{"id":1449,"date":"2014-02-13T05:52:36","date_gmt":"2014-02-13T05:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.comblog\/patience-is-a-virtue-in-on-boarding-new-sales-hires\/"},"modified":"2019-09-11T19:42:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T19:42:25","slug":"patience-is-a-virtue-in-on-boarding-new-sales-hires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/patience-is-a-virtue-in-on-boarding-new-sales-hires\/","title":{"rendered":"Patience is a Virtue in On-Boarding New Sales Hires"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"On-BoardingThere aren\u2019t too many instances when a new sales hire produces sales immediately upon joining a new company. I wish this weren\u2019t the case, but with the exception of short sales cycles and call centers, most new sales people need time to learn how to sell a new offering and to start building and converting a pipeline of new business. But results aren\u2019t guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Many years ago, as a young sales manager, I hired a rep and provided them with an annual sales quota, and then foolishly failed to assign the rep any shorter term goals such as a 90 day target. I had no real way of evaluating the progress of the new rep, and was\u00a0under a lot of pressure to deliver sales results myself. As a result, I simply\u00a0transferred that pressure to the rep by constantly asking them why we weren\u2019t seeing results a few weeks into their time with us. I wanted to be patient, but I hadn\u2019t thought through how long it would take to develop a pipeline and realistic forecast. I created a ton of needless stress for the rep and myself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of my mentors at the time took me aside and suggested that I cool my jets. \u201cGive the new rep time to develop\u201d he said. \u201cPressure is not a bad thing, but it has to be the right kind of pressure and if you keep busting his chops, he won\u2019t be in the right frame of mind to deliver what you want.\u201d Very important words indeed.<\/p>\n

Things would have been easier had I had the forethought to map out how long it would take the rep to make sales after making the first calls or had I planned out the first 90 days in terms of exposure to our products, sales training, customer visits, calls, and check ins with me. I did not do these things but as luck would have it the rep was experienced enough to figure some things out on their own and produce sales in time, but I was not in control.<\/p>\n

Actively Patient<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hope is not a good strategy and it is always better to be in control of your sales force. Therefore, the moral of this story is to have a plan for on-boarding a new rep that is just as comprehensive as the plan you have a plan for managing existing reps. Map out the first 90 days<\/a> (at least) with a new sales rep in day by day detail, determine the right level of support over the course of this timeframe, provide this support and know you are doing everything you can to make a new rep successful so that you can patiently let the right results unfold.<\/p>\n

To your success!<\/p>\n

Image courtesy of\u00a0\u00a0digitalart | freedigitalphotos.net<\/p>\n

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