Deciding the right time hire a salesperson to grow your business is a tough decision.
Here at Chatter Digital, we are all about helping business to grow! Whether we are helping with content or SEO requirements, setting you up with full-time outsourced staff or providing business tips, our greatest satisfaction is seeing you succeed.
So that brings us to today’s article. Leveraging top sales performers to grow your business.
Ensuring a healthy and reliable revenue stream is essential to every business as it generates cash flow that is the lifeblood of operating a business.
In the ever-increasing digital world, a lot of focus is rightly placed on your digital strategy. After all, you can reach massive audiences, access new markets and it is often thought of as a low-cost strategy, although this is not always the case.
It is important not to neglect the important role salespeople still play if the lifecycle of a purchasing decision and it could be the missing ingredient to your digital strategy. So lets touch on the human side of sales for a while and uncover how it can work hand in hand with your digital strategy to scale your business and supercharge sales.
Why Sales and Marketing Is Critical To Your Business
Many would have heard the phrase “Build It And They Will Come”. Well, the truth is, that simply isn’t going to happen for 99.9% of businesses.
You need to build it, then market, market, market it.
It is an ultra-competitive landscape out there for business owners and there is a lot of noise you need to cut through. A robust sales and marketing strategy across both human and digital channels is essential.
The terms “sales and marketing” often go hand-in-hand because getting the word out about your business is what generates leads and leads are what convert into sales and cash flow for your business.
Solid marketing also helps you build your brand, cement your reputation, and helps prospective customers find you and be comfortable to do business with you. Unfortunately, many small businesses see marketing functions as “optional” rather than essential and don’t plan a marketing strategy at all. A non-existent marketing plan or a piecemeal approach can lead to your business getting lost among the competition.
How Sales and Marketing Are Different
Marketing covers a lot of promotional territory, as it can include everything from writing and design of social media content, news and print content, website content and email campaigns.
Some marketing activities even extend to preparing presentations, planning corporate events, and writing press releases.
Marketing will help you develop and project your brand persona and brand voice. It will make you appear as an authorative source in your industry or niche. It will also help you build trust as people become familiar with your brand and what you do.
Sales on the other hand is the process of taking a customer on a journey to eventually make a purchasing decision to buy your product or service. It is far more personalised than marketing.
In sale, you need to understand the need of the customer, understand how your product or service will solve their problem, and work through the roadblocks that are preventing them from purchasing.
This can be done via digital channels, but it would be safe to say that it cannot yet be done as well as a highly skilled and professional salesperson.
Do You Need a Sales Team?
Ask yourself, if your marketing is getting seen by a lot of people but you are not converting at a rate you would like, could this problem be solved by having a sales team?
While there are costs associated with maintaining a sales team, there is flexibility in whether you pay a salary, a commission, or a hybrid that includes both.
You also have a number of options to outsource the sales functions to professionals through the use of freelancers via platforms like Upwork or Overpass, or if you need a more permanent arrangement, utilising offshore outsourcing.
Once you understand the cost structure of each sales professional, you can then work out the uplift in conversion and sales to get an appropriate return on investment from the sales resource.
There are a lot of other benefits to having a salesperson in your business as well. The truth is, some customers may feel more confident having a dedicated contact in your business to talk about your product or service so having that option will win you new business.
Over time your sales team will become well versed in the common objections potential customers have and can address them to improve conversion rate and help you build long-term relationships with customers.
What to Look for When Hiring a Salesperson to Grow Your Business
Whether you hire in-house staff or utlise freelancers, all good sales reps share similar characteristics.
You’ll want to look for people who have a proven track record and are friendly, charismatic, and convincing. They need to know how to talk to people, overcome objections, and close deals.
According to BMS Performance, a good salesperson is comfortable negotiating, and will usually strive to recognise the prospect’s underlying interests, using these insights to make the sale.
They should also be well-versed in upselling and securing long-term contacts or commitments rather than settling for a single base sale. You’ll also want to see expertise or experience in your industry, as well as stellar references.
It is important to have a solid assessment of new salespeople as getting it wrong can be very costly to your business.
Sales People to Avoid
Customers never want to feel like they’re being sold to or belittled on a sales call, so while assertiveness is important in this kind of role, aggressiveness is not. Avoid pushy fast-talkers, flashy dressers, and people who have failed to research your company in advance of meeting you.
You never want a sales rep being condescending to a prospect. Ask them to walk you through their process and their pitch. Are they going to present your business and brand in a way you are comfortable with?
Ask how they overcome objections. Inquire about how they handle rejection, and what their follow-up process looks like.
When you check references, ask previous employers if they would use the candidate again. According to Sales Logic, their response will help you read between the lines and get a better feel for the person’s reputation and professionalism.
Salary Versus Commission
There are different opinions when it comes to deciding whether a salesperson should be paid a salary, regardless of their selling outcomes, or if they should be paid a commission based on the revenue they generate for the business.
Many business owners meet in the middle – a smaller base salary that provides a degree of financial security, but still encourages ambitious sales efforts that are compensated in the form of bonuses and incentives. This could be an incentive on every sale made, or an incentive paid once a certain volume of sales are made. It really comes down to what really works for your business.
The Bottom Line on Sales People and Business Performance
Always keep in mind that smart selling isn’t just about making a sale happen at all costs. Ideally, it’s the building of mutually beneficial relationships that have will be fruitful for all parties involved over the long term.
When you have a significant level of repeat business, it’s a sign that what you provide has value, that your prices are fair, and that you’re seen as trustworthy in the marketplace and most importantly, you are delivering the right quality of work.
Having a top-quality salesperson in your business to complement your digital marketing strategies can help you achieve this, as well as significantly improve your conversion rates.
Chatter Digital have experience and significant connection when it comes to hiring outsourced sales staff. If you would like to know more, get in touch with us. We would love to help.
If you enjoyed this article, we sure to sign up to our newsletter as we aim to help inform, educate and add value to business owners and aspiring business owners all around the world.
