Teach the Basics: Onboarding Sets Sales Teams for Success with Hana Elliot

This episode of the Live Better Seller Better Podcast features Hana Elliot, Vice President of Revenue at Vendition. The cost of half-baked onboarding is reflected in lost potential revenue. Leaders must then realize that spending time to teach SDRs the fundamentals is more than just another box to tick.

Rather, it is a commitment. Hana shares their best practices that have helped thousands of sales professionals sell better. Onboarding imparts your culture but it should also include some professionalism basics as a good number of SDRs are actually fresh out of college.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Companies need to commit time to onboard properly
• Coach remotely with a buddy system for new SDRs
• Onboarding program: Teach the basics and use metrics  
• The balance between educating, building confidence, and ramping quota
• Remember that SDRs are human too

QUOTES

Hana: "I think it's a worthwhile exercise to look at the pipeline or revenue impact of not having a fully-ramped SDR in seat because that's what's going to help you prioritize your time. It's too easy to get caught up in the daily whirlwind... and say I'm too busy."

Hana: "Having more experienced AEs or some of your senior SDRs who have done it and are showing great results, have them listen in and shadow and give their feedback. Chances are, if you've been coaching them all along, they'll also know your mentality and be able to pass that along."

Hana: "I'm not a second week, throw somebody on the phone. That's not my approach or preference. But you have to hit it hard at the beginning. That's where you can take advantage of your mentors, of your buddies, that's where you can do a lot of group online at the same time cohort writing workshops."

Hana: "Being ready is so subjective. But are there assessments that you can build in at checkpoints and milestones throughout their onboarding process to determine are they actually ready? Make sure you know what you're looking for. Can they do X, Y, and Z on a cold call practice with you?"

You can find out more about Hana in the links below:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanaelliott/
• Website: https://vendition.com/