Getting To Your Why: Business Acumen Focused Onboarding
Here’s the thing: while your people may know what to do, they probably don’t know why to do it. That’s the heart of onboarding. And how you onboard is as important as onboarding itself.
Say your organization had a great year in sales. Numbers look good and, for the first time in a long time, the risk of losing your top earners isn’t your most pressing concern. So, given this newly found optimism, the prospect of even adding human capital to your sales force doesn’t keep you up at night.
Okay, we might be stretching it there.
The thought of bringing new people on always leaves business leaders a little bit restless.
We get it, but we sleep easy knowing we have the appropriate tool to increase success: onboarding new sales professionals by focusing on business acumen training.
Sure, some may say, that’s all well and good for a ‘fictional’ company that’s enjoying a resurgence, but those are fewer and farther between than ever before. In today’s volatile and unpredictable economy, most organizations no longer lose sleep over their people walking out the front door.
They are far too preoccupied with keeping their doors open!
So, let’s look at it from that side of the fence. Your organization is struggling, and the problem isn’t a new one. As Gerhard Gschwandtner, publisher of Selling Power magazine explains:
“The traditional ‘informational’ sales call has become obsolete. Customers now want sales reps to be trusted advisors who will help them sort out specific problems and determine specific solutions that can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively.” He goes on to say, “This is only possible, however, when the sales rep has a strong understanding of the customer’s business and of [his own company] as well.”
Consider that your best sales reps know exactly ‘what’ they are doing. They are working with sales processes that have proven successful in the past but don’t give much thought to ‘why’ they work – they just do. That’s good enough for them!
A chill should have just run down your spine.
Good enough in the past is no guarantee that they will be good enough now or in the future. Even more pointedly, whether they are really any good at all. Thus, why the ‘why’ is so important. Dare we say critical? Arming your sales professionals with the why – with business acumen – is crucial to ensure the now and the tomorrow.
Think of it this way: approaching a sales situation with business acumen changes the dynamic relationship between the seller and buyer. It creates situations where the seller’s specialized knowledge and perspective become a strategic part of the buyer’s long-term success.
In short, business acumen marries the ‘what’ with the ‘why’ for a happily ever after.
For more on the value of business acumen to sales professionals, register for our webcast through HCI HERE.