Selling success

Without sales, there isn’t much else. As my friend and mentor Marty Grunder says: “Sales cure everything.” In most organizations, the owner is the lead salesperson, and is, most often, the only one.

As the business grows, an owner must consider the idea of hiring someone for the sales position.

As necessary as it is, adding a salesperson is one of the tougher hiring decisions you’ll make and, quite frankly, you might find that it is much easier to hire an operations manager. If you, as owner, can bring the sales in and let someone else project manage them, you might find that an operations manager is a better way to go.

GET STARTED.
Before you draft a help-wanted ad, ask yourself these questions:

• Why do you want to hire a salesperson?
• What systems do you have in place currently to help ensure their success?
• What will their sales requirements/goals be?
• What have you budgeted for this position?
• How long will you be able to carry them without any results?

If you do opt for the salesperson, then you need to be cognizant of the ramp-up time it will take you to get this individual up to speed with your organization, your marketplace and your clientele. Shadowing is a great way to do this.

 In my organization, we will typically hire an individual that is interested in sales and bring them on board as an inside business development associate.

New hires will shadow me or a fellow salesperson, and we teach them the ins and outs of their future position.

Depending on experience, this may take up to a year before you can send them off on their own. The bottom line is that they need to learn and embrace your system to be successful.

IT TAKES TIME.
In most cases, you will not see instant success when hiring for this position. In my own organization, I have seen hires that fit the bill very nicely from a character standpoint, educational background and past experience, but they struggle getting up to speed and achieving sales goals. As much as I hate to see them fail or lose them, the pressure is always on and the bottom line is in the results.

We need to set realistic projections for them to achieve for the season and it is imperative for them to hit those numbers, or you will have a bigger decision to face.

Even with all the preparation, I have yet to have someone come in and hit the ground running their first year. So, when you do find yourself considering bringing on this position, you will need to be prepared for this.

Everything is about planning. When you have a plan in place, it allows you to prepare and budget for the expenses as they pertain to your plan.

Year after year, people constantly experience their business rather than creating the experience for their business. This is where planning comes in. Reflect on what your business has achieved to date. How does it measure up to your vision? Are you headed in the right direction? Is the salesperson the next logical step? 

It’s tough to break old habits, and we are all guilty of it, but we need to focus.
 

CONCLUSION.
As leaders, it is up to us to prepare our teams, both current and future, for success in the industry.

Don’t think for a moment that you can just hire and then figure it all out.
Spend some time working on the rhyme and reason behind it all and then put together your action plan.

Matt Caruso is president and founder of Decra-Scape, Sterling Heights, Mich.