12 Proven Ways to Train A New Sales Rep

I've trained many sales people over the past 15 years of being an entrepreneur. Currently, LIFT Enrichment has a 7-person sales team that makes over 1,000 outbound calls a week. Clinic Assist has had sales people over the years, but I just hired a new one who is focused on booking me meetings with new clinics (aesthetic and dental) in Dubai…and London (where we've got some momentum!) This is a part two to an old post on how to hire a sales rep in South America Even though my current sales rep is in-person (and not remote), the principles of training her are the same Here are 12 proven ways to train a sales rep

1. It's 20% YOU showing and 80% THEM doing

You need to start by showing them HOW to sell. Have your sales rep sit by your side (or follow you along on zoom) and make cold calls. They need to hear you on calls and take their own notes. Use Loom.com or any screen recording software to record the good calls. But THEN they need to actually use a phone and laptop to sell to YOU. Start with some light roleplaying.  Then have them make some real cold calls to prospects. The key idea is to spend the majority of the time together having them DO the task. For example, if I block off 1 hour to train my sales rep, I'll spend 15 minutes of me calling clinics, then I'll spend the next 45 minutes of my sales rep calling clinics with me supervising.  

2. Sales training happens in small chunks, don't cram it into dense sessions

A part of me wishes I could just spend 2 8-hour shifts and just download everything I know about sales into my sales rep's head. But it doesn't work that way. Instead, it's better to spend 1-2 hours a day for several weeks doing training.   This way you can see the progress AND your sales rep has time to make some of their own calls and practice the script. Currently I'm blocking 2-hour 3-4x a week to do sales training.  It's enough to get my sales rep up and running without taking over my entire week.  I'll do this for at least a month, and then dial it back down a bit. Depending on the complexity of the selling process (and the script), it'll take at least 2 months for someone to be fully onboarded, but that doesn't mean they aren't making progress QUICKLY because..

3. Get your sales rep making REAL calls within 2 business days

This might be controversial, but I don't see the point of having 2 weeks of training until a sales rep can finally call a real prospect. There are plenty of cold or very lukewarm leads to practice on. My rep started on Thursday and by Monday she was calling clinics. I was supervising the calling and making sure everything was going smoothly. You want them to do their actual job soon so they can start the learning process.

4. Set the essential KPIs

Most sales reps will have a few basic KPIs

1. Outbound contacts per week (500 is my goal, which is 100 calls per day for new sales reps)
2. Meeting set per week (2 is good for my industry)
3. Meetings completed per week (1 is good, and even if I complete the meeting, but she's in charge of making sure that meeting happens by reminding the prospect the day before and morning of)

Other KPIs for higher level sales rep include

1. New proposals per week
2. New signed clients per week

These KPIs won't get added until week 3 or 4, but I start with the first 3 KPIs by Week 2.

5. Train on the MINDSET as well as the process

You can use a personality tester to find out how your sales rep best learns. I like the Kolbe A test. I did this test recently and saw that my new rep does best with a good script and clear conversation paths.   Every objection is written down so there is less "freestyle" thinking and a clear answer to memorize. This makes her life easier because I've heard most objections and have done the testing on what are the best responses. We also go over mindset training, on how a "Win" could just be getting contact details from a receptionist, or disqualifying a prospect.  It's not just about setting the meeting on every call. Also I remind them to not take things personally and realize it's a volume game.  The results come when you do the work.

6. Roleplay

Spend a few hours every week roleplaying.  You can even train an admin to do most of this. I had my rep call my phone and I'd pretend to be a clinic.  I'd give them real objections.  I'd make them send an email. I'd double check everything to make sure the process is smooth. After I feel good with her cold calling skills, I'll train her on how to run a sales meeting with a prospect. This is also a good time to correct smaller things like tonality and pacing.

7. Record Calls

I use Loom.com, which is a screen recording software, in a very simple, but effective way. I have my rep use the company phone to make the call and put the phone on speaker. Then on their laptop they can record their screen AND the dialogue. Then, they send me a Loom.com link and I can then listen to the call and see how they did. Also, they can review the Loom in advance and tell me where in the call they talk to a live prospect or got an objection and I can skip to that time stamp. These recordings should be done DAILY, so you can see progress.

8. Have a Daily Huddle

Everyday, my rep will report to my admin what happened yesterday and report on a few things:

1. Calls made yesterday
2. Number of Decision makers spoken to
3. Meetings Set

She can also ask any questions as needed.  This keeps her accountable AND gives her a place everyday where she can speak with a colleague. I'm not on the daily huddle, but I do see the results (we write them down in a google sheet) For remote staff, having that daily huddle at the same time every work day helps keep everyone connected. This huddle only takes about 5-10 minutes and should be in the calendar (i.e. 9:30am-9:45am Mon-Fri)

9. Focus on SPEED and VOLUME

Here's a post I wrote about how I can make 50 cold calls in 2 hours I always try to get my reps to use shortcuts, like email templates, and short notations so they can spend less time doing admin stuff (like updating the CRM) and more time on the phone. I showed my rep how while the call is "ringing" you can start logging the call and prepping the next activity. Then I timed myself and showed how I made 9 calls in 15 minutes.  Then I timed her and in 15 minutes she made 5 calls. I'm showing her speed, because you have to get through a good volume of calls to talk to a decision maker, which gets you the opportunity to set a meeting.

10. Do NOT have sales reps "make the list"

Sales reps are more expensive then admin, so don't waste their time on "data scraping" leads. Or doing "research on the website." Or "building the target market list" First off, their skill is SELLING not marketing. You, as the sales manager, need to pre-load their CRM and fill it with 100s of leads. I have my assistant do this, and she also does a bit of research on each lead. This way my rep can JUST SELL, and hit that goal of 100 calls efficiently.

11. Do NOT have sales reps "create the sales script"

This is the job of the sales manager (aka YOU) You need to write the sales manuscript. You need to update it, at least in the beginning. After 90 days, you can then give them access and have them add FAQs. In fact, make them write down every question so you can answer it AND put it in the sales SOP.

12. Update the script weekly

A sales script is not a static document, especially for a newer company. Get ready to make tweaks and adjustments throughout the training process. Eventually, it'll be locked in. But right now it's an evolving document. I change words and add tips as I do more live calls. I like to print it out each week. Yes, it makes it a bit hard for the sales rep at first, but the changes are necessary and helpful. I like a standardized process, and it might take me 2-3 months of training to format a good sales script. And that's how you train a rockstart sales rep! If you'd like help to grow your clinic, increase sales and get more treatments scheduled.  Click this link to book a quick 15-minute zoom consultation