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Blog · Coverage and territory · Sales teams

A new rep's first ninety days, from the data: the list that replaces shadowing

What a newly hired rep should be given on day one from the book they inherit: the accounts ranked by revenue with days since last touch, the returning lines that were bought and dropped, the dormant accounts with their cadence and run rate, the open deals with slip counts, and the tier cadence that says who to call first. A ninety-day plan in three lists, the measures that say whether the ramp is on track, and why it beats a week of shadowing.

The short answerA new rep inherits a book with a history the previous rep carried in their head. The ledger and the CRM carry it too. Day one: the accounts ranked by revenue with days since the last qualifying touch, so the first calls are the largest accounts nobody has spoken to. Week two: the returning lines, bought and dropped, which are the easiest recoveries. Week four: the dormant accounts with their cadence and run rate, and the open deals with slip counts. The ramp is tracked on coverage at cadence and time to first touch, against the team's own ramp curve, and it is visible in week three whether it is on track.

A new rep starts on Monday with a login and a territory. What they need is a list: who to call first, what was lost that might come back, who has gone quiet, and which deals are real. The ledger and the CRM have all of it. This guide sets out the three lists, the week they arrive, the measures that track the ramp, and why it beats shadowing.

Day one: the inherited book, ranked

Account Trailing revenue Tier Days since last touch Cadence Owner before First action
4471 $310,000 2 71 45 R-19, left Call this week
2207 $180,000 1 38 30 R-19 Call this week
9034 $95,000 3 48 90 R-19 Week three

Ranked by revenue, with the days. The first ten calls choose themselves.

Week two: the returning lines

Account Line Last bought Prior annual value Why it stopped, if logged
4471 B 11 months ago $52,000 Delivery issue, Q4
2207 C 14 months ago $30,000 Not logged

Bought and dropped is the easiest recovery on any list, and a new face is the easiest way to ask.

Week four: dormant accounts and open deals

Dormant Cadence Days silent Run rate before Reading
3310 14 days 120 $9,000/mo Recoverable
1187 14 days 400 $6,000/mo Past ceiling; reclassify
Open deal Value Stage Slip count Reading
O-8821 $120,000 Proposal 3 Probably not real; ask
O-8902 $60,000 Negotiation 0 Work it

The ramp, tracked

Measure Week 3 Week 6 Week 12 Team ramp curve at the same point
Coverage at cadence, tier one 40% 70% 85% 35%, 65%, 80%
Time to first touch, inherited accounts 9 days 12 days
Returning lines recovered 1 3 5 1, 2, 4

Ahead of the team's curve by week three. If it were behind, the manager would know in week three, not at the quarter.

The rows you need

  • Ledger: account, product line, revenue, by period.
  • CRM activities and assignments: account, rep, dates.
  • Pipeline snapshots: deals, stages, slip counts.
  • Tiers and cadence; the team's ramp curve from past hires.

Where it goes wrong

A login and a territory. The rep calls the accounts they happen to hear about.

Shadowing instead of the list. Impressions transferred; facts not.

Calls per day as the ramp measure. Fifty calls to the accounts easiest to reach.

Quota unramped. Month two on a full quota; the shape of attainment says so in April.

Every new hire, three lists

Mapped once, the ledger, the CRM and the pipeline snapshots produce the inherited book, the returning lines, the dormant and slipped lists and the ramp tracking for every new rep. Covirage builds this from the exports as they are. The sales teams page describes the setup, and the ramp and attrition guide covers the curve the ramp is tracked against.

Questions people ask

Why not shadow the previous rep?

The previous rep has usually left, and when they have not, a week of shadowing transfers impressions. The data transfers facts: which accounts matter, who has been ignored, what was lost and might come back. Shadowing on top of the list is useful; instead of it, it is not.

What is tracked during the ramp?

Coverage at cadence, weekly, against the team's own ramp curve: what an attainer's coverage looked like in their first, second and third month. Time to first touch on the inherited accounts. Returning lines recovered. Not calls per day.

What about the quota?

Set on potential and ramped by the team's own curve, so a rep in month two carries the fraction of quota that month two attainers historically reached. The ninety-day lists are about coverage; the quota follows the curve.