When I started my sales career, compensation was my biggest driver. Later in my career as a sales leader, I noticed a shift. New sales reps cared just as much about making an impact and career growth as they did compensation.
To help with career growth, we created a document to show how we'll develop their career in our company.
In today's issue, I'm going to teach you how to build a Roadmap to Success.
When the career path is laid out before them, it shows we invest in our people.
Many people will sell the position only on the comp to be made. They skip over what long-term career growth looks like at the company.
When you build a Roadmap to Success, you'll get:
Here's how to do it:
Going into an entry-level sales position without any previous sales experience is daunting. The roadmap clarifies what success looks like and the training they'll get to achieve it.
Break the expectations and training down by time interval. Here's a breakdown for a Sales Development Rep (SDR):
Here's an SDR training breakdown:
The key to creating a roadmap for their position is diving into the details. We want to give them confidence they will have the support needed to be successful.
Sometimes, it can feel like there isn't much position growth within a sales career. A promotion path helps paint a different picture. You want to show what's waiting for them when they are successful in the role.
Let's continue with the SDR example. What positions can an SDR be promoted to in your company? This is likely to be an Account Executive, but it could also be an SDR manager, enablement, or RevOps position.
For each position, answer the following questions:
For this document, you don't need to lay out the entire training program like you did for their position. You want to give them enough to trust a plan is in place.
Now add the senior roles in the company. Start with the seniormost position, then work your way backward.
For each position, document the following:
We're more interested in the high-level representation of these roles than the details. The goal is to show long-term career growth within the company.
The hard work is done! The last step is getting all the information put in one document. Remember, you don't need to add every detail to this document. You want it to be simple. It should be 2-3 pages, and be clear about what they are getting into and the plan to grow their career.
I used this document early and often in the recruiting and interview process. It delivers the message that we invest in our people.
"Leadership is having a compelling vision, a comprehensive plan, relentless implementation, and talented people working together." - Alan Mulally (Former President and CEO of Ford)
By using this document, you'll cut down your time to hire dramatically. It gives people confidence you have a development plan for them. When you back that up and execute on the details in the roadmap? You'll get a steady stream of internal referrals.
