The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Every sales manager has an onboarding procedure for new reps, beginning with day 1.

Do paperwork, have lunch with the boss, shadow some veteran salespeople, start building a prospect list, etc.

The first 30, 60, and 90 days of onboarding new sales reps are pretty standard. (Of course, we recommend that you follow the CSS Onboarding Checklist). 

However, what are your plans on Day 101 for your new sales reps?

In today's competitive B2B sales environment, it's more important than ever to have a strong sales team that can close deals quickly. But hiring and training new salespeople can be a costly and time-consuming process.

That's why getting new salespeople up and running quickly is so important.

Here are 10 strategies for getting B2B salespeople up and running quickly.

The war for talent is particularly brutal right now, so once you find and hire the right person, you might be tempted to pat yourself on the back and relax.

Unfortunately, while you may have won a single battle, the war is still on. It's vital to plan out your strategy and then apply it.

How? By creating a strong onboarding plan that impresses your new hire and sets them on the path to being a top performer. Let’s discuss the 3 phases of our battle plan.

If new employee onboarding procedures are insufficient, it can take up to 12 months for new hires to reach max productivity. In a world where employees don't stay at jobs for the entire duration of their career, this is horrific.

New employee onboarding has always been an issue. There are always holes in an onboarding process, and some companies seem better at it than others. Throwing new hires in and expecting them to swim no longer works.

This is especially true in our new hybrid working world. New employees are required to coexist in a virtual and real world, and be able to seamlessly toggle between the two.

To counteract these struggles, it's important to stick to a consistent employee onboarding checklist. To help you do that, we've assembled steps that will consolidate your processes and make new employees feel informed, safe, and ready to start being productive!

Only 12% of employees agree that their organization does a good job with employee onboarding — a process where new hires acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to become effective and efficient employees.

When it comes to onboarding employees, first impressions last forever. It's your opportunity to introduce the company's mission, value and personality. If you fail to fully communicate everything a new hire needs to know, they’ll likely leave the company. 26% of American workers have quit a job simply because they were unsatisfied with either the training or the onboarding process. 

To retain quality employees and maximize their productivity, it's imperative that you take the onboarding process seriously. Make your new hires feel welcome in your company by properly discussing their new roles, the company's mission and vision, and everything else they need to know.

30% of job seekers have left a job within 90 days of starting.

Staffing and HR experts say onboarding new hires at an organization should be a strategic process that lasts at least one year because how employers handle the first few days and months of a new employee's experience is crucial to ensuring high retention.

Beyond the basics, what else does a new hire need?

Sapling has found that “Without powerful onboarding, it takes around 8 to 12 months for new employees to reach their full productivity levels.”

By taking the time upfront to onboard people in a meaningful way, they’ll be able to begin contributing at higher levels quicker and make a more immediate impact on the organization.

Onboarding is a prime opportunity for employers to win the hearts of new employees. Don't waste it, experts say.

Google the phrase “Pre-Boarding a new hire” and over 8 Million results appear in .66 seconds. Your top results are ads with On-Boarding check lists, software, and packets. So, what is pre-boarding?

Harver.com describes pre-boarding as “whatever process your company has up and running when the candidate accepts their job offer, right the way through to their first actual day working for you. The focus should be preparing your new hire and drumming up some excitement as their first day approaches.”

Creating a culture of engagement is more important than ever as we work in a virtual world.

Showing that you care and are invested in the growth of your people matters. And it’s important to remember that the relationships you develop with your people will directly impact productivity and profit. One fact found in the 2020 Talent Magazine states, “Organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%.”

When should your relationship with people start? Before they walk in the door for their first day on the job.

However, if you’ve transitioned to a remote workforce and never conducted virtual onboarding, you may find yourself challenged on how to develop these relationships and help new hires get started off on the right foot.

Years ago, companies gave little to no thought to pre-boarding— engaging with a new hire between the time they accept your offer and their first day. Once a candidate was hired, they were given a firm handshake and a start date. 

As a relatively new concept that often gets confused with the traditional onboarding process, pre-boarding is completed before an employee’s first day and includes informal interactions between the company and the new hire. It’s a crucial step in the onboarding journey that has a lasting impact on employee engagement and retention.