Define readiness before the first solo visit
A new field representative needs more than a login and a target. The person must understand the customers, product units, service boundaries and record-keeping expected in the role. Define a small set of readiness checks before independent work. The goal is to confirm that the rep can complete a useful visit and explain an exception without relying on guesswork.
For a distribution team adding a rep in Akure, readiness might mean identifying the correct outlet, recording an unambiguous product quantity and knowing who handles a delivery query. A first-week plan provides structure, but timing should reflect the person's experience and responsibilities. Do not treat five calendar days as proof of competence if the supervised practice shows that more support is needed.
Day one: explain the operating model
Introduce the customer types, territory and people the rep will work with. Explain the difference between a requested order, confirmed order and completed delivery. Show how the warehouse, dispatch and sales teams exchange information. A new starter should know what can be promised directly and what needs approval or confirmation from another colleague before a customer hears it.
Give the rep a concise reference for products, pack sizes, selling units and current approved information. Walk through common sources of confusion, such as pieces versus cartons or two branches with similar trading names. Explain how changes are communicated. An onboarding document becomes unreliable quickly if it contains old prices or instructions with no owner responsible for maintaining them.
Days two and three: practise the whole visit
Use supervised practice to connect the app workflow with the customer interaction. Demonstrate an arrival, buyer discussion, accurate record and specific next action. Then let the new rep complete the process while a trainer observes. Use a clearly designated training environment or approved exercise; avoid creating invented sales in live customer reporting merely to test that a form submits.
- Find the correct customer and confirm the branch or service point.
- Explain the visit purpose and ask relevant product questions.
- Record quantities with the correct product and selling unit.
- Capture the required visit context and factual notes.
- Confirm saving, understand sync status and identify who owns follow-up.
Day four: rehearse exceptions deliberately
Normal workflows are only part of readiness. Ask the rep what they would do if a shop is closed, a customer location looks wrong or a requested product is missing from the list. The exercise should reveal where the process is unclear. Reward a sensible escalation rather than a fast but inaccurate entry that makes a training checklist look complete.
Use this illustrative scenario: a buyer asks for three cartons, but the rep sees only a piece-based product entry. The correct response is to clarify the product configuration and seek guidance, not enter three pieces or invent a conversion. Practise a connection gap as well. The rep should know the difference between a locally saved record and one the office has received.
Day five: assess with evidence and feedback
Review a small set of supervised visits or approved practice records against the readiness criteria. Ask the rep to explain the customer selection, quantity, outcome and next action. Let the trainee identify a mistake and show how they would correct it through the authorised process. Understanding how to recover matters as much as completing the first entry without help.
Give feedback on observable actions rather than personality. 'The note does not say who will confirm stock' is useful; 'be more professional' does not tell the rep what to change. Agree one or two priorities for the next week and name the person who will support them. If independent work is appropriate, make the escalation contact and review schedule explicit.
Continue support after the first week
Check in after the rep has experienced a normal visit cycle. Review customer questions, missed actions, unclear product data and device problems. Some issues are training needs; others are defects in the shared process that affect experienced colleagues too. Update the onboarding material when a repeated question reveals a missing instruction, and keep a named owner for the reference documents.
Trurep supports mobile customer check-ins, sales capture and prepared offline workflows, with synced records available to managers. Teach the features your team actually uses and the plan makes available. Include permissions, location and camera requirements where relevant. A good onboarding process produces a rep who can explain the work, keep accurate records and ask for help at the right moment, with continuing support beyond the welcome session.
