Have you ever thought of the difference between an employee who is onboarded and an employee who is warmly welcomed? Sales onboarding can be a tricky process. It’s something that needs to be planned out carefully and executed appropriately.
So exactly what is sales onboarding? Sales onboarding is a systematic process designed to welcome, train, and engage new sellers into an organization.
Here are seven sales onboarding strategies you should adopt immediately to help your team hit the ground running and avoid costly churn.
Sales Onboarding Strategies For Team Leads
1. Create a structured onboarding program
As a team lead, one of the first things you must do is create a structured sales onboarding program. Whether a formalized program or an informal process, you must have a clear path for how your team members will be brought up to speed. That’s because onboarding is crucial for new hires to become successful in their roles and hit the ground running.
2. Give new hires a stake in the game
New hires want to be a part of the team and feel like they’re contributing from the get-go. You can help them do that by giving their onboarding a purpose.
Along with giving new hires a stake in the game, you can also ensure they’re not just sitting around and waiting for the right time to jump in. To do this, you should assign them a specific project.
3. Teach your team how to gain valuable Relationships
As a sales rep, you know how important it is to build relationships with your customers and prospects. This is why you’re in the game in the first place.
However, it’s not something that comes naturally to everyone. That’s why onboarding your sales reps on how to build valuable relationships is crucial.
4. Train your team on their selling platform of choice
Depending on your selling platform, you might want to do some training on that specific platform. Most companies use one of these three selling platforms:
- Inbound Sales – If you have a SaaS product or service, you can use inbound sales to get your customers to reach out to you.
- Sales Ready – If you have a B2B product or service, you can use sales ready to help your team members identify the right prospect and build a relationship with them.
- Salesforce – If you use the Salesforce CRM, you can use the app portion of that platform to onboard your team members.
5. Go over your company’s sales best practices
You might have developed best sales practices depending on how long your company has been in business. If you have, it’s important to share these with your team members early on. These sales best practices help your team members deliver better results.
6. Review your company’s key metrics
As a team lead, you should review your company’s key metrics. This includes things like your quota, conversion rates, and win rates. You should also determine who is responsible for meeting them. This will give your team members a clear idea of what is expected of them.
7. Show your team how to use the tools that matter most
Depending on the type of sales you’re in, specific tools may be essential to your success. For example, if you’re in a B2B sales environment, you’ll want to ensure your team members use a CRM.
Summing up
It’s important to note that onboarding is not just a one-time event. It’s something that needs to be done continuously. As a team lead, you should review your onboarding process with your team members as soon as they start.
