How To Quickly Integrate A New Salesperson Into Your IT Company, Part 2
By Dennis O’Connell, Business Development Manager, HTG Peer Groups
In the first part of this series, I shared some strategies around onboarding a salesperson into a new industry. This article will focus on the second question of how to immerse a new hire in your company culture and expectations.
I was asked by one of our peer group members to provide some advice as it related to the hiring and onboarding of a new sales person who did not have an IT industry background.
There is no better way to learn how to sell than to listen to a sale being made. Start taking the new salesperson along on all your sales calls as a silent observer. This includes any meetings or phone calls you have over the next two months. Go through your calendar and invite the new hire now.
Somewhere along the way, the new salesperson will start to have confidence in what he or she is selling. Gradually change the new hire’s role in meetings:
- no participation
- adding a few comments here and there prompted by you
- Leading the meeting, providing 50 percent of the content
- Leading the meeting with you providing backup as needed
- Owning the meeting with very minimal participation from you
This process could take anywhere from 30 to 90 days depending on how quickly the new hire learns.
Be firm on expected usage of ConnectWise or whatever CRM (customer relationship management) tool you use. It is a great communication tool. From a business continuity standpoint, if for one reason or another, this hire doesn’t work out, all the notes are captured. This software allows the salesperson to communicate needs to other departments. It is not utilized for quoting but is vital in tracking activities and capturing opportunities. Show the new hire how to track profitability of deals. Make sure he or she understands that for your sales culture this software is where everything begins and ends. Ensure the new hire gets in a daily rhythm of ending the day by updating the CRM tool.
Have the new salesperson spend a few days with the folks who create your quotes, listening in on the technical discussions around sizing, quoting, etc. This builds language skills. Make sure the new hire understands the complexity of what he or she is selling along with the value as well as rebates and deal registration. Explain profitability and the importance of gross margin because this is the lifeblood of your organization.
It may be valuable for the new hire to shadow the service manager for a few days. The service team members are the ones who keep the lights on, and the salesperson needs to be close to them.
Be strategic on desk placement. An isolated cube is not ideal, although the new hire may initially go to a conference room while going through product training webinars or making calls. I always enjoy sitting amongst the service team. They totally understand what is happening with the customer base. Additionally, your new hire will be asked to clean up messes and will need their guidance on how that is going to happen. This also serves to continue building industry vocabulary.
Make sure the hire creates his or her own impressions of the customer. Even though a customer may not be popular with your staff, the salesperson may be able to form a positive relationship with that customer. However, if the new hire has preconceived notions about a customer being one way or another it is unlikely they will form a strong relationship.
Here is my final advice to you, the owner. Give your new hire an open door policy with you and talk with him/her daily.
Get him/her involved in your strategy sessions. The new hire needs to know where the company is going. He or she doesn’t need to know the details but does need to be able to articulate this to the customer base especially if it is a key differentiator.
Have the new hire recommend metrics to be tracked on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. If the salesperson helps create the metrics, her or she will work more diligently to achieve those metrics.
Finally, fill your new hire’s calendar for the next eight weeks. Be deliberate on what you want the new hire to be doing. A new salesperson won’t get to where you want unless you help him or her get there. You play a vital role in the success of a new sales hire.
Again, happy hiring and onboarding!
Dennis O’Connell is part of a team of coaches and consultants serving the IT industry. Prior to joining the HTG Peer Groups staff, he spent almost 35 years in various roles on both the technical and sales side of IT companies including a large original equipment manufacturer (OEM) along with both large and small managed services provider. As a business owner, he created his own peer group to provide guidance and feedback for his company. He loves helping sales executives maximize their potential and their impact on their company’s bottom line. You can reach him at doconnell@htgpeergroups.com or on LinkedIn.