{"id":279,"date":"2019-04-04T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-04T09:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/Maestro\/maestro2018\/admin\/?p=279"},"modified":"2023-04-12T18:16:54","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T18:16:54","slug":"3-steps-to-building-a-killer-sales-onboarding-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maestrolearning.com\/blogs\/3-steps-to-building-a-killer-sales-onboarding-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Simple Steps to Boost the Impact of Sales Onboarding"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re in sales management, you probably know quite a bit about onboarding. After all, replacing a sales rep carries a hefty price tag of around $115,000. This makes ironing out your hiring and onboarding pretty important, because $115,000 adds up really fast, especially when you\u2019re hiring one new rep after the other.<\/p>\n

But it doesn\u2019t have to be this way. With the right planning, you can create onboarding that boosts new hire productivity and decreases ramp times.<\/p>\n

Finding the right focus<\/h2>\n

Before we get started, let\u2019s take a step back and make a quick clarification. We\u2019re talking about onboarding\u00a0new<\/em>\u00a0employees \u2014 not product training.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s often tempting to focus on product training first. After all, sales reps need to know about the products before they can start selling. But skipping over onboarding for processes, company culture, and employee responsibility is a dangerous way to introduce confusion to your ranks.<\/p>\n

And\u00a0when employees are confused, they lose motivation<\/a>\u00a0and selling confidence. This leads to dissatisfaction and increased employee turnover costs. To get out of this dangerous cycle, let\u2019s get started by laying out three essential building blocks for your own onboarding plan.<\/p>\n

1. Set onboarding goals and expectations<\/h2>\n

Your all-important first step is to define the goals of your onboarding program. Why? Because everyone needs a plan. Find the key stakeholders for the onboarding and discover their expectations. Talk to senior reps and find out what they missed during onboarding. Always keep asking questions.<\/p>\n

What do you want new employees to know when they\u2019re getting onboarded? What key facts and processes will give them the motivation and knowledge they need to work confidently with others on their team?<\/p>\n

Find these goals and work them into your onboarding program. This gives your new reps a roadmap for what\u2019s ahead. It gives them goals, a vision, and a mission. They\u2019re not walking into a fog \u2014 they\u2019re following clear road signs with clear expectations. This gets your reps all on the same page and eliminates confusion and uncertainty.<\/p>\n

2. Develop your onboarding strategy<\/h2>\n

Three strategic pieces \u2014 content, structure, and measurement \u2014 make up this second building block and are necessary for all onboarding programs.<\/p>\n

Content<\/h3>\n

Think of content as the “what” of onboarding. In other words, this is everything that needs to be accomplished for onboarding to be successful. Embedded into the content are the nuts and bolts of the onboarding process, including:<\/p>\n