The Challenge of Onboarding and Scaling Sales Teams
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 8:24 am
When business is doing well, it’s only natural to want to scale your sales force. It’s a seemingly simple formula. More sales reps equal more growth.
But before you start hiring more reps, there are a few things to consider. When Ciara, a leader in the field of digital conversation assistants, asked reps to share their most significant sales challenges, the number two issue that they named was “difficulties onboarding and scaling sales teams.”
The survey went on to dig deeper and identify the special database source of the problem. In particular, respondents pointed to problems with inadequate training and the long onboarding process for new reps, which, on average, required three or more months.
Scaling up your sales teams is challenging in the best of times. Today, with coronavirus concerns completely changing how companies sell and do business, determining the best way to scale up can be even tougher. Here are some issues to think through when onboarding and scaling up sales teams.
Create a Clear Vision of Your Objectives
Your goal is to hire new sales reps and bring them on board quickly, without disrupting the current sales momentum. But before you can think about hiring additional reps, you need a clear understanding of where you’ve been and where you’re going.
Have a frank discussion with your team leaders and top producers. Ask the team:
How did we get to this point? Has it been steady growth? Is it a seasonal spike or due to the COVID crisis?
What is our sales process? Has it transitioned effectively to accommodate a virtual sales environment?
What are our goals for the next six months? For the next year?
If you have a proven sales process, then your objective is likely to scale up to take advantage of increasing demand.
But perhaps your sales process has been changing. You may be gradually increasing your inside sales force while decreasing the number of field reps. Flux within your current environment may signal that it’s an ideal time to innovate the composition of your sales team and how you go to market.
But before you start hiring more reps, there are a few things to consider. When Ciara, a leader in the field of digital conversation assistants, asked reps to share their most significant sales challenges, the number two issue that they named was “difficulties onboarding and scaling sales teams.”
The survey went on to dig deeper and identify the special database source of the problem. In particular, respondents pointed to problems with inadequate training and the long onboarding process for new reps, which, on average, required three or more months.
Scaling up your sales teams is challenging in the best of times. Today, with coronavirus concerns completely changing how companies sell and do business, determining the best way to scale up can be even tougher. Here are some issues to think through when onboarding and scaling up sales teams.
Create a Clear Vision of Your Objectives
Your goal is to hire new sales reps and bring them on board quickly, without disrupting the current sales momentum. But before you can think about hiring additional reps, you need a clear understanding of where you’ve been and where you’re going.
Have a frank discussion with your team leaders and top producers. Ask the team:
How did we get to this point? Has it been steady growth? Is it a seasonal spike or due to the COVID crisis?
What is our sales process? Has it transitioned effectively to accommodate a virtual sales environment?
What are our goals for the next six months? For the next year?
If you have a proven sales process, then your objective is likely to scale up to take advantage of increasing demand.
But perhaps your sales process has been changing. You may be gradually increasing your inside sales force while decreasing the number of field reps. Flux within your current environment may signal that it’s an ideal time to innovate the composition of your sales team and how you go to market.