Managing a system integration sales team is about as unpredictable and dynamic of a career as there is. Essentially, your job is to make sure the company continues to grow on a month-to-month basis – there is little to no room for error. Due to this requirement of constant performance, some of the more strategic initiatives get put on the back burner. None more common than an on-boarding program for new sales people.
When I work with our clients on developing their sales on-boarding, the sales managers always seem surprised at one thing: one of the principles of our Sales On-Boarding Program is to measure from day one. Of course, the metrics evolve over the first 60 to 90 days, but the important thing to remember is to start measuring performance right away. We work at length with our clients to determine what metrics should be measured and when, and what the goals should be. The sales managers are always hesitant because they don’t want to be micromanaging their new people before they fill out their insurance papers. Their biggest surprise is that the new sales people love it – they love being measured against meaningful metrics with realistic goals. Very quickly the sales managers love it too – they’ve got real data to measure the progress of their new salesperson, instead of waiting months for their ramp-up.
If you’re interested in learning more about Vector Firm’s Sales On-Boarding Program contact us.
