yourself up for failure. Rather, it’s essential to set up a scheduled time line for a new sales rep’s training, and stick to it.
Incorporate sales training, product knowledge, role-playing and information about inner company processes. Make certain the new hire knows who does what in the organization, what is expected of him or her and whom to reach out to for questions.
3. Digitize your new hires’ onboarding experience.
Nothing drains enthusiasm more than a mountain of boring paperwork. Instead of weighing down a new hire…