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When it comes to sales onboarding, one size doesn’t fit all. Whether you’re onboarding a:
- Sales Development Representative (SDR): Who makes first contact with leads and qualifies them for the Account Executive.
- Account Executive (AE): Responsible for closing deals
- Account Manager (AM): Focused on client relationships and upselling.
Each profile demands a tailored approach to ensure success. For SDRs, for instance, it’s all about mastering their script and product knowledge.
In this article, we’ll focus mainly on Account Executives and Managers as it’s more interesting to analyze. We’ll dissect the components of an effective sales onboarding, uncover the key benefits of a well-structured program, and reveal how to properly design one.
What is Sales Onboarding?
Sales onboarding is more than just a training period; it’s about mastering internal processes and product knowledge.
This includes understanding the tools used like the intricacies of a company’s CRM, deal management software, note-taking tool, etc.
The goal is to ensure that whichever salesperson is handling the deal, the process remains consistent, allowing for seamless transitions.
Expert Tip 🧠
Basically, this is where the salesperson must become intimately familiar with the product they are selling, especially Account Executives who are responsible for closing deals.
They should know the product inside and out, its benefits, and even the target personas. This knowledge ensures they can effectively communicate the product’s value to the lead.
Another part of sales onboarding is field training, where the salesperson is exposed to real customer interactions.
This is where the biggest unknowns lie, as it’s the moment when their true abilities, attitude, and adaptability shine through, especially for junior profiles.
Why is Sales Onboarding important?
The primary benefit of sales onboarding is ensuring uniformity in the sales process.
Again, regardless of whoever handles a sale, the customer’s experience should be consistent. This uniformity stems from a well-structured onboarding process that covers everything from sales techniques to product knowledge.
However, it’s not just about uniformity; think about sales onboarding as your company’s “quality control”. Salespeople need to learn from others’ experiences selling the same product to the same personas.
This knowledge transfer is critical for their success. Sales onboarding accelerates their learning curve, allowing the salespeople to start performing well quickly and giving sales managers the confidence to entrust them with autonomy.
- Make sure all sales opportunities are handled properly.
- Take over when you need to.
- Coach in the efficient handling of these opportunities.
Best practices for Sales Onboarding:
A poor sales onboarding process really negatively impacts your sales and leads to high turnover, be it in your leads or salespeople. Follow these best practices to increase productivity:
1. Early exposure to real scenarios:
When it comes to the sales profession, since the big unknown is how the salesperson will perform when they’re out in the field, a lot of companies use the trial-by-fire approach.
This is where the sales manager gives the new sales recruits everything they need (documentation, script, training, etc.) and in ten days’ time, they put them in front of the customer and see how they fare.
This is particularly relevant when it comes to SDRs since it’s a job where you have to grit your teeth when it comes to hunting prospects, adapting cold-calling techniques, etc.
The idea is to put the new salesperson in the most challenging situation, knowing full well that things won’t go well, and seeing how they cope.
Example 🔍
At La Growth Machine, we try to wait as little time as possible to put the salesperson face-to-face with the customer, because that’s where the greatest uncertainty lies.
And it’s as much for the sales manager, to see how the new guy adapts and reacts, especially to customer expectations, but also for themselves to see how they match up with the product, the vision, the job in general.
This also serves as a motivation for the salesperson to do better.
2. Coaching:
This goes hand in hand with the first best practice because behind every time you put the salesperson in an unfavorable situation, lies a very good sales coaching opportunity!
This is how you observe their own learning curve. Even if, overall, you know that it’s not going to go well because they’re not at the right skill level, they don’t have the hang of it all (yet), you still want to see how they manage.
Coaching plays a central role in the onboarding process. Sales managers should closely monitor new hires during calls, provide timely and constructive feedback, and track their progress.
Example 🔍
For instance, say during the first calls, the salesperson gets flustered when the customer asks a highly technical question to which they don’t know the answer.
