Expanding your sales team is a pivotal milestone for any growing business. It signifies progress and potential, but to ensure your newly onboarded Sales or Business Development Representatives (SDRs/BDRs) excel from day one, you must focus on an efficient onboarding and ramping process. Since we first shared these insights two years ago, they have not only stood the test of time as we consistently provide guidance to our clients as thought leaders in RevOps but have also played a pivotal role in building our own sales team and driving substantial growth within our consulting framework.
Rapidly scaling your sales team is thrilling, but the success of your expanding team depends heavily on the quality of onboarding and ramping processes and ongoing training thereafter. Whether your incoming reps are new graduates entering the workforce for the first time or crossing over into sales from another department, they need solid, consistent guidance to effectively book meetings and track their pieces of the sales cycle. This is especially true at scale. In this relaunched article, tailored for sales and business development leaders in 2023, we’ll delve deeper into the strategies that have helped us refine our sales team, ensuring that new reps hit the ground running and contribute to your company’s growth.
Establishing an Open-Door Policy
One fundamental aspect of a successful onboarding process is fostering open communication. From the moment new hires step through your virtual or physical doors, they should know that questions and feedback are not just welcomed but expected. This open-door policy is even more critical in today’s remote work environments, where the absence of face-to-face interactions can leave new reps feeling isolated.
To overcome this, consistently communicate your policy of open access. Encourage questions and feedback, making sure that your new reps never feel like a nuisance when seeking assistance. In doing so, you’ll create an environment where new team members feel supported, connected, and empowered to thrive.
Building Training Around Fundamentals
One fundamental aspect of a successful onboarding process is fostering open communication. From the moment new hires step through your virtual or physical doors, they should know that questions and feedback are not just welcomed but expected. This open-door policy is even more critical in today’s remote work environments, where the absence of face-to-face interactions can leave new reps feeling isolated.
To overcome this, consistently communicate your policy of open access. Encourage questions and feedback, making sure that your new reps never feel like a nuisance when seeking assistance. In doing so, you’ll create an environment where new team members feel supported, connected, and empowered to thrive.
Focusing on Essential Tech
In the ever-evolving landscape of sales technology, it’s easy for new reps to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of tools available. To prevent this, we recommend concentrating on two or three essential tools during onboarding, such as your CRM, sales engagement platform, and LinkedIn.
Take it a step further by providing pre-built prospecting reports, sales engagement sequences, and template messaging within Outreach, High Velocity Sales, or Salesloft. This empowers your reps to connect with prospects more efficiently, speeding up their ramping process and reducing the learning curve associated with a multitude of tools.
Coaching Time Management
Time management is a vital skill for any successful SDR or BDR. While experienced professionals may understand the nuances of structuring their day, new entrants to the workforce may not have developed this skill.
Incorporate time management training into your onboarding program. Techniques such as calendar blocking can set expectations for how new reps should structure their time, minimizing aimlessness and maximizing productivity. This seemingly basic training can have a profound impact on their performance.
Balancing Product/Service Knowledge and Process Training
Finding the right equilibrium between product/service knowledge and process training is a continuous challenge. Neglecting either can hinder your reps’ ability to excel. A well-rounded onboarding program should strike a balance between the two.
At the outset, focus on instilling the basics of your product or service and Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) knowledge, coupled with proficiency in critical tools. Your objective is not to create experts right off the bat, but to ensure your new reps function effectively in both of these critical areas. Encourage them to develop their skills further as they progress and find their own groove within their sales skills.
Structure is undeniably crucial, especially when working with junior reps. However, what truly infuses excitement into the world of sales is the opportunity to harness one’s individual personality and infuse it into their sales pitches. Ultimately, the bedrock of successful sales lies in forging genuine connections between people. Therefore, it’s imperative to nurture new representatives’ development of their unique communication skills and empower them to seamlessly integrate this authenticity into their interactions with prospects.
Streamlining Your Sales Process
A streamlined sales process is paramount, particularly for new reps. A clunky process not only slows down onboarding but also leads to more significant consequences down the road. The factors that create sales friction—a bloated tech stack, manual processes, and siloed workflows—add up to information overload for new hires. For even the most talented reps, this means slower learning, confusion, and working errors: a perfect storm for underperformance. Underperforming reps often don’t make it past the probation period, which is a time consuming and potentially costly reality that ops can help minimize.
Consider the bigger picture of how your sales stages align with your team’s activities. Explore practical ways to make your CRM, such as Salesforce or HubSpot, more user-friendly by automating tasks and optimizing workflows. These enhancements not only make life easier for your reps but also ensure that essential data is entered consistently, aiding in performance evaluation and informed hiring decisions.
Conducting a Post-Training Interview
As your new reps complete their onboarding training, it’s essential to conduct a post-onboarding interview. This dialogue allows both parties to provide valuable feedback. As leaders, your input can include metrics, success stories, and constructive suggestions for growth.
In 2023, limiting knowledge of traditional metrics like call volume and meetings booked may not paint the most accurate picture of early SDR or BDR success. Instead, focus on metrics that track learning progression and process mastery. Metrics such as the number of new contacts added, sequence engagement, and time allocation provide a better understanding of your reps’ effectiveness. These metrics reflect the effectiveness of your training and the effort your new reps are putting in. For example, the number of net new contacts added into the system should gradually increase as time goes on. With these metrics available, you can guide your new reps into the next phase of their role: driving revenue. Ensuring that expectations and targets are both realistic and reasonable is crucial. Failing to do so can dampen team morale and hinder their efforts. On the other hand, setting targets that challenge your team while fostering healthy year-over-year growth can foster a positive work culture and empower your sales team to engage in impactful discussions with clients.
Make sure that the post-onboarding interview is a two-way street. Your newly-ramped reps should feel comfortable providing feedback on their experience as well. Encourage them to share their thoughts on the training program and provide insights for improvement, creating a collaborative environment that fosters growth for all.
Nearing 2024, the landscape of sales and business development is only continuing to evolve. To stay competitive and ensure your sales team’s success, implementing these refined onboarding and ramping strategies is essential. By prioritizing open communication, fundamental skills, efficient tools, time management, and a balanced approach to training, you’ll empower your new Reps to contribute effectively to your organization’s growth. Streamlining your sales process and conducting post-training interviews further solidify your commitment to excellence. As sales and business development leaders, your dedication to refining these practices will not only benefit your new Reps but also play a pivotal role in the continued growth and success of your business.
