Dread the chaos of onboarding new sales reps? You’re not alone. Most teams throw a pile of docs and a “ping me if you get stuck” at new hires, then wonder why it takes months for folks to get up to speed. If you want new reps contributing fast—and without creating more work for everyone else—templates can make a real difference. This guide is for sales leaders, managers, or anyone tasked with ramping up sellers without reinventing the wheel every time.
Let’s talk about how to use Revenue templates to strip the nonsense out of onboarding and actually get people selling.
Why Most Sales Onboarding Fails (and What Actually Works)
First, a quick reality check. Most onboarding programs are:
- Overwhelming: Wall-of-text docs, endless videos, and random tribal knowledge.
- Inconsistent: One rep gets the “good” training, others get the hand-me-downs.
- Forgotten: By the time a rep needs info, they can’t find it, or it’s already outdated.
Templates—if you use them right—solve a lot of this. Not by being magic, but by forcing you to pick what really matters and make it dead simple to follow.
What actually works:
- Bite-sized steps, not firehoses.
- Clear expectations (what “good” looks like).
- Repeatable tools and scripts, not “just watch me do it.”
- Feedback loops so you can tweak as you go.
What to ignore:
- Fancy onboarding portals nobody updates.
- Overproduced training videos (they’ll never re-watch).
- Anything that takes longer to build than to use.
Step 1: Map Out What Reps Actually Need to Know
Don’t start with templates. Start with a brain dump:
- What does a new rep really need to do in week 1, week 2, and the first month?
- What do top reps know that rookies don’t?
- Where do new hires always get stuck?
Write these down as bullet points. Be ruthless—if it doesn’t help close deals, leave it out. You’re not writing a textbook.
Pro tip: Ask your last 2-3 hires what confused them most. Their pain is your starting point.
Step 2: Turn Common Tasks Into Templates
This is where Revenue templates come in handy. Instead of just telling people “do discovery calls like this,” you give them a fill-in-the-blanks guide for each key activity.
Some places to start:
- Email outreach templates: Not just “here’s a script,” but versions for different industries, roles, or triggers.
- Call talk tracks: The bones of a successful call—openers, key questions, objection responses.
- Demo checklists: What to show, in what order, and what to ask before you jump in.
- CRM update cheatsheets: The five fields that actually matter.
Don’t go nuts and template every little thing. Focus on high-impact, repeatable tasks. The goal is less “process” and more “get unstuck fast.”
What works: Templates that are short, specific, and easy to customize. What doesn’t: Novels, one-size-fits-all scripts, or anything that sounds robotic.
Step 3: Build Your Revenue Template Library
You don’t need a fancy system—just a place where reps can find what they need without hunting. Revenue makes this straightforward:
- Create a folder for onboarding. Put all new-hire templates in one spot. Label things clearly.
- Link out to real examples. “Here’s an actual email that got a reply,” not just theory.
- Version control. When something changes (like pricing), update the template, not ten different docs.
Pro tip: Add a “last updated” date to each template. Outdated info is worse than none.
Step 4: Bake Templates Into the Onboarding Plan
Don’t just hand over a folder and hope for the best. Walk new hires through how and when to use each template:
- Day 1: Show them where the templates live. Do a quick run-through—don’t assume they’ll explore on their own.
- First tasks: Assign activities that use the templates, like “send a first outreach email using Template A.”
- Shadowing: When they watch a senior rep, point out which templates or scripts are being used.
- Feedback: Encourage them to tweak templates as they go. If a line doesn’t work, fix it.
What to skip: Overly rigid “do it exactly like this.” Encourage reps to make templates their own.
Step 5: Get Feedback and Tweak As You Go
Templates aren’t a set-and-forget thing. If you want onboarding to keep working, make feedback part of the process:
- Ask for input: After week 1 or 2, check in—what’s missing or confusing?
- Watch for bottlenecks: If new hires keep getting stuck at the same spot, your template probably needs work.
- Update fast: In Revenue, tweaks are instant—so you’re not stuck with old info floating around.
Pro tip: Give new hires “edit access” or an easy way to suggest changes. The best ideas usually come from the fresh eyes.
Step 6: Measure What Matters (And Ignore the Rest)
Don’t waste time tracking fake metrics like “videos watched.” Focus on:
- How fast reps book their first meeting or close their first deal.
- Where they ask the same questions over and over (that’s a clue your template isn’t clear).
- How often templates actually get used (if nobody uses it, it’s probably not helpful).
What to ignore: Completion rates, quiz scores, or other busywork metrics.
Step 7: Keep It Human
Templates are tools, not crutches. Remind new reps:
- It’s okay to go off-script.
- The best sellers make things their own.
- Templates are there to help, not to be read robotically.
Encourage them to add their own flavor once they’re comfortable. People buy from people, not templates.
Troubleshooting: Common Gotchas
Even with great templates, things can go sideways. Watch out for:
- Template overload: Too many templates = nobody uses any of them. Prune ruthlessly.
- Out-of-date info: If reps keep finding errors, trust in the templates evaporates.
- Over-standardization: If everyone sounds the same, prospects tune out.
If you hit these, pause and simplify. Better to have three amazing templates than 30 mediocre ones.
Wrap Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Efficient onboarding isn’t about having the fanciest tools or the longest checklist. It’s about making it easy for new sales reps to do the right things, right away—with just enough structure to avoid rookie mistakes.
Start with one or two templates for the highest-impact tasks. Get feedback, tweak them, and build from there. The best onboarding programs are lightweight, flexible, and get better every time you run them. Don’t overthink it—just get started, and let your team show you what works.