How to improve the sales onboarding process (and ramp up reps 3x faster)

Onboarding new sales reps is a delicate balancing act. Throw them in too soon and they sink. Wait too long, and you lose momentum. You need them to start closing deals quickly, without cutting corners.

As a sales leader, it may be difficult to adopt new techniques or really know how AI can help you. You’ve likely perfected your approach over the years.

If you’re here, you may have started to feel the pain of traditional onboarding. Maybe your reps are slow to learn the product or aren’t picking up your sales process fast enough.

It’s definitely easier to stick with what’s worked in the past but if even one of your competitors is using AI to reduce ramp up time for new hires, it could be costing you deals.

This article covers proven strategies and walks through how AI-powered tools, like Avoma, can simplify sales processes, speed up ramp up time, and optimize onboarding. 

Why a modern onboarding process matters

Even the best sales teams can waste valuable time and energy if new hires take months to reach productivity. Traditional onboarding programs often rely on long classroom-like sessions, shadowing calls, and manual tracking of progress. While these methods work to an extent, they can be inefficient.

A modern, effective sales onboarding program should be data-driven and interactive. It should be designed to reduce ramp time.

When your sales representatives can start contributing to revenue faster, you boost sales efforts. This also improves retention rates and employee engagement.

Faster and more targeted onboarding means:

• Reduced time to first sale and overall ramp-up time
• More consistent performance across the sales department
• Higher job satisfaction as sales reps are more confident and see results early on

The problem with your current onboarding (and why it’s slowing you down)

Let’s recap the challenges of the old model:

• Lengthy ramp-up time: It can take months before a new sales hire event starts to take deals.
• Inconsistent training: Traditional processes often lack personalization and rely on one-size-fits-all sales onboarding content.
• Manual tracking: If you’re even tracking at all, you may be relying on spreadsheets and manual feedback, which slows down your ability to adjust the sales training process.
• Little exposure to real scenarios: Reps spend too much time in passive learning and don’t see real selling situations, like objections or pricing pushback, until they’re on the call themselves.

These issues create a gap between both training and performance. A modern, tech-empowered approach can make all the difference.

The benefits of a modern sales onboarding plan

Optimizing your onboarding process with a modern approach and tools cuts down ramp-up time. Here’s what you gain:

• Faster ramp-up: New reps start selling sooner, and you can reduce time-to-revenue.
• More consistent training: Everyone gets the same high-quality onboarding, no matter who’s running it.
• Personalized coaching: AI adjusts the coaching to fit each rep’s role, experience, and learning style.
• Efficiency from AI: Automation handles the busywork so managers can focus on coaching.
• Actionable insights: Conversation intelligence tools show what’s working, what top reps are doing differently, and where reps need to improve.

7 top strategies to improve the sales onboarding process

Want to ramp reps faster and build a top-performing sales team? These 7 proven strategies (backed by AI and conversation intelligence) will help you build an effective onboarding program and get reps closing sooner.

1. Build a Clear Onboarding Timeline

A structured onboarding journey removes guesswork and builds consistency. Instead of loosely organized sessions, break the process into clear phases.

Here is a sample 30-60-90 day plan for onboarding experienced sales reps.

First 30 days: Learn & integrate

• Week one (Onboard): Run product and CRM training; set clear expectations and goals
• Week two (Shadow): Pair reps with top performers; refine pitch based on feedback
• Week three (Align): Model discovery calls; sync with marketing and CS
• Week four (Qualify): Check pipeline health; give targeted call feedback

Next 30 days: Build momentum

• Week five (Engage): Coach outreach performance; sit in on demos
• Week six (Propose): Move deals into proposal; host deal-review session
• Week seven (Prospect): Run a lead-gen workshop; troubleshoot territory plans
• Week eight (Close): Celebrate wins; adjust scripts and cadences

Final 30 days: Optimize & excel

• Week nine (Accelerate): Advance stalled deals; drive upsell conversations
• Week ten (Strategize): Review pipeline value; prep exec-level calls
• Week eleven (Review): Conduct mid-quarter check-in; deliver targeted skill training
• Week twelve (Plan): Celebrate results; set next-quarter growth plan

2. Expose reps to real-world selling scenarios

New reps learn faster by listening to real calls, not reading slides. Hearing a successful sales call and seeing how an experienced sales rep addresses certain scenarios helps them quickly grasp practical skills and builds confidence in handling objections or concerns live in their calls.

With a meeting assistant like Avoma, you can create playlists of top sales conversations, including cold calls, discovery calls, and demos. New hires can listen to real examples to build familiarity before joining live calls.

