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As a manager of one of the fastest growing companies in Boston, I’ve hired and trained many new employees. Hyper growth can create unique challenges and one of them is ramping new sale reps to quick independence. This is extremely important as I have new hires coming in faster than I can train the ones hired the month previous. While this technique is efficient for a fast growing company, it's also helpful for managers at any company.
One of the techniques I’ve found effective is giving new reps a quota of mistakes. Yes, they actually get a quota of mistakes they need to make and I keep track on a white board close to their desk. The first month they start the quota is high and each subsequent month the quota gets lower and lower.
Here is why:
Faster Independence: We all make mistakes when we’re new; this is part of the learning curve. If mistakes are not encouraged to be made a new hire can feel they should hide them or cover them up. Embrace mistakes as they are great learning opportunity. By giving a new rep a quota of mistakes which starts higher, it encourages them to make blunders and to make them soon. This is important as most companies have a ramp up revenue quota that starts low. If a rep can make a lot of mistakes early, it’s more efficient as they learn it while their actual dollar quota is lower. The sooner they learn from these, the faster they’ll be independent.
Trust: Acknowledging the rep is new and allowing them to make mistakes builds trust between the new rep and their manager. The new rep will not feel the need to hide mistakes or cover them up.
Shameless Transparency: The quota of mistakes is not shameful, it’s a given. Keeping track on a whiteboard and making it an expectation allows the new hire to feel a burden and stress lifted and they can embrace the learning curve.
Team Effort: Each rep hired and trained have all had a quota of mistakes. The existing reps want to help the new hire make their quota. They will point out where the new hire made a hiccup and add it to the white board. The existing hires will also tell the new hire how to avoid the pot hole next time.
Scale: There is only one of me and more new hires than I can train on my own. Making errors public, encouraged and expected enables my team to coach the new hire.
Coach: The new hire is now trusts the manager and is more likely to disclose the mistakes they’ve made. Now you’ll be aware of the error and this is the opportunity to coach them on how to better handle a situation going forward.
Perpetuity: A quota of mistakes is the gift that keeps on giving. It allows a coaching relationship to grow from the very beginning between a manager and rep. This information allows the manager to know how the rep learns, how they react and how they want to be coached. A manager can now utilize this information for the entire relationship and to continue fostering the reps success even when they have tenure.
Embrace failure in your professional career as it’s one of your greatest assets. Knowledge is power and it can only be gained by learning from your past. Then use it to continue to growing. So go out there and make a hell of a lot of mistakes. Write them down, ask your colleagues and manager how they’ve handled the situation and don’t make them again. Improve just a little bit each day.
