The Ultimate Guide to Sales Onboarding: How to Train New Reps for Success in 2024

Sales onboarding and training is one of the most important investments you can make in your sales organization. Getting new hires ramped up quickly and equipped with the knowledge and skills they need is critical for sales success. But many companies fail to give sales onboarding the time and attention it deserves.

In fact, according to SiriusDecisions, the average ramp time for new sales reps is between 9 and 12 months. And the average tenure of a sales rep is only 18 months. This means many companies are spending more than half of a rep‘s tenure just getting them up to speed!

Effective sales onboarding can dramatically reduce ramp time and set reps up for long-term success at your company. In this guide, we‘ll dive into how to build a comprehensive sales training program to onboard new hires in 2024 and beyond.

Why You Can‘t Afford to Skimp on Sales Onboarding

Imagine you hired a new sales rep and on their first day you showed them to their desk, handed them a phone and a list of leads, and said "start calling." Think that rep would be very successful?

Probably not. And if that‘s what your current onboarding program looks like, you‘re setting your salespeople up to fail. A structured sales onboarding program is critical because it:

• Gets reps producing revenue faster (i.e. speeds up ramp time)
• Ensures reps are following a consistent, proven sales process
• Increases job satisfaction and retention among salespeople
• Makes salespeople more confident and effective in their customer interactions
• Provides coaching and support as reps apply their training
• Aligns reps with your company‘s mission, values, and goals

The initial weeks and months are a critical time period for your new sales hires. An effective onboarding program will enable them to learn your products, adopt your sales methodology, and start building pipeline.

Key Elements of a Sales Training Manual

While every company‘s sales onboarding program will look a bit different, there are some universal elements that the best programs include. Here are some of the key things your sales training manual and overall onboarding plan should cover:

1. Company Overview

Start by educating reps on your company, culture, and values. Share your founding story, mission statement, and vision for the future. Explain where your sales organization fits into the overall company structure.

New reps should understand how their role contributes to the company‘s success. Instill a sense of pride and purpose that gets them excited to represent your brand.

2. Target Customers

Who are your company‘s ideal customers? Share detailed buyer personas and help reps understand the needs, goals, and challenges of your target audience. Teach them how to identify good-fit prospects.

Have new reps review case studies and talk to successful customers. This will give them first-hand insights into who gets the most value from your offering and why they bought from you.

3. Product and Market Expertise

Of course, reps must deeply understand what they‘re selling in order to sell it effectively. Product training should cover your offering‘s key features, benefits, and differentiators. Do live demos showing the product in action.

Also educate reps on your market and competitive landscape. What other options do buyers have and how do you compare? Reps need to know your product and market inside and out to build trust with customers.

4. Sales Methodology

What sales methodology does your team follow? Do you use an established framework like MEDDIC, Challenger Sale, or Sandler Selling System? Walk reps through each stage of your sales process and the key activities and skills involved.

Provide guidance on everything from prospecting and discovery to presenting and closing. Use real examples showing what "good" looks like at each stage. Define your key sales metrics and performance expectations.

5. Tools and Technology

The right sales tools and tech stack are critical for rep productivity. Make sure your onboarding includes in-depth training on your CRM and any other tools reps will be using regularly.

Have reps practice logging information in your CRM, utilizing sales engagement tools, referencing your knowledge base, etc. Provide technical training and encourage reps to get certified in your key systems.

6. Objection Handling and Negotiation

Dealing with customer objections and pushback is one of the most challenging parts of sales. Arm new reps with the information and techniques they need to confidently handle objections and negotiate.

Share a list of your most common objections and train reps on how to acknowledge and respond to each one. Do practice sessions where reps have to react to tough questions and pushback. Teach proven negotiation tactics.

7. Hands-on Practice

Concepts and methodologies are important, but reps ultimately learn by doing. Incorporate plenty of hands-on practice and role playing into your onboarding.

Have reps pair up and take turns playing seller and buyer. Provide scripts showing how to run great discovery calls, demos, and closing conversations at first, but then have reps ad lib. Do live call or demo reviews and provide feedback.

These practice sessions build a rep‘s confidence before they get on the phone with real customers. It‘s a safe space for them to make mistakes and hone their pitches.

30-60-90 Day Onboarding Plan

The best sales onboarding programs extend far beyond a rep‘s first few days on the job. Many companies utilize a 30-60-90 day framework to guide reps from initial training to full productivity.

Here‘s what this phased approach to onboarding looks like:

First 30 Days

The first month is all about learning. Reps go through in-depth training on your company, products, customers, and sales process. The goal is to build foundational knowledge rather than getting them on the phones immediately.

