What to Pay Your First Salesperson
Besides the owner, you might be the first or second person in the company and maybe even the only one besides themselves to sell their business.
What should you expect? I've written about the good things. Here are some of the bad:
1. There will be resistance to change from the way they sold/presented to the way you sell. They will place a lot of trust in you to represent them and sell their product in a professional and upstanding way. You'll have your own style. There will be clashes. My advice, learn their presentation and selling styles. They will know their current clients better than you and you might learn something new. Then incorporate their best elements and your best elements into a great pitch. Your style isn't perfect and neither is theirs, but keep an open mind that they know their product and clients and try what they tell you. You'll learn something that you can use with other prospects. I guarantee it!
2. If you want to keep a secret, don't tell the boss.
3. Be prepared to start projects and have them be dropped or forgotten.
Besides the owner, you might be the first or second person in the company and maybe even the only one besides themselves to sell their business.
What should you expect? I've written about the good things. Here are some of the bad:
1. There will be resistance to change from the way they sold/presented to the way you sell. They will place a lot of trust in you to represent them and sell their product in a professional and upstanding way. You'll have your own style. There will be clashes. My advice, learn their presentation and selling styles. They will know their current clients better than you and you might learn something new. Then incorporate their best elements and your best elements into a great pitch. Your style isn't perfect and neither is theirs, but keep an open mind that they know their product and clients and try what they tell you. You'll learn something that you can use with other prospects. I guarantee it!
2. If you want to keep a secret, don't tell the boss.
3. Be prepared to start projects and have them be dropped or forgotten.
Entrepreneurs are usually people with a vision for themselves and what they want their company to be. As a result when they see an idea someone else is doing, they will often try to incorporate it into their business. The project will start with good intentions, but don't be surprised if it gets dropped when they see the next idea. You might know this as "shiny key syndrome."
Bigger companies that have too wide of a command structure suffer the same problem.
Lack of focus.
Bigger companies that have too wide of a command structure suffer the same problem.
Lack of focus.
This can be maddening because you think the company will be doing something and it will never get off the ground and you might not even know it. Unless it was something mission critical, just put the notes aside and move on. If it is worth fighting for, then make your case. Sometimes people just need to be reminded why they started the project to begin with. Sometimes the projects come back.
4. If the boss says they are not a micro manager they probably are.
Sometimes this starts out as a good thing. When starting you need to learn their business and what made them successful. You need to reinforce your good sales habits. Proving you can live up to their matrix of how many calls, appointments, etc. is good. If all they live by is numbers and can't see the forest through the trees then you have a choice to make. At some point you either have to always give them what they want, or eventually put your foot down in a professional way and tell them no.
When working for a small company I was asked to do at least 25 cold calls per day to decision makers. This isn't a lot and was accomplished along with the other duties I had to do. At first at the end of the day I would have to turn in a spreadsheet with who I called.
No problem.
Then I was asked to indicate when I called them so we could see what time was most effective reaching these decision makers.
No problem. Good idea.
Then I had to keep track if I reached their voicemail and if they returned my call.
Again a good thing to track.
I was also asked to keep track what side of town they were on.
There was never a good answer to that since I already had their address before calling them.
The data and what I was asked to track kept getting more and more minute.
He never did anything with the data.
Finally I asked again what ALL the points were to what I was being asked to do.
He didn't have an answer so I politely told him I would continue to keep track of all pertinent information and if he ever wanted it to look it up in our CRM database.
5. Don't sign a non-compete.
They might be worried that you'll walk off with their financial statements or sales numbers. Perfectly logical. Problem is you will be one of a few people in the company. If they go belly up you don't want to be tied down about where you can look for a job or who you can call on. They have to remember you are building THEIR business and they get 80% of your take at any time. Offer to sign a non-disclosure agreement instead. Then keep quiet about the information you see.
6. If you are working for an owner who always has to be in control of the meeting, prospect, sales situation, prepare to sit back and be reduced to the level of their sales assistant. Some sales people like having someone else take the lead and be out front. If that is your personality type (I'm not referring to sales drive) then stay in the position and thrive by cranking out great appointments and hitting all of your metrics in terms of calls, appointments, etc. Be a good Robin to the owners Batman.
If you don't enjoy this role look for a new company because odds are it won't change unless business gets so good they'll have to give up control of some accounts. Depending on the company and what you are selling either of these scenarios might happen.
7. If you are working for an owner that prefers to NOT be too involved in the sales arena, then be prepared to take charge of the meetings, follow up with the customer, and constantly remind the owner of what they need to do to help you succeed.
8. Expect to get blamed when things go wrong:
Lets say There wasn't enough client meetings set in a given month. You did everything right, it was just one of those months.
4. If the boss says they are not a micro manager they probably are.
Sometimes this starts out as a good thing. When starting you need to learn their business and what made them successful. You need to reinforce your good sales habits. Proving you can live up to their matrix of how many calls, appointments, etc. is good. If all they live by is numbers and can't see the forest through the trees then you have a choice to make. At some point you either have to always give them what they want, or eventually put your foot down in a professional way and tell them no.
When working for a small company I was asked to do at least 25 cold calls per day to decision makers. This isn't a lot and was accomplished along with the other duties I had to do. At first at the end of the day I would have to turn in a spreadsheet with who I called.
No problem.
Then I was asked to indicate when I called them so we could see what time was most effective reaching these decision makers.
No problem. Good idea.
Then I had to keep track if I reached their voicemail and if they returned my call.
Again a good thing to track.
I was also asked to keep track what side of town they were on.
