It was announced last month that Learner drivers in the UK can be taken onto a motorway as part of their instruction to pass the test. And about time too.
I remember passing my test way back in 1983. I’d never experienced a motorway before, and when I entered one for the first time, it frightened me to death. Since then hundreds of thousands of new drivers have experienced the same dread. Many probably have avoided motorways because of this fear factor and when they do, may well be the cause of frustration and even worse, an accident.
That’s all changed, and so long as they are in a dual control car and under the tuition of a qualified driving instructor, L plates will be seen on the motorway practising their high-speed motoring.
The parallel here is onboarding your people. What’s your motorway? Is it live client meetings, real telephone calls with genuine customers or interactions with branch-based teammates. No more role-play but real. People who unexpectedly answer back or are unforgivingly quiet.
Only then will your new entrants experience what the world of selling is really about.
I’m just dreading all those learners doing 50 mph on the motorway causing the lorries to move into lane 2 and making all those who never drive in the 3rd lane venture in…and causing tail-backs lasting for miles.
