Marketing:

Assembling an Energetic Sales Team

The difference between you and the competitor usually comes down to the employees of both companies. If the employees are satisfied with their workplace and feel comfortable there, they are going to be loyal to the company and work for it’s benefit. If you have employees who are just working there for the paycheck that comes every two weeks, you are headed for disaster. Some of the blame can be placed on your hiring practice and the rest on management. When you hire a person who seemed enthusiastic and wanted to make money selling and then two months later he just sits there by phone waiting, then management is to blame. Here are a few ways to ensure you develop good sales team:

• Hire people from within the company. Don’t go out and hire a whole crew because you need salesman. People who already work for the company know the products and services that you offer and their knowledge of the system is much better. They don’t need training about the company and it’s policies. You actually save a lot of money here.
• Outside agents offer you the benefit of splitting their bill with other companies. The only disadvantage here is the fact that their loyalty is divided between several companies and they will benefit the company that will pay them the most. You have no way of knowing who that is.
• If you do have to hire people to work for you then hire them full time, just for your company. Make sure they have good listening skills, they can improvise, have confidence, can take rejection, and want to make money. The best sales people are those that work for commission with a base salary. It always make them feel good in lean times that they have a safety net to fall back on and in busy times they want to make as much money as possible.
• Before you hire someone, tell him or her about your sales expectations and see if they can really do it or not. Make sure they are not awed by the figures you are giving them. You don’t want someone who is unsure of themselves and what they are capable of delivering.
• Hold training sessions every month or two weeks if necessary. If you are in the computer business, you need to hold one every week to let your sales crew knows about new products and technologies that are available. Even if you don’t sell them, it’s good to know about them. A customer who asks for them maybe a bit disappointed to find out that you don’t carry them but if you can provide them with all the right information then they will always come to you. The general public likes people who are helpful and likes to buy from them, not just someone who is selling.
• People whose prime motive for being in sales is not money (hard to believe isn’t it) but are there to help people should be offered a different kind of compensation for their work. Offer them paid vacations, build a day care center in the building, have a large parking lot in front of the company, etc. These perks will keep the good sales force that you have developed with you. A lot of recruiters from the competitors offer perks like these to lure your people away. If they already have those things with you, why would they choose to leave?