Hiring Salespeople

You actually know the answers to all the questions you posed...you get what you pay for. The better material you give them and the better they are, the better the results.

You will no doubt get many analysts who will try and wrap this up in some form of pseudo scientific formulii, but it really is basic. Contact more people and the chances are that you'll make more deals, even if the product/service is lousy and the sales staff woeful. Add in some forms of quality and then the results will be more favourable.

The best sales people will want a structured reimbursement, afterall, this is your business, so why should they help fund you by not having their costs covered. Why should sales people be expected to share the risks.

Offer nothing and you'll receieve exactly what you've invested, from a sales force who can see you don't have enough faith in your own product/service, or them, to put your money into it.

And target against what is achievable, not what you need to survive. Targets need to be attainable, otherwise instead of being motivational, they are the opposite. After week one you see that you won't hit a monthly target, why bother that month, save any business for the next month. That's what happens on a solely commission based salary.

What do salespeople need to make sales?

Everything you can give them and more.

A targetted product, advertising, marketing support, industry information, samples, admin support, a structured supply/pre/post sales network that works in tandem with the sales people so they can fulfil the promises made on behalf of the company without other departments letting the side down, etc...

And most importantly of all, a boss who they see making an effort to help them succeed.

Kevin... I've hired hundreds of salespeople over the years and I have to say that Stephen's advice is one of the best summaries I've ever read on the subject.

You can save yourself a whole lot of learning time, cost of education, and frustrations by following his advice. Just my 20 cents worth. ...Howard

A boss that shows commitment to them and understands what they need to be successful, thereby making you successful too.

Sales people...the last part is key, people, they aren't a breed, a sub culture or a commodity, they are like you. What they want, is what you need to ask them. Each individual has different aspirations, a lower salary but more time with their kids, a high commission and no ties, a lower commission and security. A share in the company, a tele-sales lead generation team, key accounts leads only.

Interview and find out what they want. Will it suit your business? Are you prepared to have someone "own" the customer base?

The answer is...you need to decide. Do you want regular in the trenches grafters, or a sales star, or a mix?

I agree that Steven's assessment is right on the money and I have run, hired, fired and managed more sales people then I can even think about at the moment.

It is hard to give you super concrete examples without knowing your business intimately. You know your business, you know how the deals you have made to date got done, you know the players and the technology. Now, you need to teach all of this to the new salesperson. I have seen many sales people fail because they come in and the boss gives them a list of prospects or even an area to check out, some collateral material, a tour of the office and says, "go forth and make money". It doesnt work like that. A successful sales person will need time, your time. You need to train them in your business, in the way that you work, in your expectations. If you dont do that then dont bother hiring one because it wont work out. I know you think you are too busy and the whole reason to hire a salesperson is to not have to do this stuff anymore and 6 months into the relationship great, you can step back but not day 1, or you will just cycle through people.

And commission only is not a good deal for many- you will get someone agressive for sure but you may not get someone who cares enough about your model to make the "right" deals, he will just make "any" deal and yuo will be the one doing the clean up on that. Base + Commission is the best way to go with a sales person- you value them, they value you.