A Sales Gig Primer: Three Critical Items for Accelerating Onboarding and Ramp Up Part 5 of 5

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Accelerate your Onboarding and Ramp Up

Now that you have honed in on the short list of companies you would like to sell for, here are the 3 T’s I want you to find out to make sure you are landing in your right next home. YOU want successes quickly. Make sure that your Onboarding and Ramp Up Time are maximized.

The Three T’s: Training, Tools, and Time

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TRAINING
It is a mistake to think that the only thing you will need to learn are the company’s products and presentation materials. You must know what to expect about how you will be trained on the systems they use – like CRM’s and Expense Report and other Reporting Tools that you will be required to use.

How will you be trained to navigate the company to get the resources you need? Where do you get what? How do issues get resolved?

How will you be trained on prospecting processes and territories (include questions about social selling training in this section)? You want to make sure you are clear and comfortable with how the company uses social media, if appropriate, to gain prospects and any compliance issues you may need to be aware of.

Can you expect good coaching from your sales manager? What do they offer to keep you sharp and state-of-the-art?

• I like to hear it when a company says they will bring you to headquarters for a week or two to get you fully immersed.
• Even better when you are going to be assigned a mentor (make sure you meet them first).
• Awesome when they have ongoing training events or allow you a budget to invest in your own development.

If they promise “ride-alongs” or “sit-ins” with other salespeople, make sure you know how many to expect , how they get set up , and that they are with a performing salesperson (the last thing you need is to ride-along with an underperformer).

TOOLS
Selling tools are absolutely CRITICAL for your success. The better suited the tools are for your work, the more likely you are to perform.

Tools will include things like sales collateral and presentations.

They also include your CRM, Contact Information Finders, Outreach Templates, Social Media Tools, Lead Generators, and Drip Marketing Systems.

I recommend that you REALLY dig in on what to expect here. I have heard horror stories about people who go to work for cheap companies who expect them to sell into the C-Suite or SVP level of a company, but provide absolutely NO assistance like LinkedIn Premium services and something as simple as Avention (OneSource) or a similar Contact Information Database.

In horrifying companies, highly skilled salespeople are spending 45 minutes tracking down an email address or phone number AFTER they have spent who-knows-how-much-time locating the person with the right title. This is the WORST kind of way to spend your time. It is exhausting and demoralizing. Make sure this company is smart enough to spend a few dollars to get you what you need instead of thinking that it is a good use of your time to do these things. Can you IMAGINE?

I also really want you to understand how your organization wants you to use the CRM.

Is it for YOU or is it for THEM?

I have seen so many managers make their salespeople use the CRM in such convoluted and twisted ways that it is clear that you are only helping them micromanage or run inconsequential reports – information that never leads to a sale, but sucks your time and happiness.

Learn how the CRM system helps you stay on track with your hot prospects, measures your effectiveness at prospecting and conversion, and gives you quick access to the right prospects when a Trigger Event occurs. Anything else is standing in the way of your performance.

TIME
For your sanity, and the sanity of the people in your life who rely on you for an income, I strongly recommend that you dig into what to REALLY expect as a ramp up time until you are earning your On Target Earnings.

I want you to ask about Sales Cycle Lengths. And I want you to be clear when they talk about the sales cycle – how do they know that? Is it from Cold to Close? Or from the time you present to the decision-maker to close? (A BIG DIFF).

Ask what the average sales person’s ramp up time is to On Target Earnings. OF COURSE, you are going to be the star and blow it out of the water, but do not let them tell you the experience of the top performer, you want to know what to really expect.

And, how much time do they expect you to spend on certain activities? What have they identified as their Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)? (In other words, what activities have they seen are most likely to produce results?) Are these the things you want to spend your day doing?

Finally, make sure you know what their tolerance is for you getting up-to-speed. What are the signs that you are on track at 1 month, 90-days, 180 days? If they cannot articulate these milestones, BE WARY. Also, how do they correct performance that isn’t on track? How much time do you have to show results? How do they document and evaluate your progress? These are CRITICAL things to know before you start. Too many companies are churn-and-burn and I want to make sure you are not caught in the cycle.

Remember, my lovelies! Your life is to be enjoyed, not endured (Cowboy Mouth). If you ask all the right questions, you can be pretty darn sure that you will have a job that you ENJOY, not ENDURE. And, believe me, YOU DESERVE IT!

Love yourself UP!

The Irreverent Sales Girl