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Why Change Selling Blog

 

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7 min read

Reducing Sales Ramp to Accelerate Growth - Pt. 1.

By Mark Gibson on Oct 27, 2021 11:23:06 AM

Recently I attended a Sales Hacker forum and one of the questions from the group was “We have a very complex product, it takes 12-18 months for salespeople to become fully productive, how can we reduce the time it takes to get salespeople up to speed?”

The answer to this question takes more than a few minutes and it varies, depending on the complexity of the product and the learning culture of the organization.

But ramping new hires quickly in a SaaS business is key to accelerating business growth.

Part 1 of this two-part blog post examines the causes of the slow sales ramp and explores ways to reduce it.

Topics: sales ramp whiteboard storytelling
5 min read

The Role of Content in Ramping New Sales Hires

By Mark Gibson on Oct 27, 2021 11:23:06 AM

Onboarding and Ramping New Hires  

Executives responsible for hiring and ramping new marketing and sales hires have a whole host of challenges in finding and hiring good candidates and in getting them productive. For new marketers it's usually a brief, sink or swim induction that starts with a content immersion and then the writing begins. 

Onboarding new sales hires is a longer process, commencing with indoctrination in the product; demo, presentation, pricing, followed by CRM and sales process training.

After meetings with the sales manager to discuss territory and key accounts, the sales rep is off-and-running.
 
Unfortunately for sales reps in many companies, from this point on, they are on their own. They have to source their own leads, figure out how their customers buy their product and through trial and error, how to sell the product.  

Sound familiar? 

It should, this is pretty standard stuff in mainstream technology companies.  

For a straightforward product with a 1-month sales cycle time, it might take 3-4 months for a rep to become fully productive. For a complex enterprise solution with a 6-month sales cycle, it will likely take a year or more.  

Dave Kurlan’s formula for Ramp up time = the length of your sales cycle + the length of your learning curve + 30 days. Dave adds a couple of months to ramp time for either lack of industry knowledge or lack of sales experience.  

The only variable in Dave’s formula is the length of your learning curve.
 
CSO Insights suggests that the factors causing long ramp-times are:

Topics: sales productivity sales ramp new hire
7 min read

Reducing Sales Ramp Time to Accelerate Growth Part 2.

By Mark Gibson on Oct 27, 2021 11:23:06 AM

Reducing Sales Ramp 2.

Ramping new hires quickly in a SaaS business is key to accelerating business growth.

In part 1 of this post I discussed the high cost of a slow ramp and the causes of the slow sales ramp problem. I shared some ideas on hiring better quality sales talent excerpted from Mark Roberge's new book, The Sales Acceleration Formula and discussed 21st. Century learning concepts.

In this post I will examine specific high value steps to accelerate sales competency, including;

  • Understanding how your customers buy.
  • Capturing your "Why Change" Story that everyone can tell.
  • The Whiteboard Storytelling Secret.
  • Making it Stick, Social Learning and Certification.

Topics: sales enablement sales ramp whiteboarding