Virtual New Hire Training
/A reader writes, "New hire sales training at my company combines working with reps in the field and on-site classroom work at the home office. One of my reps announced her retirement and I need to replace her right away. How do we train the new salesperson with our offices closed and field reps at home?"
The combination of COVID-19 and a rep's retirement has upended your well-run training program. Here are some tips for coping in the current environment. It is possible. I've done it.
Pre-plan
At some point in the interview process, most candidates (especially the good ones) ask about the company's plans to train them.
Before interviewing a single sales representative, schedule a meeting with the employees who typically participate in training. Together, collaborate on ways to adjust it for a virtual environment.
Organize Your Technology
Select one video conferencing software program for all employees. Ensure it works properly and that everyone understands how to use the functions like screen sharing, chat, and sending out invitations.
Schedule the Days
New employees dislike being at loose ends. If the workday runs from 8am to 5pm, make sure to fill all those hours with training. But that doesn't mean overloading or exhausting them. Schedule less intense activities like study time as well.
You might say, "From 10:30am to 12pm, read the white paper, PDF's, and website pages for Product A. After the lunch break, email the product manager three questions about the product."
Mix it Up
Set up virtual meetings for the rep / reps with employees throughout the organization. Discussions with the CEO, CFO, CTO, product managers, accounts payable, and the office manager help make them feel like a part of the company and increase their overall company knowledge.
Field Reps
With the field reps communicating with customers by phone, enable the new hire to listen to some of those calls.
Ask the field reps to share their CRM screen with the new hire and discuss some of the accounts they call on. Reps can talk about pre-call planning, customer buying habits, discovery questions, common objections, and customer preferences.
Inside Sales Reps
Prior to the new hire's start date, have your ISR's record customer calls. Build an on-line library of calls for the rep to listen to and discuss with you later.
Create Quizzes
Remote training makes it more challenging to understand how much product / company knowledge gets retained by the new rep. You miss out on those face-to-face, more casual opportunities for Q & A.
Ask company subject matter experts to create quizzes for the different products. Make sure the difficulty level of the questions is reasonable for someone new to the company.
Review answers with the rep afterwards.
Use Your Talent
Who give the best product demonstrations? Which rep handles objections most effectively? Who writes the best proposals?
Where possible, record these reps and add to the virtual library. Post template proposals to a shared drive.
Now - Answer the Question
While they understand the limitations of the current climate, top performing reps probably won't accept a position with a company offering a minimal and / or disorganized training program.
Answering inquiries about training in an organized manner shows your company as flexible, adaptable, and dedicated to provided top notch new hire training regardless of the circumstances.
Training Ideas
In my book, The Accidental Sales Manager, Chapter 5 is entitled "Establishing a New Hire Orientation Program." Much of the information contained there would be adaptable to the current virtual workplace.
Have Some Fun
Some isolation and loneliness exists for newly hired sales reps unable to meet and interact with their new co-workers. Find a local restaurant in their area that delivers and have lunch sent to them (and whomever else they might be at home with). That's a gesture they won't soon forget.
For more tips on working with sales reps in the new virtual environment, listen to the following podcasts on Sales Hiring Straight Talk, Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Podcasts:
Remote Worker: Hiring Virtually - Overview
Remote Worker: Hiring Virtually - The First Interview