This is where you tell them that it’s okay not to have all the answers. A simple:
“I’m sorry, I’m just starting out and I haven’t seen this part yet. I don’t want to mislead you, I’ll look into it and provide you with the answer in my follow-up email.”
… works perfectly!
The customer will feel reassured, they’ll know they’re not being fooled, and that they’ll get their answer later.
This continuous feedback loop helps salespeople refine their skills, improve their approach, and build confidence in their client interactions.
In other words, seeing them mess up on some things today but not repeating their mistakes the next makes you believe in them.
3. Shadowing and continuous learning:
Have new salespeople shadow your top-performing salespeople.
During this phase, new hires should observe and learn from their more experienced counterparts. This brings about opportunities to ask questions, gain insights, and develop their confidence in handling various aspects of the sales process.
- For new salespeople: Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Ask as many as you need to. If you find that you struggle with a specific part of the onboarding, don’t be afraid to ask to be trained on it specifically.
- For sales managers: Do not waste your time with uninterested salespeople, and don’t put your curious salespeople down because “they ask too many questions”. They’re supposed to! Take it as a positive indicator of their willingness to learn and adapt.
4. First call — Creating a Comfortable Environment:
When the newcomer is ready to make calls, make sure they, as well as the client, feel at ease. They should clearly state their role: They’re there to support and answer any tricky technical questions.
Example 🔍
Our sales managers like to explain that the newbie has one lifeline – an opportunity to seek help once – in case they stumble. This is their way of lightening the mood and starting the call on a good note.
Post-call feedback should be quick, and don’t be afraid to point out what went well and what didn’t.
Do not step in unless absolutely necessary! Trust in the salesperson’s abilities is crucial, and intervening can harm the relationship. It shows that you (already) do not trust them and it puts them in a very awkward situation right from the start.
5. Starting them slowly:
This may be an obvious point but have their first calls be with smaller clients to help them get comfortable.
Losing a client isn’t a big deal and that’s why it’s important not to put the new salesperson on the most critical client right away.
In our case, people are generally understanding because they’ve all been through it. When they receive the appointment invite, they see the new guy’s recent join date on LinkedIn and use it as an indicator.
Expert Tip 🧠
If the client is difficult, it happens; let it happen. Accept that some opportunities may be lost, which is why you don’t assign them to the most crucial deals in the first place!
It happens, and it should be part of the learning process. They will lose clients for various reasons later on,
You let it happen and you have to accept that you’ll sometimes end up losing money. That’s why you don’t place them on the big deals. Instead, you give them the smaller personas.
And you tell him about it afterwards. A salesman has to be able to take it. You have to be very transparent about the feedback. If you want him to improve, don’t sugarcoat things, if they did badly, it happens.
6. Recognizing When to Move On
Sales managers can often gauge a salesperson’s potential within the first few weeks. If you find no discernible improvement after a certain number of calls, it may be best to reassess the fit.
Sales is a field where independence and the ability to learn and adapt are highly valued. However, continuously struggling without visible improvement is counterproductive and a drain on resources.
Disclaimer ⚠️
We’re not saying to throw them out at the first sight of a mistake. On the contrary! You have to trust that your new sales recruits will learn from their mistakes and demonstrate progress over time. However, there should be a point at which it’s evident that further investment may not yield the desired results.
What does a sales onboarding process look like?
Now that you know everything surrounding sales onboarding, let’s talk about actually designing one, specifically for an account executive, more than just a general sales role.
This is a week-by-week analysis of what our resident experts at LGM recommend for sales managers. It’s specifically meant for AEs and AMs, but you can tailor it to every sales role!
First Week of Onboarding:
Naturally, the first week is quite intense when it comes to learning since the newcomer will be learning a whole new process. Here’s a breakdown of what we do:
First Morning: Company Immersion:
The first morning, the onboarding process starts with an immersion into company culture; the company’s history, its vision, when and why it was founded, current objectives, etc.
This step is crucial as it equips the new hires with the background information that will be important in discussions with clients.
It’s these little details that are quite light but pleasant to share, and provide context about where the company is coming from and where it is headed.
