Your sales onboarding process has a huge impact on the efficiency of your newly hired sales representatives. A proper and well-structured onboarding process can help you increase your sales efficiency and revenues. Similarly, a poor onboarding program can cost you more than you can imagine– both financially and otherwise.
Unfortunately, almost 88% of businesses don't provide a good onboarding experience to their new employees. They either don't think that onboarding is necessary or they don't have a properly structured plan in place. Whatever the case is, poor onboarding and sales training can have serious repercussions for your business.
Today, we are going to outline the true cost and all negative implications of the poor staff onboarding on your business. Read on!
The True Cost of Poor Staff Onboarding
Simply put, sales onboarding is a process of introducing a new sales rep to the culture, expectations, and workflows of your company. A sales training program empowers the new hires with the right tools and educates them on how to use those tools to be successful in their jobs.
As remote selling is becoming more and more common today, it becomes even more crucial to provide an enriching onboarding program to all your new salespeople. And failing to do that can cost you in more ways than you can imagine!
Here are some of the negative consequences of poor onboarding.
01. High staff turnover rates
Did you know that 33% of new employees start looking for a new job within six months of accepting the offer letter? And another 23% leave a company within a year of joining. One of the main reasons for this is poor onboarding.
The total cost of staff turnover can be as high as 100-300% of the employee’s salary. And if we talk specifically about sales jobs, then an organization has to spend as much as $97,960 to replace a sales rep. Yes, you read that right! Think about how much time and money you can save if you retain your existing employees instead of recruiting new ones.
02. Reduced sales efficiency
Not providing your sales reps with an enriching onboarding program can greatly reduce your sales efficiency.
When your employees are not properly trained, they won't be able to put their best foot forward, impress customers and prospects, or score leads. They wouldn't know what are the right sales tactics to use or how to handle a complex situation. An inefficient sales rep will make you lose a lot of your customers and prospects and will cost you a significant amount of money.
03. Missed opportunities and lost potential
Generally, sales representatives reach their full potential after approximately 11.2 months of joining the organization. Now, just think of how much potential and talent your business would lose if these reps were to leave the jobs within a year of joining because of a poor onboarding program!
Moreover, you will miss out on a lot of wonderful opportunities if you have a poor rate of employee retention. According to research, the opportunity cost of sales representative turnover can surpass $100,000 per employee.
04. Increased stress, lower employee productivity, and morale
If you don't properly onboard your new hires, they will feel anxious, stressed, and unsettled at their job every day. This reduces their productivity and brings down morale. Constant stress can also affect their mental health. Moreover, low productivity due to stress and anxiety can cost you about $600 per worker annually.
Furthermore, if your new hires struggle to navigate their new job, they won't be able to perform to the best of their abilities. And when they fail to cope with the new responsibilities, they might choose to leave the position.
To Sum It Up
Providing high quality and extensive onboarding to your new employees is no longer a choice, it's a necessity! In fact, according to a study, 49% of high-performing salespeople believe that the availability of good onboarding is extremely important and helpful.
A poor and inadequate onboarding will not only cost you a lot of money, but it'll also cost you your talented employees, your customers, prospects, and some amazing opportunities. Therefore, it is vital to invest in a good, well-structured onboarding program so that your employees can work confidently in their new jobs and you and your company can be on your A-game!
