You might have the absolute best product on the market, featuring the most advanced technology which could help thousands of people save time and money BUT if you can’t sell it, it is worth nothing. Building a sales presence is fundamental to making sure that your product appears in front of potential customers in a way that gains their trust, respect, and ultimately their confidence enough to put their hands in their pockets.
Building that team will take more than simply putting an ad in the local paper and crossing your fingers. You want to be seeking out someone who demonstrates knowledge, quality salesmanship, and a database of potential buyers.
WHERE DO YOU FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE?
It’s not simply a question of where you find the right people, but also how do you recognize them. Equally, recognizing potential in someone is a skilled attribute. They might not tick all the boxes now, but there are elements in their profiles that highlight how they could perform really effectively for you given the right tools.
Building up effective working relationships with specialized sales recruitment agencies will give you immediate access to highly qualified and experienced people. A specialized agency, particularly one that works extensively in your own sector and field, will already know instinctively who is available and might be a good fit.
Otherwise, social media platforms like LinkedIn and ore traditional networking within your sector will ensure that you start to know who’s who within your industry is, and who may be looking for a new challenge.
HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE THEM TO WORK FOR YOU?
While money is, and will always be, a driving factor behind recruiting new talent to your business, there are other factors at play as well. Someone may be feeling disillusioned with a lack of progress in their current situation, or just feel like they need a challenge.
Others may be looking for a change of pace, and moving from a large ‘corporate’ environment to a smaller start up may afford them a more flexible approach to their current work-life balance. It may be that, instead of taking them on as employees, which can be expensive, you trial each other for a few months on a rate that is mutually beneficial.
Think also about the potential benefits you can offer – you may be too small a company at this stage to offer fantastic employee perks, but for many more seasoned employees they would be happy with a more relaxed approach to working providing they get the results that you are looking for.
HOW DO YOU KEEP THEM IF THEY ARE GOOD?
Recognition and rewards. If they are winning the business, recognize the efforts they are making, and make sure that you reward them accordingly.
Invest in creating a formal rewards structure so that your growing sales team know what they are working towards. Motivation is crucial, and a demotivated team will soon start looking elsewhere and abandon you without a moment’s notice.
Starting a new business is an exciting time, and that excitement will spread to all new members of your team as you grow.
OFFER THE POTENTIAL TO GROW
The more someone has skin in the game, the more effort they are going to put into building something strong and powerful. As well as clarifying a clear path for an individual to grow and develop within the business, you may also want to include some shares, or the potential of share options in the future. Having that ownership in the company.
