Bob MarshWe all know how important it is to set the right metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) for your salespeople. But what you might not know is how to choose which sales KPIs matter for onboarding new salespeople.
More than 1 in 10 sales organizations within SaaS-based companies are experiencing turnover rates of 55% or more each year (according to data from The Bridge Group). The average attrition rate of 34% isn’t much better. Ouch!
When you bring a new sales rep onto your team, a strong onboarding process is essential so you can get them producing revenue as quickly as possible, and understand who is going to work and who is struggling. To combat this high turnover rate, modern sales leaders need to establish the right KPIs for onboarding new salespeople.
3 KPIs To Track When Onboarding Salespeople:
1. Sales Discovery Meetings
In the first couple of weeks of your sales rep’s time at the company, he or she should spend a lot of time listening to the sales calls of your top performers. Not only does this give your new hires a feel for the type of buyer they’ll typically be selling to, but it allows them to see how the most effective members of your team present, propose and promote your solution to those prospective buyers.
In general, the more conversations your new sales rep listens to, the better.
Some companies may opt to make this KPI tailored to the individual (the more experienced the sales rep, the less calls they may need to sit in on), while others might prefer that each new hire sits in on X number of calls before they start hitting the phones themselves.
Regardless of how many calls you think are necessary to sit in on, it’s definitely important to track the number of discovery calls or meetings the sales rep attends during the onboarding process.
2. Meetings Set
Let’s be honest here: the first few meetings at any new sales job are hard. Really hard. But it’s important to get those new reps taking the plunge and getting on the phone to, in a sense, get the marbles out of their mouth.
During those first couple of weeks of the onboarding process, help them get over their initial reluctance and fears by just booking some meetings on their own. This will reinforce what they’ve already learned about the buyer, while also refining their own understanding of your brand’s messaging. It’s also a great way to help them feel like they’re really starting to contribute and build their pipeline.
Set an initial number of meetings for your rep to set during the first week, and then increase it slightly in the second, and so on. Make sure he or she is comfortable with the pace, and then engages in enough meetings to stay on track for hitting this important sales KPI.
3. Coaching and Mentoring Sessions
Perhaps the most important metric to track during a sales rep’s onboarding is how many mentoring sessions he or she takes part in. Set a KPI for the new hire to have a certain number of sessions where the front-line sales manager sits on a call, looks over an email or provides general feedback on the rep’s performance (a few tips on sales coaching here).
It’s crucial to get these mentoring sessions in during the onboarding process so that the rep establishes sales-producing behaviors early on. Even just a few years ago, less than half of all companies said they have some sort of coaching or mentoring program for employees. These sessions establish a forum for constructive criticism to help the sales rep learn and grow, in addition to creating trust between the employee and manager.
So give your sales rep a specific number of coaching sessions to set up during his or her onboarding process. But don’t forget: a modern sales leader takes part in ongoing coaching sessions with sales reps (not just during the first couple of weeks).
Overall, sales KPIs should focus on measures that are controllable and actionable by your salespeople, both throughout the onboarding process and afterward.
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