Get New Sales Reps Productive In 2 Weeks

What is the biggest bottleneck in your sales department? It’s the lag time between hiring a new salesperson and the day they actually close a deal. Most founders think onboarding means "shadowing" or reading a handbook. That is a mistake. So what happens when you don't have a plan? Your expensive new hire spends their first week wandering the office, having unstructured chats with the CEO, or waiting for permission to work. This kills momentum. It signals that you don’t have your act together. If you want a sales team that produces revenue, you cannot wing the first two weeks. You need a rigid, hour-by-hour schedule for their first 10 business days. This video breaks down exactly how to structure a two-week onboarding system that gets reps on the phone and closing deals faster. Stop wasting salary on ramp-up time. Key Takeaways ✅ The Productivity Problem - Industry average: 6 months to first deal - Your cost: $30,000+ in wasted salary (on a $60K rep) - The bottleneck: Time between hire date and first revenue - The cause: No structured onboarding = "figuring it out" ✅ What Most Founders Get Wrong They think onboarding means: - ❌ "Shadow the team for a week" - ❌ "Read the handbook" - ❌ "Jump in and start calling" - ❌ "Get comfortable first" This is not onboarding. This is hoping they figure it out. ✅ The 2-Week System (Hour-by-Hour Structure) Week 1: Foundation - Day 1-2: Product deep dive (not marketing—actual functionality) - Day 3: CRM training + pipeline stages explanation - Day 4-5: Sales playbook review + mock discovery calls By Friday Week 1: Knows product, process, and tools Week 2: Execution - Day 6-7: Listen to 20+ recorded sales calls, take notes - Day 8: Role-play handling top 5 objections - Day 9: Shadow 3-5 live calls, ask questions after each - Day 10: Make first 10 calls with manager listening By Friday Week 2: Making calls, handling objections, closing deals ✅ The Key: Daily Training - 15-20 minutes every morning (not optional) - One focused topic per day - Role-play, not lecture - Topics: objection handling, discovery questions, closing techniques - Compounds over time = sharp reps ✅ What "Productive in 2 Weeks" Actually Means Not "closing $100K deals in 2 weeks." That's unrealistic. It means: - Week 1: Understands product, process, tools - Week 2: Making calls independently - Week 3-4: First small deals closing - Month 2-3: Hitting quota Compare to "figuring it out": - Month 1-3: Still confused - Month 4-5: First deals - Month 6: Maybe hitting quota - Often quits before month 6 ✅ The ROI Math - Without structure: 6 months to productivity = $30K wasted - With 2-week system: 2 weeks to making calls = ROI by month 2 - Difference: $25K+ saved per hire - Plus: Confidence boost (they know what to do = higher retention) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) Q: Can this really work for complex B2B sales with long cycles? A: Yes, because the 2-week system focuses on fundamentals: product knowledge, sales process, objection handling. Complexity just means more role-playing in week 2. They're not closing enterprise deals in week 2—they're making educated calls and learning the process. First small wins come weeks 3-4. Bigger deals come months 2-3. But they're PRODUCTIVE from week 2, not month 6. Q: What if my product is too technical for a 2-week ramp? A: Then you do more product training in week 1. But here's the thing: You don't need them to be a product expert to start calling. They need to know enough to have an intelligent conversation and know when to pull in a product specialist. Most founders overestimate how much product knowledge is needed for early conversations. Focus on business problems first, technical details later. Q: What's the most important thing to do in the first 2 weeks? A: Get them making real calls by day 10. Everything else—product training, CRM setup, playbook review—is building toward that moment. If they're not on calls by day 10, your onboarding is too slow. The faster they experience real prospects, real objections, and real conversations, the faster they learn. Waiting "until they're ready" just delays learning. Q: Should they shadow calls or make calls first? A: Both, in sequence. Week 1: Mock calls (they practice). Week 2, Day 6-9: Shadow live calls (they watch you/others). Week 2, Day 10: Make calls with you listening. Shadowing before making calls gives them patterns to copy. Making calls after shadowing puts those patterns into practice. The sequence matters. Q: How do I know if my 2-week onboarding is working? A: By Friday Week 2, ask them: "Explain our sales process start to finish." "What's our answer to the 1 objection?" "Walk me through a discovery call." If they can do this clearly, onboarding worked. If they're confused, your playbook isn't clear enough or your daily training wasn't hands-on enough. Fix the system, not the person. Q: What if they're not hitting quota by month 2? A: Productive in 2 weeks doesn't mean quota in 2 weeks. It means actively working pipeline, making calls, having conversations. Depending on your sales cycle, first deals might come week 3-4, quota might come month 2-3. The goal is to eliminate the "wandering around figuring it out" phase. They should always know what to do next because you gave them a map (the playbook) and training (the daily 15 minutes). Transcript: How do you get new sales reps productive in 2 weeks? Here's the system. Industry average is 6 months to first deal. That's $30,000 in wasted salary for a $60K rep. The problem? Most founders think onboarding means "shadow someone" or "read the handbook." That's not onboarding. That's hoping they figure it out. Here's what actually works: a rigid, hour-by-hour schedule for 10 business days. Week 1: Foundation Day 1-2: Product deep dive. Not marketing fluff—actual functionality. How does it work? What problems does it solve? Day 3: CRM training. Pipeline stages. What does each stage mean? What actions move prospects through? Day 4-5: Sales playbook review. Email templates. Call scripts. Objection handling. Then mock discovery calls. You play the prospect, they practice. By Friday Week 1, they know your product, your process, and your tools. Week 2: Execution. Day 6-7: Listen to 20+ recorded sales calls. Take notes. What questions do we ask? How do we handle objections? What patterns work? Day 8: Role-play handling the top 5 objections. You throw objections at them, they practice responses. Day 9: Shadow 3-5 live calls. Watch you or senior reps. Ask questions after each one. Day 10: Make their first 10 calls. You listen. They do the talking. By Friday Week 2, they're making calls independently. Now, "productive in 2 weeks" doesn't mean closing $100K deals in 2 weeks. It means by week 2, they're making educated calls, handling objections, and working pipeline. First small deals come weeks 3-4. Quota comes month 2-3. But there's zero "wandering around figuring it out." They know what to do from day 1. One more thing: Daily training. 15-20 minutes every single morning. One topic. Role-play, not lecture. Objection handling, discovery questions, closing techniques. This keeps skills sharp and compounds over time. Here's the ROI: Without structure, 6 months to productivity = $30K wasted. With this system, 2 weeks to productivity = ROI by month 2. That's $25K+ saved per hire. And higher retention because they know what to do. That's how you get new reps productive in 2 weeks: Structured onboarding, hour-by-hour schedule, daily training. Stop hoping they figure it out.