Most onboarding front-loads product knowledge and leaves selling to chance. New hires finish week two able to describe every feature and unable to run a first call. Ramp time stretches, and everyone blames the hire.
Teach the conversation, not the catalogue
New sellers need to know which problems you solve, who feels them, and how the first conversation should go. Product depth can follow. Sequencing it the other way costs months.
- Define what a good first call sounds like and let them hear real examples.
- Have them practise before they're live, with feedback from their manager.
- Give them three buyer problems to master rather than the whole portfolio.
- Set behaviour milestones for weeks one to eight, not just a quota date.
Ramp isn't about how much a new seller knows. It's about how soon they can hold a useful conversation.
If your best sellers can't explain how they do it, onboarding will always be improvised. Capture that once and every future hire benefits.