A good sales team can make the difference between success and failure in your sales business. There are characteristics you can look for in a potential sales team member, and ways you can boost their chance for success. Here are some tips.
What Kind of Person?
When you are looking to hire your sales team, there are certain personality characteristics that indicate a person will succeed in sales. Look for personalities that exhibit such traits as:
* A healthy desire for more income
* Outgoing and good at conversation
* Makes you feel comfortable
* Persistent without being pushy
* Energetic
* Confident
* Ready to learn
An experienced sales person will require less training and may save you some headaches with his or her proven track record. But experience costs, so take that into consideration when deciding to hire someone with experience or a newbie. Of course, a new sales person will require training, and that can cost, too, especially in terms of time.
Clear Job Description
Your sales team needs to know exactly what they are doing. Decide ahead of time if you need your sales representative to do something as simple as contact clients via mailings, or if you need them to be handling all contact with clients. Make sure the job description is crystal-clear, and don’t just wait and see what they will do.
Training
You will need to train your sales team well. They will need to know your product backwards and forwards, so they can answer customer questions and speak knowledgably about the product.
Motivation
Monetary compensation is always a nice recognition for hard work, but make good on non-monetary incentives, too. You can recognize an exceptional team member with a certificate or some time off, or set up a competition each month where the top sales team member gets a free lunch or day off.
Base Salary with Commission
Most sales representatives understand that the bulk of their income is from sales, but it’s a good idea to have a base salary as well. When sales are low, a base salary keeps everyone’s spirits up and helps motivate them to press on.
Look In-House
Some sources suggest looking in-house for your sales team members. The experts you need might be right next to you. And team members that are part of the same company will be more likely to have a handle on the product and how the company works.
If you need referrals for in-house team members, check with your employers and others who work for the same company.