No one will sell better than you. What about hiring a project manager to help you with your existing clients and you focus on sales?
Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
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Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#12This thread of mine died a horrible death yesterday :-( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=772567 I am on the sales side of things, building a portfolio of luxury products and services to package as an offer for some clients of mine. Let me tell you this, nothing motivates like an open ended commission. Name your base price and tell salespeople they can put their own commission on top. Last time we hired a sales guy…
Thank you for the advice, and I just added my email address, I thought I had already entered it, but was mistaken :)
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#13First off I want to thank you all for your responses, I was not expecting so much feedback in such a short amount of time. I will be taking some of these comments into account for our meeting tomorrow, and hopefully will have time to reply accordingly. As for now, I've got to crash so I can be ripe for the meeting! Thanks again :)
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#14The best advice I can give you is to read Inc. Magazine columnist Norm Brodsky's article titled "The Sales Commission Dilemma" at http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030501/25416.html
As a top performing - and top earning - sales person for many years in Fortune 500 tech hardware, software, and services businesses, I can attest to the fact that it's the company that usually creates their own problems, namely a coin-operated sales force. I found it laughable when company XYZ paid members of their sales team (including myself) 5X - even 10X - what they paid more experienced engineers, product developers and even executives.
When looking to add a new sales professional, be sure and keep an eye out for Norm's "Group Three" salespeople. They will add immeasurable value, insight and personal equity into your business for many years to come.
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#15My advice would be to put them on a trial period, and then decide to keep them or let them go. Don't wait 8 months to figure out they're not the right fit. Figure it out in 4 weeks, max. Oh, and watch this before they start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY
This depends on your sales cycle, actually. Some things (especially high tech) take significantly longer that four weeks to sell.
Only victims make excuses.
You can close a deal faster, get them to sign and pay, then work out the details.
If you spend your life saying "that's how it's done", you'll never be in the lead, you'll ALWAYS be doing what someone else has done before you.
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#16In my opinion, smaller salary (enough to survive, though it's tough to define "survive") plus commission. Check references, look for a track record (if they can sell themselves to you, they should also be able to sell themselves enough to have substantial presence on Google). Lots of people these days hire people initially on a contract basis for a probationary period, that might work for you.
Pay a salesman a base big enough to survive, and that's all he'll do. Survive.
You have to get someone who is prepared to sweat a little. Someone who is self-motivated and ready to really thrive, not survive and die.
I'm not sure how coming up first in Google for your name has any bearing on your ability to sell. If anything, it means you spend way too much time online and not enough time with people actually selling.
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#17put them heavy on commission. Trust them... just enough. A good salesperson you'll never be really comfortable around. They are always scheming. And this, in most cases, is a good thing for you, if they are truly hungry.
Let them make more money than you.. only if they exceed your expectations. Always give a salesperson unlimited potential, after you are taken care of.
Just don't forget - the best salesperson will work you. You won't even know it. That's the predicament.
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#18A big commission is a big motivator, but doesn't make for a great salesman.
Finding a salesman YOU like may not be the way to go. But finding the salesman your customer relates to is VERY important.
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#19Don't get a senior sales-person. Get someone who can transition into handling existing customers along with one or two of you. Then one or more of you can focus on sales. Then get a junior person who will grow with you. Then once you have two or three junior sales person, hire someone to manage them. A new guy coming in at a senior level will, in all likelihood, try to sell your service the way he sold whatever he wa…
I'm a junior person who could grow with you!
Re: Hiring a sales person... Any advice?
#20This thread of mine died a horrible death yesterday :-( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=772567 I am on the sales side of things, building a portfolio of luxury products and services to package as an offer for some clients of mine. Let me tell you this, nothing motivates like an open ended commission. Name your base price and tell salespeople they can put their own commission on top. Last time we hired a sales guy…
Thank you for the advice, and I just added my email address, I thought I had already entered it, but was mistaken :)
You were mistaken this time too, it's not there :) Mine is, and I'd like to know what you're trying to sell. Maybe I can help, maybe I'll just have a few lines of advice, maybe I can only wish you luck, but I won't waste your time.