Sometimes talented individuals will join an organization with the potential to be successful and still fail.  One of the contributing factors to potential failure is either the lack of or a weak onboarding process.  Weak onboard processes are typically the result of leaders assuming new members understand the culture, the processes and systems and the knowledge base required to be successful.  A strong onboard process will identify the knowledge base, the skills, the strengths and the attributes necessary of high levels of top performers.  The onboard process further outlines what information needs to be disseminated to the new candidate in addition to the expectations of the new candidate. 

For example, on Day 1 of the new relationship what do we want the candidate to know about?  On Day 2 what are the expectations relating to performance and what information will be disseminated?  What are the expectations of performance on Day 3 and what information will be disseminated?

The onboarding process could in general last from 30 to 90 days and sometimes more. The length of the onboard process is typically driven by the length of the learning curve.  Another element of the onboard process is the daily, weekly and monthly observations of the new hire's absorption of knowledge, behavior and results produced. 

A strong onboard process will support an accelerated learning curve as well as expedited results.  A weak onboard process will support an extended learning curve in addition to a prolonged period of time before results are achieved.

A prospect went to our web site http://www.turrisiassociates.com looking for information on how to write an ad to hire salespeople. When I called the gentlemen he informed me he had targeted the mortgage industry. He went on to say the mortgage and real-estate business was in a downturn and salespeople were looking to leave.

When I asked the prospect what business he was in I was told he was a house builder. His plan was to write to mortgage company owners and recruit salespeople that wanted to leave the industry. He wanted salespeople that understood financing and real estate.

Let's pretend for a moment that a mortgage agency owner was to respond to his letter. Do you think for a moment an agency owner would be inclined to give out names of employees who were top performers or poor performers?

When  the criteria for hiring a salesperson is industry knowledge, I can't help feeling the focus is on presenting when it should be on Hunting for Prospects, Qualifying or Disqualifying Business Opportunities and the Closing of sales.

In order for a salesperson to be successful the salesperson has to have a good balance of hunting skills, qualifying skills and closing skills.  Without these skills the knowledge base of the salesperson is useless.  Especially when the opportunity is not qualified or disqualified properly.

By way of example let's pretend that the salesperson was a big game hunter and knew everything about the use of their weapon, how to load it, how to aim it, and how to pull the trigger.  Without having the ability to tell the difference between a bear and a cow the big game hunter would be unsuccessful in achieving their goals or at best lucky from time to time.

In selecting a candidate the candidate should be matched to the position based on their sales skills, strengths and compatibility to the position.  An example being if your salesperson is going to be calling on C-level executives in a highly competitive market and has come from and industry where they called on low level managers and were the only game in town they would find it extremely difficult to be successful.