The Onboarding Problem

You’re excited about your new hire. They’re smart. Motivated. Good track record.

Twelve months later, they're either gone or you're wondering if you made a mistake.

The problem wasn't who you hired. It's what they walked into.

THE INSIGHT

Most sales onboarding looks like this: HR paperwork, product training, CRM training, shadow a veteran, and cross your fingers for luck. 🤞

None of that is wrong. It all needs to happen.

But here's what's missing: What do your best people actually do? Not generically, specifically. What questions do they ask? What do they do in the first meeting that sets up everything that follows?

If you can't answer those questions clearly, your new reps are flying blind. They're trying to figure out in 12 months what your veterans learned over decades.

That's not onboarding. That's hazing.

Here's the line I keep coming back to…

Ramp time is a function of clarity.

The clearer you are about what success looks like, the faster new reps can get there. If your onboarding is "shadow Bob and figure it out," you're all but guaranteeing a long ramp.

Finding good people is just one part of the equation. You’ve got to set them up to succeed from there.

The full piece is here. 

QUICK HITS

📍 I shared a little secret this week on LinkedIn. 

📘 New book this week. Know Why You Win is out. Short, practical, free, and built around the work I’ve been talking about for the past few weeks. This is kind of a “quiet launch” for my newsletter readers, but you’re going to hear a lot more about it in the very near future.

📊 The math: If your reps take 6 months to ramp instead of 3, you're leaving a full quarter of gross profit on the table. Per rep. Every time you hire.

THE SHOUTOUT

My #ThankfulThursday post this week was about Camille Clemons.

Almost ten years ago, she reached out with, "I think you might be able to help me."

If I helped her with anything, it was seeing how good she already was at what she did. She's always been a top performer, and it shows in how she treats people. She reaches out first. She's generous with her time, her thoughts, and her concern.

There's something inherently genius about being so good at something you don't even realize it.

Camille is not just a former client; she's become a good friend. Someone who's provided more value to me than I think I ever did to her (and she still never lets me pick up the tab).

THE CLOSE

Fix onboarding once, and you get the benefit every time you hire.

Most companies skip this. They hire great people and set them up to struggle.

Don't be most companies.

Cheers,
JB

P.S. How well do you know what good looks like in your organization? I built something for that. 14 questions, 10 minutes, free.