First Afternoon: Demos and Learning:
On that same afternoon, new hires are given the opportunity to watch product demonstrations, providing them with insights into the solutions they will be presenting.
After they’re done with watching the demos, they’re challenged to perform their own product demo! Yes, on their first day. 🙃
Expert Tip 🧠
Why do this?
In reality, when they see the managers doing it, new sales hires think demos are easy.
And that’s because the seasoned professionals have practiced countless demos. They know every joke, it’s like poetry, scripted to perfection.
So when it comes to them doing it, everyone will mess up, it’ll be a disaster!
And you (sales manager) have to let them finish, even if they’re struggling, you have to do it; you have to let them go through it.
Think of it as a rite of passage. With it, they realize through experience that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to product demos.
Lastly, create a “fake” demo where you explain to them why you choose to present it in your own way. You have been selling the product for three years and you know what works and what doesn’t. Share that with them and explain why you say certain things and how to say them.!
Expert Tip 🧠
During these sales demos, since it’s a scripted approach, don’t allow the new hires to create their own demos as they neither have the time for it nor should they. They must stick to the script and use specific keywords that you know work well.
Second Morning: Learning Call Structure:
The next morning, they have time to work on more demos, and at the end of the morning, they make another demo.
If they’re good, and after going through the first day, they should start learning how a demonstration call works.
Example 🔍
That said, for instance, a demo call in LGM lasts 45 minutes:
- 10-15 minutes for Discovery.
- The rest to show off the product and answer questions.
This makes it impossible to master the entire demo in just half a day.
What we do here is we break down the demo into smaller blocks. We focus on the specific parts they haven’t mastered as well, such as focusing on the identity tab one day, the lead enrichment part another. Next will come the LGM Inbox, CRM.
Trainees work on these “bricks” during the first week if they are generally involved in demos.
This repeats every morning for the rest of the week; watch demos and learn how to perform them.
Mornings: Discovery calls
During the rest week, the mornings are reserved for what’s known as a “Discovery”. In the field of sales, the structure of a first meeting, before conducting their own demo, revolves around understanding the person’s needs.
It’s the hardest and most important exercise for sales and that’s why the new salesperson will be doing it for the whole first week.
Example 🔍
A typical LGM call structure comprises 10-15 minutes of discovery, during which the salesperson understands the needs and pain points of the lead, followed by 30 minutes of a demo.
The key is to position the demo based on what has been understood from the discovery!
It’s where you grasp why the lead might want to invest with you or not. If you don’t get that, it’ll make for lousy demos because you’ll be presenting things that are of no interest to the lead.
Every morning during the first week, conduct a discovery exercise and apply it to the different personas of your company.
For instance, in our case, it would include recruiters, young CEOs of small companies, Growth professionals, etc. The aim is to train the newbie to master different personas, as presentations vary based on the persona.
Afternoons: Call Shadowing
The rest of the afternoons are dedicated to calls, with trainees shadowing the seasoned salespeople or even the manager.
After each call, they have to take notes and ask questions.
Expert Tip 🧠
For the new hires:
As we said earlier, be smart and ask a ton of questions! Give the manager (or whoever you’re shadowing) a hard time!
However, avoid at all costs interrupting the call! You don’t want to put the guy on the spot during a sale.
Simply take your notes, and the sales manager has to leave extra time time for you to ask your questions either after each call or at the end of the day.
Feedback and coaching are essential components of this process, with notes provided to the coach for discussion. Trainees receive debriefings at the end of their call sessions.
Second Week: Focused Training
During the second week, depending on the level of confidence you have in the trainee, you might want to start allowing them to make actual calls with clients.
As we said earlier, you don’t want to delay this too much, it’s important they (and you) see how they fare in a real situation as soon as you think they’re ready.
Expert Tip 🧠
Expect initial difficulties; they will make mistakes, but it’s part of the process. You need to assess their level fairly quickly.
