First impressions go both ways, and this is valuable to remember when hiring a new sales candidate. The most important impression you can make is during the onboarding process. Onboarding is increasingly talked about as a critical step in managing a great sales team, and with good reason: if an employee isn’t properly taken care of from the very beginning, they could jump ship before it has left the dock.
Making new hires feel welcomed and valued, plus providing them with the information and assistance they need to succeed in their first several months is important for both the company and employee. Review the following onboarding suggestions to adapt to your business and brand.
First, you need to acquire that great sales candidate who is a proper and comfortable fit with your company. The best way to find top sales talent is to work with an experienced sales recruiter who can save you time and money and supply an impressive line-up of candidates. Include interview questions and a conversation related to starting a new job to get a feel for how onboarding and orientation may go for this individual.
Provide any materials you can over email prior to their first day so they can take care of reading and filling out forms, plus familiarize themselves with information, policies, and perhaps even staff and other sales team members beforehand. If possible, post schedules of what their first week will look like, provide benefits, tax forms, and FAQs about the company.
Inter-personalize their orientation and make them feel welcomed with a small reception. Downplay the formality and have everyone wear name tags to help. No matter how confident a sales person you have just hired is, starting at a new place can be overwhelming. Making introductions and letting them settle in establishes a level of comfort that allows for better focus when the work begins.
Assign a senior mentor who they can learn from, and continue to rely on, for the first few months up to a full year. Beyond just orientation, training, and being handed a dry manual, this person can assist with the realities of the work and selling in the field. This individual shouldn’t be a supervisor who the new hire feels subordinate to, but a helpful and relatable peer.
Let your new hire know about all the benefits and perks of the job so they can be aware and take advantage of them when appropriate. Finding out about a program, event, or perk far after the fact means they’re not truly benefitting from the benefits.
Let your new employees know about your company’s vision and values by making the mission statement clear. Of course, this will help with selling, but it will also give them a sense of purpose and the ability to gel with the culture more naturally and enthusiastically. Sharing stories at the reception, orientation, and continuing over the first year will help with real world, memorable examples that can hit home.
You hired this candidate for several reasons, one of which is that they can sell, but everyone has their unique strengths, too. Be sure to utilize these from the very start and your new candidate will feel confident and needed as a valuable new addition to the team and company at large.
