A huge pain point as a recruiter and business leader is spending valuable time and resources scouring the earth to find the best candidate for the job, going through the various interview stages, offers, negotiation, notice period only for them to leave the role after a short amount of time!
During lockdown we had the great pleasure of sitting down for a virtual chat with Rachael Howourth, Sales & Leadership Coach and Founder of Momentum SW, to discuss how sales leaders can give new executives the best chance of success from the get go.
We often find that after undergoing rigorous interviewing and tests to find out if the candidate is right fit for the job, candidates can be left short during the induction process and expected to be top performers from day one with little or no support.
From both a business and recruitment perspective, you want the new team member to feel settled, hit the ground running and build loyalty to the company, but that only comes from having an effective onboarding process.
Unfortunately, there’s no silver bullet or quick way around it, you have to go through the process, but fortunately for you, Rachael is an expert at this and has shared some of her tips with us.
Build up strong product knowledge
Taking the time to talk through the product or service with your sales executives is key. Most skills that make a great salesperson; passion, energy, solid pitching and closing skills and confidence on the phones are all transferable, but what will make a quick difference is understanding the product inside and out. This will make an immediate difference to their selling style, their confidence and love for the product, this will help them build momentum quickly.
Leadership touchpoints
Setting up weekly catch ups to spend quality one to one time talking to your new sales person about what they’ve learnt about the product and see if they can sell the product to you. If they can’t repeat it on a Friday morning, they certainly won’t feel confident selling to a client the following Monday! It is also a great opportunity to find out from them how things are going, what they’re worried about or would like more training on. It also helps to build a very important, open and honest working relationship.
Encourage a buddy system
One of the main reasons why inductions are so tricky is because sales leaders are super busy with their own and existing team targets, as well as having a million other tasks on their list. So it’s difficult to spend quality time with new starters to get them up and running. By allocating a dedicated salesperson to buddy up with to share knowledge and work together. This will save time and help build strong business relationships and a supportive culture in the office.
Build a strong client relationship
Don’t be afraid to introduce your salespeople to clients early into the induction process. It’s a great time to do some research and find out what they like about the service or product and see how the new sales person can improve the service. The client will also be more understanding if there are any teething issues with the new team member as they will feel in the loop with what’s happening.
Having a strong induction process can make all the difference when growing your sales team and by incorporating these points into your strategy, you will be able to give your new sales person the best chance of success.
If you would like to find out more about this topic and hear Rachael’s top tips, follow the link below to watch the full video.