Sales roles are always in high-demand as well have some of the highest turnover rates of up to 34%. 71% of companies take 6 months or longer to onboard new sales reps and 33% say it takes 9 months or more before reps are effective.
These figures are staggering, but this also presents you with an advantage to differentiate from the majority.
As a long-time sales manager who has hired hundreds of sales reps over the course of my career, the number one differentiator is the ability to show thoughtful structure and discipline throughout the interview process.
A 30 60 90 day sales plan is the structure for which you should prepare your interview questions and areas to discover at some level throughout the interview process. By leveraging this framework the QBS process will be easy to manage with a clear deliverable after the interview process has completed.
Steps to create your 30 60 90 Day Sales Plan:
1. Research Leverage a framework for research. Understand the areas of the business you are looking to uncover externally like product sets, customers, industry news, public information about the company, etc. This will be the first step in creating your plan as well the questions you have for the interview team.
The more you understand about the company, their competitors, challenges they are facing and how your background or skill set aligns with those objectives, the easier the process will be.
2. Top Priorities This should be a blend of your top objectives to become effective in the role in alignment with the organizational goals. Asking the question "what are your top priorities within your sales org?" and "what does a successful sales rep do in the first 90 days that helps to ramp up onboarding and launch effectively?". These questions will help you uncover the top priorities you should create.
This portion of your 30 60 90 day plan will let the hiring manager know you were listening and willing to take on all of the areas of opportunity within the role.
3. 30 60 90 I always like the structure around People, Product, and Process. The 3 P's as popularized by Marcus Lemonis is the correct framework for just about any business, but these fit well into the dynamic of a successful launch. The order is less important and can be moved around based on the onboarding plan that was identified through the questions and answers you went through.
Don't over complicate this section, create 4 or 5 top priorities within each section of the 30 60 90 day plan that is easy to account for after your launch. Create a breakdown of each time period with a few action items you have talked through over the course of your interviews.
Create S.M.A.R.T. objectives to show your manager you understand the significance of strategic, measurable, accountable, results, and time-related actions. This will set you apart from every other candidate in the pool of your immediate competition.
4. Scorecard Objectives" Every sales manager or corporate executive will appreciate the accountability of measurable results with a scorecard that you will hold yourself accountable to.
Break your scorecard down to contacts you need to make, tasks to understand the products and activity you need to successfully launch in the first 90 days. These numbers are usually not 100% accurate, but this is your chance to set expectations of the actions needed to meet your immediate goals.
5. Sales Process You must understand the expectations of your sales manager and that starts with a full understanding of their sales process. These are questions you need to ask to ensure you understand to align your prior experience to the disciplines your sales manager feels is the best path to success.
Create a visual or process flow representation of the sales process you understand to be their sales structure. This will again show that you asked the right questions and are aligned with the expectations that have been set.
A 30 60 90 day sales plan is your tool to ask the right questions with a desired outcome. It shows you understand the importance of their process and are going to align your skillset with their corporate objectives.
On average I would say 10% of all sales reps provide this information after their interview and my hire rate has been historically close to 100% with those reps.
This plan does not have to be perfect and it is completely fair to state this is something you would like to work with them on upon a job offer. It is also a great opportunity to get more time with the hiring manager to pitch yourself as their top candidate.
Creating this plan will not only land you the job, but this will most often allow you the leverage you need to negotiate compensation after their initial offer. The reps I have historically hired who present their 30 60 90 day sales plan make at least 10% more than the average sales rep based on my initial offer.
Here is a 30 60 90 Day Sales Plan Template:
Good Luck!
Sales Rake