Take these real sales scenarios and role play with your team. It’s one of the best ways to help reps practice how to handle tough questions or objections. Role-playing real situations builds confidence and helps reps learn what to say before they’re on a live call.

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3. Implement sales methodologies and playbooks early

Most sales teams follow a methodology like MEDDICC, BANT, or Sandler. However, new hires won’t fully grasp these frameworks until they see them in action. That’s why it’s important to bring them into your onboarding process from day one.

With Avoma, you can implement sales methodology playbooks and have AI automatically score sales calls. 

• Playbooks: These are live step-by-step guides reps can follow during calls to stay on track and lead better conversations. What questions and topics do they need to follow? 

• AI Scorecards: With built-in scorecards for sales methodologies like MEDDICC or BANT, you can automatically score recorded calls. New reps can watch top-rated calls to see what a successful deal looks like—and start using the same approach in their own conversations.

As a result, managers can focus their coaching on what matters most. Plus, the feedback is unbiased, data-driven, and includes clear reasoning. So new hires know exactly what to improve after each call.

Avoma also offers Answer Cards, which pop up during calls when certain topics or questions are mentioned. These cards remind new reps how to handle objections or commonly asked questions.

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4. Provide targeted coaching based on data

Generic feedback is not enough. Sales hires need clear, data-based guidance. Use performance metrics and call data to find areas for improvement. 

Avoma’s sentiment analysis and performance tracking provide valuable feedback across all conversations. With Avoma, you get visibility into how much each person speaks, the sentiment of the conversation, what questions were asked, and even how often filler words are used (a common sign of lack of prep or confidence).

AI automatically scores calls and flags areas where reps may be missing key moments. If a rep is skipping discovery questions or handling objections poorly, you can step in with focused coaching right away.

You can also track each rep’s progress over time and compare it to what top performers are doing differently so your coaching stays relevant and results-driven.

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5. Avoid overloading new hires with calls

More sales calls may seem like faster learning, but too many calls can overwhelm new sales representatives.

Instead, mix practice calls with shadowing. Gradually increase live call exposure. This balanced approach ensures a smooth learning process. It also helps lower turnover rates. Reps build confidence through consistent, structured coaching sessions.

Avoma’s smart scheduling and routing tool helps you control how many leads new reps handle. You can use weighted lead distribution to slow things down at first, giving reps time to balance live calls with learning and coaching.

With Avoma Scheduler, it’s easy to set up custom routing rules using simple IF-THEN logic, for example assigning smaller deals to new reps based on company size. This way, they can build confidence before moving on to bigger opportunities, all without feeling overwhelmed.

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6. Personalize the onboarding experience

Not all sales reps learn the same way. Some prefer self-paced materials, while others need hands-on coaching. Onboarding should also vary based on roles.

Instead of following a rigid plan, tailor training to fit each role. For example, an SDR’s learning path should differ from that of a senior sales rep. Even an Enterprise Account Executive should have different training than an SMB AE.

When curating playlists, don’t select recordings at random. Organize them by role, industry, or specific sales challenges. This way, SDRs, AEs, and sales leaders get relevant examples of objection handling, negotiation, and closing techniques they’ll actually use.

7. Measure and continuously optimize onboarding

Successful onboarding isn’t just checking off tasks. It sets new hires up for long-term success. To track progress, monitor key metrics like ramp up time, early-stage deal conversions, and sales performance over time. 

With Avoma, managers can make onboarding more dynamic and responsive. Set up Slack or email notifications when new reps use phrases like “I’ll check with my team” or “I’ll get back to you.” These alerts can reveal where a rep needs extra coaching so you can step in right away and help them.

And remember, onboarding isn’t a one-and-done process. Even Tom Brady had a coach walking him through scenarios before his last Super Bowl. Great performers keep practicing and great teams keep coaching.

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How Avoma helps teams ramp reps 3X faster

Traditional onboarding methods can hold you back. Outdated, slow processes leave new hires struggling. They miss critical, real-world sales techniques. It is time to move on from poor onboarding practices. Embrace a modern, data-driven approach that aligns with broader business objectives.

Tools like Avoma let you shift from manual training methods to a dynamic sales onboarding program. This modern approach personalizes learning and provides real-time coaching. It also integrates key sales strategies. Imagine having curated call playlists, role-specific training manuals, and live answer cards during tough objections. Don’t let your team lag behind competitors who use advanced sales tools to ramp up faster.

Step into a future where every call is a chance to learn, improve, and close deals sooner. Start your 14-day free trial or schedule a demo with Avoma today. Experience how an effective sales onboarding process can drive long-term success.

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