Most remote sales hires that fail do not fail because the rep was bad. They fail in the first month, because nobody decided what the first month was supposed to look like. Here is a plan that works.
Before day one
Have these ready, not promised:
- Logins for your CRM, dialler, email and calendar
- Your offer in writing: what you sell, who for, what it costs, what it does not do
- Your five most common objections, with the answers you actually use
- Three recordings of good calls, even if they are yours
- The number they own, and who they report to
Week 1: learn the offer, start listening
Have them write your pitch in their own words by day three, then say it back to you on a call. Let them listen to real calls, then make low-stakes ones: old leads, no-shows, dormant enquiries. Review a recording together at the end of the week.
Week 2: on the phones properly
Full activity target, live leads, daily end-of-day numbers. You are watching the opening line and the ask. Fix one thing at a time, not six.
Week 3: tighten the middle
By now you can hear patterns: the objection they dodge, the question they never ask, the point where they talk too much. Role-play those specifically. Expect the first booked meetings this week.
Week 4: handover of ownership
They should now be running their own day, reporting their own numbers, and flagging problems before you spot them. Set the target for month two, and agree what happens if it is missed.
The three things that cause early failure
- No feedback loop. If nobody listens to calls, the rep repeats the same mistake 300 times.
- Judging outcomes too early. Week one is activity. Outcomes belong to month two.
- Leaving them alone. Remote reps go quiet when they are struggling. A short daily check-in in month one prevents most of it.
What to measure, in order
Week one: calls made. Week two: conversations held. Week three: meetings booked. Week four: meetings held. Measuring the last one first makes a good rep look broken.
If you would rather not run this yourself
We handle onboarding, daily reporting and monthly call coaching for every rep we place, alongside contracts and payroll. See how it works or book a call.