Most of my business coaching
clients own
small businesses . The typical evolution for a small business is that the owner does most of the sales at first. Then the day comes when she/he needs to focus on running the business. The decision is made to hire a salesperson. In my business coaching experience, this is one of the riskiest decisions a
small business owner has to make.
Here’s why: In most industries, it takes a long time to know whether a salesperson is going to work out. You usually have to pay them a base salary, at least at first, until they have sales high enough to work on a commission. If they don’t work out, all that base salary — not to mention time and lost sales — is out the window.
Small businesses cannot afford too many missteps. Hiring a salesperson who doesn’t work out can be devastating. Here are some things I have learned in my business coaching, as well as my personal experience, that will help you lower your risk when you hire your first salesperson.
Business Coaching Tip #1: Buyer (or hirer) Beware. I have often joked that the best sale some of the salespeople I have hired ever made was convincing me to hire them. It was all downhill from there. Many salespeople are good enough at sales to get you to hire them. They are highly motivated to make that particular sale. After that, if they are not highly motivated in general, they don’t really deliver. Make sure they aren’t selling you damaged goods. Check references. Make sure they have a proven record of success.
Business Coaching Tip #2: Be reluctant to hire them if they are not currently working in a sales role somewhere. When my business coaching clients want to hire a salesperson who is currently unemployed, I am very skeptical. It’s rare that a successful salesperson is let go. If you are considering hiring one who is unemployed, dig deeply to understand why. Think about it: Would you ever let go of someone who is bringing lots of revenue into your company?
Business Coaching Tip #3: Train them well. This may seem obvious, but so often the business owner thinks selling their product or service is easy. They have been doing it themselves for years! That’s where the potential problem lies. There is so much that they do intuitively. So much knowledge and instinct is in their head. They assume everyone can do it. But, others can’t until you take what is in your head and turn it into a formal selling system.
Business Coaching Tip #4: Give them the tools they need. Because you are the owner of the business, you have been able to sell based on your word as who you are. Your salespeople won’t be able to do that. They will likely need more tools than you did to sell.
Business Coaching Tip #5: Spend lots of time with them. I have noticed that many business owners bring in their first salesperson, do a download and then send them out. They don’t pay much attention to them. They don’t give them a lot of support. “They are supposed to be the professional salesperson. Go sell!” is their thinking. Just know that you will need to spend more time supporting them than you may want to.
Business Coaching Tip #6: Set sales goals. It’s hard to know what a realistic goal is when you first hire a salesperson. And, since you have no means of comparison (other than your own track record, which will be different from theirs) you won’t really know whether what they achieve is average for a good salesperson or not. You won’t know that until you hire several salespeople for comparison. Nevertheless, take your best guess at what is realistic. In my business coaching practice, I have observed that my clients usually expect their first salespeople to sell more, and much sooner, than they actually do. Don’t underestimate the learning curve.
Business Coaching Tip #7: Establish a system for tracking their results and meet with them regularly to review. Again, this sounds obvious, but I see so many business owners fail to take this step. You need to know what they are doing, not just how many sales, but what their sales efforts are (calls, proposals, etc.). And, you need to sit down with them at least once a week and go over their results.
It’s a big decision to hire your first salesperson. I hope I have given you some good food for thought as you make this crucial decision.
noconnor@mindspring.com
www.nanoconnor.com
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