Bringing Outsiders In: Tips for Onboarding Salespeople from Outside the Industry

By Tracy Larson, President, WeSuite 

Hiring salespeople from outside the security industry can feel like a bold move, but in today’s job market, it’s often necessary. The experienced security salespeople you want are already working for your competitors, and most candidates have no idea what it takes to estimate complex system sales.  

In a recent issue of Security Nation, I wrote about how faster onboarding starts with the right sales software. Now let’s take a broader look at how to turn a talented salesperson who’s never sold a security system into someone who can build a pipeline, quote accurately, and represent your company with confidence. Sales software is a critical piece, but onboarding takes much more. 

Hire for mindset, not mastery 

If you expect a new hire from outside the industry to walk in and “get it,” you and the salesperson will be disappointed. But you can find candidates who’ll “get it” quickly. Start by defining the traits, experience, and habits that lead to success — curiosity, resilience, strong work ethic, and a willingness to learn. Look for experience in using and selling technology, and sales that require the candidate to be solution design oriented.  

Evidence of these traits shows up on resumes in the form of the companies they worked for, the products and services sold, continuing education, certifications, and steady career growth. In interviews, ask candidates for examples of how they’ve demonstrated problem-solving and adaptability in their jobs, and how they handle longer sales cycles with complex solution needs.  

Provide business context 

Throwing a salesperson straight into product training may seem like the obvious place to start. Before that, they need insight into the business —how your company is organized and operates, who you sell to, the markets served, the products, systems, and services you sell, prospects to target, and your sales process. They need to understand company workflows, how systems are designed, engineered, installed, and serviced. 

Schedule ride-alongs with other salespeople and field time with project managers and technicians. Experiencing the process from ‘won’ sales through project delivery helps them grasp what they’re selling in detail. Expose them to departmental meetings, processes, and systems to help them gain understanding of all that happens after sales are made. 

Get them involved in the industry 

Encourage new hires to join security associations and professional organizations right away and take advantage of all they offer. Explain the many benefits, including participation in educational programs, conferences, local networking events, tradeshows, and more. For example, the annual ESX Conference has a keen focus on sales.  

By becoming involved within the security community, they’ll become more fluent in our lingo, better understand the marketplace, and become a more confident representative of your company and the industry as a whole 

Teach them how to quote 

Accurate, margin-conscious quoting is one of the hardest skills for outsiders to master. The fastest way to flatten that learning curve is with a dedicated sales platform designed for security sales that embeds best practices and repeatable processes. For example, the founder of AK Technologies in Austin, Texas, recently told me that he brought in a sales engineer with no industry background and “he was quoting by the end of his first week” – thanks to the right software. 

Provide a clear pipeline strategy 

New hires won’t instinctively know where to find prospects or which opportunities to chase. Without guidance, they’ll waste time pursuing the wrong customers or projects. 

Give them a clear starting point: your ideal customer profile and best lead sources. (Hint! Your sales management platform should contain this data.) Listen to the salesperson about what they are thinking and aspiring to, coach them on how to get there, and commit to evaluating progress and aligning expectations as you go – especially in the first year. Expectations need to be high enough without being unachievable. Remember, the wins in the first year are extremely important in building the salesperson’s confidence and trust. 

Bringing it all together 

Companies that do an excellent job onboarding don’t need to wait for the perfect candidate; they create one. They build structured programs, use the right tools, and coach consistently through the first year. And you know what they discover? Sometimes, the best people for this industry are the ones who haven’t joined it yet!