How can having a sales template benefit your business? Last week, while I was outside our new Seattle Sandler Training Center scoping out options for signage, I was approached by a man named Marc, who asked me if Sandler does sales training.
“You must be asking me that for a reason.” I said. To which he replied that he was in sales for a promotional marketing company. “But, they probably offered you some type of sales training when you started,” I offered. “No, this company sucks!” he fumed. “They haven’t done anything to teach me about the company, the products or how to sell them.” After a few minutes of conversation, Marc got on the bus and rode off into the sunset.
Apparently, even though Marc was an experienced recruiter, a job that required plenty of cold calling and business development, he had no idea how to transfer that experience to his new job. To make matters worse, his employer wasn’t doing anything to help him with the process. Sadly, that’s the kind of story we hear all the time from frustrated salespeople like Marc.
While large companies often have processes in place to onboard their new salespeople, most small business owners tend toward the “sink or swim” approach. Caught up in more pressing business matters, they figure the new salesperson will either “get it” or they won’t. If they don’t “get it”, it’s because the new guy or gal just “didn’t have what it takes.” I don’t know whether Marc will “get it” or not. But I do know that a lot of his problems could have been solved if his employer had developed a sales template and used it as an onboarding tool.
According to Moneyzine.com, The purpose of employee onboarding is two-fold: 1) Make new employees feel welcome and comfortable in their new surroundings, and 2) Minimize the amount of time before new employees are productive members of their workgroup. By providing a road-map of sales conversations specific to your company, industry, customers and culture, a well-designed sales template gives new hires a level of comfort with their new role and removes the guesswork of how things are done at your company.
Do your salespeople sound like Marc when they talk about your company? Are you concerned about getting your new hires up and running more quickly? Do you want high potential employees to stick with it rather than giving up on the job? If so, it’s time to develop a sales template for your business. To learn more about how we can help, engage with us.
For more information on employee onboarding, check-out Moneyzine.com’s excellent article on Employee Onboarding which includes an Employee Onboarding Checklist download.
What are you waiting for?
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