One of the best practices in a sales department is to establish a sales rep success plan for new members of your team. This plan should cover a determined time frame, be detailed, be very specific and go hand in hand with the company’s operating procedures and the product or service you are selling. Here are some elements and aspects a well-designed sales rep success plan should include:
Develop trust between your sales rep and your company. Before anything else, make sure the new reps know your facilities and the people with which they will work. Part of the sales rep success plan is letting your new reps know you can help them fulfill their goals and that you are interested in their well-being and success.
Be prepared with a checklist of all the paperwork that a new hire must complete so that this process could be fast and effective and doesn’t represent an obstacle for the sales rep success plan. It is also a great initiative to have a list of tools and equipment that your new team members will need to perform their work perfectly. This will help both yourself and your sales reps get HR tasks done more effectively and efficiently.
Every sales representative should have a complete understanding as to how and when they are paid, that’s the reason you should have a compensation plan review meeting very soon after they start working with you. It can be counterproductive if you skip this step because when a team member doesn’t understand the commission plan, it will be a constant distraction to explain it over and over again until they understand.
A sales rep success plan should assure the entire sales team has complete knowledge of the product or service they are selling. But be careful on the amount of information you give, you don’t want to confuse your new sales reps. Instead, give your reps information coming from a sales value point of view and discuss features and specifications that relate to the benefits of the customer.
This type of training is a must, as technology has become an excellent tool for sales departments and for businesses in general. When your sales reps know how your CRM system they are more in control of their activities and goals. If you are using a commission tracking software such as Blitz, then show your sales reps how the system can automatically keep good track of the income they are earning, which makes your sales rep success even more effective.
Not all the order processes are the same in all companies; therefore, you need to provide your new sales reps with clear instructions on how to complete the appropriate paperwork with their customers. Including this information in your sales rep success plan will help your team excel in their performance with customers, which will positively affect your company’s image.
It is understandable that you have your own particular way of doing things. It is important, as part of the sales rep success plan, to discuss policies and procedures with your new hires so that they have a thorough understanding of how things are done in your company and department.
One of the most common indicators that your sales rep success plan is failing is that performance expectations were not clearly defined since the beginning. We want to avoid misunderstandings, so set aside some time with your new hires in order to discuss both, your expectations of them, as well as their expectations of you.
Make sure to include these elements on your sales rep success plan and you will have a detailed roadmap to success for your entire sales team to follow. Of course, the more detailed the roadmap, the more opportunities for goal achievement.
The Complete Guide to Sales Force Incentive Compensation: How to Design and Implement Plans that Work. Authors: Andris A. Zoltners, Sally E. Lorimer, and Prabhakant Sinha. 2006: New York, NY. Amacom Editiorial.