There was never a good answer to that since I already had their address before calling them.
The data and what I was asked to track kept getting more and more minute.
He never did anything with the data.
Finally I asked again what ALL the points were to what I was being asked to do.
He didn't have an answer so I politely told him I would continue to keep track of all pertinent information and if he ever wanted it to look it up in our CRM database.
5. Don't sign a non-compete.
They might be worried that you'll walk off with their financial statements or sales numbers. Perfectly logical. Problem is you will be one of a few people in the company. If they go belly up you don't want to be tied down about where you can look for a job or who you can call on. They have to remember you are building THEIR business and they get 80% of your take at any time. Offer to sign a non-disclosure agreement instead. Then keep quiet about the information you see.
6. If you are working for an owner who always has to be in control of the meeting, prospect, sales situation, prepare to sit back and be reduced to the level of their sales assistant. Some sales people like having someone else take the lead and be out front. If that is your personality type (I'm not referring to sales drive) then stay in the position and thrive by cranking out great appointments and hitting all of your metrics in terms of calls, appointments, etc. Be a good Robin to the owners Batman.
If you don't enjoy this role look for a new company because odds are it won't change unless business gets so good they'll have to give up control of some accounts. Depending on the company and what you are selling either of these scenarios might happen.
7. If you are working for an owner that prefers to NOT be too involved in the sales arena, then be prepared to take charge of the meetings, follow up with the customer, and constantly remind the owner of what they need to do to help you succeed.
8. Expect to get blamed when things go wrong:
Lets say There wasn't enough client meetings set in a given month. You did everything right, it was just one of those months.
In the owners eye they NEVER had a bad month, missed call goals, appointment quotas, or sales. Baloney! In their eyes they are brilliant in sales. Arguing this point with them doesn't always work because in their mind if THEY were doing whatever it was they accuse you of not doing things would succeed. It will usually take an person not involved in the process (usually a wife or office manager) to tell them they are wrong. They won't apologize for being wrong, however you know they'll realize they were wrong because they will talk about it and say "I was thinking about ______ and I think we need to try doing it this way______"
9. Be careful about the boss meeting with long time customers who you know extremely well: They may act like the client was never yours and try to monopolize the client and cut you out completely. I'm not saying you can never have the boss meet these people, however I'm saying if your boss is the controlling type this could happen.
I once had a vice president meet with a long term client of mine without telling me.
The client bought a new package from the VP (that plan wasn't presented to the sales staff yet). When I confronted the VP his response was "you introduced me to him awhile ago so I called him, and what are you worried about you'll get your commission." I explained that in this case he was right, but he could have also said something that ruined the relationship, caused confusion on who the client should call with questions, and said he wouldn't like it if I just started calling his clients without asking him. He admitted I was right and I called my client and explained that I would be able to handle all calls regarding the new package and apologized for the VP not bringing me to the meeting and blindsiding him.
10. Be prepared for your reputation to take a hit in some way from a bad owner who wants revenge because they will think you ruined their company or at least wasted a bunch of time:
I once had a vice president meet with a long term client of mine without telling me.
The client bought a new package from the VP (that plan wasn't presented to the sales staff yet). When I confronted the VP his response was "you introduced me to him awhile ago so I called him, and what are you worried about you'll get your commission." I explained that in this case he was right, but he could have also said something that ruined the relationship, caused confusion on who the client should call with questions, and said he wouldn't like it if I just started calling his clients without asking him. He admitted I was right and I called my client and explained that I would be able to handle all calls regarding the new package and apologized for the VP not bringing me to the meeting and blindsiding him.
10. Be prepared for your reputation to take a hit in some way from a bad owner who wants revenge because they will think you ruined their company or at least wasted a bunch of time:
If you work for an entrepreneur that has a good reputation and you help them build their business you'll get some of the reflected glory from the owners circle of contacts.
If that entrepreneur sucks at building relationships or sales, you'll hear about that too.
If you get some of the credit just thank them and accept it. Don't let it go to your ego. If you get some tarnish because you were working for a bad individual, listen and move on.
If you move to another job don't argue for your former boss either way and don't join in blasting the person. Both are traps. Plus your client has already made up their mind what they think of the former boss and that is water under the bridge. Work on building the current relationship.
11. Until the money really starts rolling in, or there has been a change in their lifestyle because of your success (being able to take a vacation for the first time is an example), entrepreneurs will question their decision to hire their first salesperson. You may get a few comments in the "things were easier around here before I hired you" vein. Don't take it personal. Remember it is one thing to be responsible for yourself, it is another to now have someone else depending on you. It is a tough lesson for some entrepreneurs to learn. Your ultimate job is to make them say "I'm glad I hired a salesperson!" .
If you get some of the credit just thank them and accept it. Don't let it go to your ego. If you get some tarnish because you were working for a bad individual, listen and move on.
If you move to another job don't argue for your former boss either way and don't join in blasting the person. Both are traps. Plus your client has already made up their mind what they think of the former boss and that is water under the bridge. Work on building the current relationship.
11. Until the money really starts rolling in, or there has been a change in their lifestyle because of your success (being able to take a vacation for the first time is an example), entrepreneurs will question their decision to hire their first salesperson. You may get a few comments in the "things were easier around here before I hired you" vein. Don't take it personal. Remember it is one thing to be responsible for yourself, it is another to now have someone else depending on you. It is a tough lesson for some entrepreneurs to learn. Your ultimate job is to make them say "I'm glad I hired a salesperson!" .
Thanks!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy
A Heck of A Nice Guy
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