• Background on company, culture, and sales organization
• In-depth product training and certifications
• Studying target customer and buyer personas
• Sales methodology overview and CRM training
• Shadowing calls and meetings with experienced reps
• Mock calls and role playing core sales skills
• Meeting key people across the company

Days 30-60

The second month is focused on gaining real-world experience. Reps start interacting with prospects and customers directly, but with a lot of support and oversight from managers. The goal is to reinforce the concepts they learned in a live environment.

• Participating in live sales calls and demos
• Handling inbound leads and prospecting new accounts
• Developing account plans and practicing discovery
• Presenting solutions and handling objections
• Getting feedback from managers and peers
• Continuing methodology and skills training
• Tracking initial activities and results

Days 60-90

The third month is about ramping up to full productivity. Reps take more ownership over their opportunities and pipeline. Managers hold reps accountable to activity and results targets, while still providing coaching and enablement.

• Consistently hitting activity targets
• Building pipeline and advancing opportunities
• Developing relationships with prospects and customers
• Troubleshooting challenges and roadblocks
• Getting win/loss feedback from managers
• Ongoing training on advanced topics
• Tracking progress to quota attainment

Of course, this is just a high-level example. The specific milestones and activities you include in your 30-60-90 day plan will depend on the unique needs of your team. The key is to progressively ramp up reps to avoid overwhelm while still pushing them to start contributing to revenue.

Tips for Effective Sales Onboarding

Now that you know what to include in your sales training and onboarding program, let‘s cover some tips for making it as impactful as possible:

1. Personalize it. Every salesperson learns and develops differently. Adapt your onboarding to the individual rep‘s background, learning style, and goals.

2. Use blended learning. People learn best through a variety of formats. Incorporate instructor-led training, self-paced online courses, role playing, job shadowing, and on-the-job learning.

3. Make it ongoing. Onboarding shouldn‘t end after 30 or 90 days. Provide continuous training opportunities to reinforce concepts and teach new skills. Hold regular one-on-one coaching sessions.

4. Leverage technology. Use an online learning management system to centralize training materials and track rep progress. Record videos for on-demand training. Use conversation intelligence software to analyze rep performance on live calls.

5. Get feedback. Ask for feedback from reps on what they find most valuable in onboarding and what needs improvement. Have reps demonstrate proficiency through quizzes, certifications, and skills assessments.

6. Assign mentors. Pair each new rep with an experienced mentor who can answer questions, provide guidance, and be a role model. This makes new reps feel supported and helps them ramp faster.

Real-World Sales Onboarding Examples

To further illustrate what a comprehensive sales onboarding and training program looks like in action, here are a few examples from well-known companies:

HubSpot

HubSpot puts all new sales hires through an extensive onboarding boot camp they call "Sales Ramp." It includes:

• Four weeks of live classroom training on inbound sales methodology
• Ongoing e-learning courses and certifications through HubSpot Academy
• 1:1 mentorship program pairing each new rep with a seasoned rep
• Detailed documentation of sales plays and talk tracks
• Call reviews, role plays, and standups with managers
• 30-60-90 day ramp up plan with clear milestones and deliverables

Salesforce

At Salesforce, sales onboarding is an immersive 30-60-90 day experience that includes:

• Industry and product trainings to develop domain expertise
• Sales skills boot camps focused on the core tenets of selling
• Virtual, instructor-led training paths customized to each role
• Interactive simulations and role plays with real-world scenarios
• Coaching and deal support from managers throughout ramp period
• Exposure to senior leaders through presentations and Q&A panels

The program is designed to equip reps with both the hard and soft skills needed to position Salesforce‘s complex solutions and drive revenue.

Gong

As a conversational intelligence platform for sales teams, Gong understands the importance of data-driven onboarding. Their approach includes:

• Assessing each rep‘s skills and knowledge pre- and post-training
• Tracking rep activities and benchmarking them against peers
• Analyzing rep‘s live sales conversations to identify gaps and coach
• Developing a certification program to validate skills mastery
• Personalizing training and coaching plans to each individual
• Gamifying onboarding with competitions and prizes

By analyzing leading indicators like assessed proficiency, time spent training, and early-stage sales activities, Gong knows whether a new rep is on track for success within the first few months.

Conclusion

Building an effective sales onboarding program requires significant time and resources. But when you consider the impact it has on rep productivity, win rates, and retention, it‘s well worth the investment.

Use this guide as your roadmap for developing a comprehensive onboarding plan. Remember, the key is to combine methodology, product, and skills training in a phased approach. Focus on getting reps doing real work and provide continuous coaching and feedback. If you put in the work upfront to enable your salespeople, they‘ll be set up for long-term success.

Looking for more guidance on sales onboarding best practices? Check out our sales onboarding template and toolkit. It‘s full of plug-and-play resources including a sample training agenda, 30-60-90 day plan, and skill assessment rubrics.

Stop leaving your new sales hires to sink or swim. It‘s time to invest in onboarding and enable your reps to reach their full potential. Your revenue depends on it!