A salesperson onboarding checklist lists what must happen, by whom and by when, from the offer acceptance to day 90. It has three sections: before day one, the first week and the first 90 days. Every line has an owner and a date.
Use it next to your 30-60-90 plan. The plan sets the goals, and the checklist makes sure the small things behind them happen. For the program around both, see our guide to sales onboarding.
What should you do before a new salesperson starts?
Prepare everything the person needs on day one, so the first morning is about the work and not about access. Send a short welcome message with the schedule, who to ask for what and the plan.
| Item | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop, email, calendar and chat accounts | IT | 3 days before start |
| CRM, call recorder and sales tools access | Sales ops | 3 days before start |
| 30-60-90 plan with the three phase dates | Manager | 1 week before start |
| Calendar invites: weekly one-on-one, team meeting | Manager | 1 week before start |
| Territory, account list and first-week reading | Manager | 2 days before start |
| Welcome message with the first-day schedule | Manager | 1 day before start |
| A buddy named and told what the role involves | Manager | 1 week before start |
A buddy is a peer who answers the small questions the manager does not have time for. Pick someone who sells the way you want the new hire to sell.
What should the first week cover?
The first week should give the new hire a plan, a first win and people to ask. Avoid five days of slides. Alternate learning with doing, and end each day with one thing to practice.
- Day 1: welcome, the plan, the tools, a first one-on-one with the manager.
- Day 2: the product in plain words and a walkthrough of a typical buyer's day.
- Day 3: two shadowed calls and a list of the top five buyer questions with answers.
- Day 4: a ten-minute role play on the opener, scored on two lines of the team scorecard.
- Day 5: a written check from the new hire: what I learned, what is unclear, what I want to practice.
The day 5 note takes ten minutes and tells the manager more than a quiz. It also sets the habit of reflecting after calls.
What does the checklist look like for days 8 to 30?
The rest of month one moves from learning to practice. By day 30, the person should be taking some live calls with a manager listening in.
| Week | What happens | Check |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Method and process training; 5 shadowed calls; 2 role plays | Scores 60 or more on a role play |
| 3 | First live calls with the manager listening; first reviewed call | Every call ends with a dated next step |
| 4 | 10 live calls; one reviewed and scored; written day-30 self-check | Day-30 goal met, or a plan for the gap |
Use the same scorecard from week two, so the numbers are comparable from one hire to the next. Our guide to sales call scoring shows how to build one.
What belongs on the checklist for days 31 to 90?
These weeks run on a rhythm, not a list of events. The checklist here is a set of habits with a weekly tick.
- Weekly one-on-one held, with one reviewed call.
- Call score recorded, with a note on what moved.
- Practice done: one role play or game.
- Pipeline check against the plan.
- Day 60 and day 90 reviews booked and held, with the next phase's goal in writing.
Two more habits help. First, ask the new hire what slowed them down each week and remove one blocker. Second, pair them with a top performer for one call a month: a person who is two years in has a different view of the job than a manager does. A fun way to keep the practice habit alive is a short onboarding game as a warm-up.
How do you use the checklist with other tools?
Put it where the manager and the new hire already work: a shared doc, a project board or a tool that reminds the owners. The tool matters less than the owner and the date. If you want help from software, see our guide to sales onboarding software for what to ask.
A checklist also works for people moving into a new role. A short version covers the new territory, the new product and the first scored call, and it saves the manager from starting over. And for the skills the new hire should build, point them to our guide on how to be a good salesperson.
Coaching teams use checklists too, for a different job. Our guide to a coaching checklist covers what a manager checks before, during and after a coaching conversation, a good companion to this list.
What goes on the checklist for remote hires?
Remote hires need the same lines plus a few that replace hallway contact. Add these to the lists above:
- A shipped kit: laptop, headset and any equipment, tracked and confirmed two days before the start.
- A virtual welcome: a short call on day one with the manager and the team, camera on.
- A shared channel: one place to ask quick questions, with the buddy watching it.
- Recorded sessions: every training session saved, so the new hire can rewatch it.
- A weekly check-in that does not move: fifteen minutes, same time, with one reviewed call.
The risk with remote onboarding is silence: a new hire who does not know who to ask loses days. A named buddy and a visible channel remove it.
How do you keep the checklist current?
Review it after every hire. At day 90, ask the new hire which lines were missing, which were late and which were not needed, and update the list that week. A checklist that changes every cohort is a sign the process is improving.
Keep a version date at the top of the page and one person responsible for edits. If three people edit freely, the owners and dates drift. Send the updated copy to the next hire's manager before the start date, and ask them to tick it off as the weeks go by.
What are the most common checklist mistakes?
Most checklists fail in one of three ways: too long, no owners or never updated. A list of sixty lines is not read, so cut it to what the new hire must have. A line without a name is not done, so add one. And a list that is not updated drifts from reality within a quarter.
Test yours by handing it to a new manager who has never seen it. If they can run the first week from the page alone, it is good enough. If they ask five questions, add the answers as lines.
Frequently asked questions
What should be on a salesperson onboarding checklist?
Access and equipment before day one, product and buyer knowledge in week one, practice and the first scored call in the first month, and the day 30, 60 and 90 checks. Put an owner and a date next to every line, so nothing depends on memory.
Who should own the onboarding checklist?
The sales manager owns the checklist and the new hire's results. Other teams own single lines, such as IT for access and enablement for the product walkthrough. One name at the top of the page keeps the list from drifting.
Where to start
Copy the three tables into a shared doc, put a name and a date on every line and send it to the owners this week. Then go back to the sales onboarding overview to see where the checklist sits in the program.