It’s risky, as they’ll likely have some bad calls, but the point is to see how they progress!
When they make calls, you accompany them and inform the client that you’re there to support them as their backup. You introduce the trainee and let them work their magic.
Deeper Learnings:
During the second week, there’s a focus on deepening knowledge and skills.
Example 🔍
In the case of LGM for instance, we focus on complex prospecting strategies, how to read and analyze insights from the Reports tab, etc.
Product training sessions continue, along with simulated or “fake” discovery calls, each involving a different persona. For the remainder of the week, they work on the elements that have been determined.
Example 🔍
At LGM, it’s all about the strategy before launching campaigns. Meaning mastering the notions of segmentation and copywriting.
Once the campaign is launched, the trainee needs to master how to read stats, the recommendations they can make, and so on.
First Calls and Assessing Progress:
Around the middle of the second week, trainees typically make their first actual calls. These initial calls are often challenging and far from perfect.
Your role is not to judge their initial performance but to observe their progression over subsequent calls.
Expert Tip 🧠
By the end of the second week, you can generally determine whether the individual is a good fit for the role. You can gauge if they are adapting, learning, and improving, even if their initial calls were less than stellar.
This assessment also involves evaluating their level of comfort and confidence. For example, you may encounter situations where a trainee excels in practice but becomes uncomfortable when facing clients. In such cases, it’s crucial to identify the underlying reasons, such as a lack of expertise or confidence issues.
Ultimately, you can sense whether a trainee is making progress after around 10 to 15 calls.
If there’s no improvement or if they continue to struggle significantly, it may be necessary to reconsider their fit for the role. It’s a critical decision point in the onboarding process
Third Week+: Advanced Training & Continuous Coaching
In the third week, you can shift your focus a bit. This is when you can introduce some internal training and delve into using various tools.
At this point, the intense onboarding process is nearly complete. Beyond this stage, it transitions into continuous training, think of it as honing their skills!
Typically, at this juncture, you start using tools that can record sales calls.
During this phase, your coach can listen to call recordings and offer continuous guidance and training over the first three months.
Expert Tip 🧠
Tools like Mojo can be quite valuable, not just for recording calls but also for generating insightful statistics.
For instance, one crucial statistic in sales calls is the balance of speaking time. This is an essential metric to pay attention to.
A salesperson who dominates the conversation is generally not performing well.
It’s vital to let the prospect speak. You ask a few questions during the discovery phase, open doors for discussion, but ultimately, the prospect should be the one sharing the most; their challenges and objectives with you.
This holds true regardless of what you are selling. Maintaining a balanced speaking time is crucial.
You can also compare the speaking times of your sales team for valuable insights into them individually. For instance, you notice that your top-performing salespeople maintain a speaking time ratio of 30%, it’s a powerful indicator and you should have the rest of the team aim for that!
Additionally, these tools can automatically extract important keywords and objections from the calls, providing further analytical value.
When you have a sizable sales team, these tools can be instrumental in medium-term coaching, particularly from the end of the first month to the third month. Instead of reviewing every single call, you can focus on insights automatically generated by these tools.
By the end of the third or fourth week, you should have a clear understanding of whether you intend to retain the trainee.
In essence, the intensive and rigorous onboarding process spans the first three weeks, followed by a phase of ongoing training and refinement over the subsequent three months.
Too lazy to read through it in detail? Here’s a summary of all I talked through 👇
Final Thoughts
In sales, unlike projects in marketing or tech, you can’t control every call. You have to realize that, at the end of the day, you can’t continuously coach or be present on every call for three months. It’s impractical.
Hence, you need the confidence to accept that while it might not be perfect, an 80% performance level is excellent. Trust in the trainee’s potential is vital.
Once a call goes awry, it’s done. However, building the salesperson’s confidence is essential. Salespeople need to be empowered to take the lead in these situations and not rely on others to bail them out.
As for sales managers, avoid intervening even when a deal seems to be slipping away. This is part of the training process, and intervening suggests a lack of confidence in the salesperson!
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