HARDISON’S TIPS – DECEMBER 1, 2021 – Things to Know Before You Start Hiring a Sales Team
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. -Henry Ford
Building a sales team is always the most exciting, fearful and rewarding part of a sales leader’s career. You know that with the right hire(s) and plan, you could be standing at the threshold of an incredible time of growth in your company. But where do you start?
To get you moving, here are 4 things you need to consider, BEFORE you hire a sales team:
1. Know Your Sales Process: Take the time to document and consider your process PRIOR to hiring anyone. Understand where your customers are coming from now, and where they will come from in the future. Are you looking to build on an existing channel or open a new one? Is your sales cycle long or short? Are your current and future customers all from a specific industry? Take the time now to understand and change your process so you have a solid foundation to build from.
2. Hire With Purpose: Now that you understand your process, look to hire people who fit in. For instance – if your sales cycle is short-term and requires someone who can close quickly, look for that background. And always – always – use a skills assessment tool such as Profiles International. It assesses an individual in the areas that are important in order to be a successful salesperson (energy, social, independence, etc.).
3. Build a Compensation Plan: Salespeople are driven by the ability to maximize commissions, and your goal is to drive revenue. Make sure you are building a compensation plan that hits both goals. It is best to build a plan that pays more for exceeded targets and less for low performance – thus driving the desired behavior.
4. Be Ready to Adapt: Success in business is never a straight line and neither is it in sales. Inspect and expect the need to adapt your sales plan as the group grows and reacts to the business environment. Good sales leaders tweak their plans.
5. Be Ready tp Lead: Now that you have your team in place, don’t forget it is your job to make them successful. Start with the leadership 101 course – Manage by walking around – in order to see what to coach on you must see how they are working with the current expected processes. Once you know what you have seen coach one –on one until they are comfortable with what you expect. Then you can work in small groups with other members who needed one on one coaching.
