PAYCHEX, INC.: PAYCHEX FOUNDATIONS FOR SALES
Paychex, Inc.’s Learning and Development (L&D) team was challenged to develop a revised onboarding program to increase “first meetings” with prospects and current clients, increase proposals, and improve close ratios.
The resulting standardized five-day program for five sales segments (HCM Small Market, HCM Mid- Market, Retirement, HR Solutions, and Professional Employer Organization) builds foundational knowledge and essential prospecting skills by driving the Paychex value proposition and key differentiators from other human capital management (HCM) providers. L&D launched a phased rollout for Paychex Foundations for Sales for 400-plus learners in March 2025.
Program Details
The five-day trainer-led training included lectures, group discussions, hands-on activities, and knowledge check assessments. Paychex utilized its Learning architect role to assess a gap analysis, create learning objectives tied to expected results and a design document, and drive stakeholder sign-off early in the development stage. Learning objectives included:
• Understand who Paychex is, what it does, and who it serves, and be able to share the company’s value proposition and key differentiators, as well as explain the common business challenges experienced by key market verticals.
• Define active and passive buyers, key decision-makers, and business lifecycle stages, and develop effective value statements.
• Practice value-based selling and pre-call planning, navigate Salesforce, and ensure data integrity and data-driven sales decisions. Understand the targets of the leading indicators: dials and connects, and how they lead to first meetings and closing ratios.
• Prepare for segment training by attending expert-led presentations and demonstrating knowledge and skills through a capstone roleplay workshop.
The training was delivered via virtual instructor-led classroom, self-paced content in Paychex’s learning management system (LMS), and role-play exercises. The L&D team developed multiple training deliverables as part of this initiative, including:
• Digital participant guide
• eLearning modules
• Webinar on the topic of coaching
• Two competency assessments
• SharePoint site for participants and managers
On the last day, individuals were recognized and awarded based on their role-play performance. Awards included “Master of the Rebuttal,” given to the learner who handled objections like a pro, and the “Value Prop Virtuoso,” given to the learner who delivered the company’s value proposition with confidence and clarity.
Participants used Crayon, a competitive marketing intelligence repository for battlecards used for meeting preparation and understanding competitors, and Chorus, a tool that records, transcribes, and analyzes meetings in real time, providing an example of what good looks like from sales reps’ calls.
After participants completed training, reinforcement included:
• Trainers reinforcing the learning objectives in segment training immediately following the Sales Foundations training
• District managers shadowing and coaching new hires
• Zone managers holding district managers accountable for coaching
Results
Paychex selected the leading key performance indicator targets for the HCM Small Market to demonstrate results. After leaving the training program (Foundations and Segment), participants are tracked for:
• Dials (calls tracked through Salesforce): The goal was 40 per week; the average result since rollout was 54 per week.
• Connects: The goal was to average 15 percent per week; the result since rollout was an average of 20 percent.
• First meetings: The goal was 4.5 per week; the result was 4.7 per week since rollout.