When I talk with business executives about sales performance, I ask four questions. For the first three of them, they practically leap across the table with a resounding, Yes! Those questions...

1. Would you like your sales people to generate more revenue than they do today?

2. When you hire sales people, would you like them to generate revenue faster than they do today?

3. Would you like to increase the success rate of those sales people you hire?

The fourth question stops them dead in their tracks.

4. What program do you have in place to help the sales people you hire apply their sales skills in the sales role for your company?

There's a deafening silence heard as their eyes sheepishly look away. Many don't recognize that hiring strong sales talent doesn't guarantee success. It simply means that they've found sales people with the potential to be rock stars for the company. However, for the potential to translate into reality, a structured onboarding program is needed.

Is creating an onboarding program a significant undertaking? Absolutely. There is work to be done, but think of it as investment protection. Every time you add headcount to your sales team, it is a major revenue investment. Onboarding protects the investment and leads to increased revenue production, shorter timelines to produce sales and increased sales person success rates.

As you look at your strategic initiatives for the upcoming year, be sure sales person onboarding program development is high on your list.