When companies hire a new Business Development Manager (BDM), they are not sure how quickly they should begin contributing to their sales budgets. Often it is expected that they start making appointments in the first week. Time must be invested into their proper initial onboarding to make sure they know enough about what they are selling to be credible and not make the company look unprofessional.
This will also lead to the BDM feeling of ‘this job is different – they are really investing in me for the long term’. Only then will they reciprocate and become loyal to your cause. Hiring a BDM is a BIG investment in time and money and the onboarding process has to be executed correctly.
Start by on-boarding them for the first couple of weeks at least, and include the following:
- Introduce them to the rest of the business
- Train them on what the company does
- Train them on your sales process
- Discuss and align expectations on Budgets, KPIs, Activity levels
- Describe pre-sales and escalation support/processes
- Help them develop their go-to-market strategy for the first 3 months
- Help them develop their sales pitch.
Before allowing them out to represent your company, do role plays to see how they intend to get meetings, and how they position your company to your prospects. Keep doing this and provide constructive feedback until they get it right.
When it comes to client meetings, you must mix some good training and coaching with shadowing your best BDM and after each meeting, do a de-brief to discuss what went well, what process was executed and what they learnt.
When they feel they are ready, your Sales Manager should do a role play to ensure the BDM asks the right questions and listens effectively before letting them loose.
Want to know more?
Get the first weeks right and you will get a better return on your BDM investment. Nothing great was ever achieved by rushing this part of the process. Call ECG to help you onboard and train your sales teams.
