Hiring a sales rep is an important step in selling your product.
Hiring a competent sales rep to sell your product is important because sales of your product will drive revenue for your company.
Make sure you are ready to hire someone to sell your product. Be prepared for an influx of sales because you will have to keep up with demand if the salesperson you hire is a huge success. Be prepared to make a commitment to support your sales rep in terms of providing product knowledge training and marketing materials.
Instructions
Planning
1. Decide how you will compensate the sales rep that will be selling your product. The sales position should require that established measures of productivity, or quotas, be met on a weekly or monthly basis.
Compensation varies depending on the company, the industry and the type of sales rep hired (e.g., inside sales, outside sales, telemarketers or business to business).
Many outside sales jobs are commission only, or a small base pay plus commission. The commission is often negotiable, depending on performance.
Most inside sales jobs and telemarketers are paid an hourly wage. Sometimes, the hourly pay is supplemented with bonuses for high sales volume.
Business-to-business sales reps often make a base annual salary plus commission, depending on the industry. Performance quotas are required to retain the position.
2. Management is an important consideration when hiring a sales rep.
Determine how the sales rep will be managed. Will the sales rep need to be self-motivated and self-managed, or will you manage him or her yourself? You might consider hiring a sales manager to help manage the sales rep who will be selling your product, or assign the task to another trusted employee in the company.
You'll need to be clear on the chain of command, or management hierarchy, before you hire the sales rep so that you know who to hold accountable for training, productivity and goal setting.
3. Have the tools for success ready before you hire a sales rep. That way, the sales rep will be able to start selling right away.
Tools for success involve things that help the sales rep to sell your product. This includes marketing materials such as printed product information sheets, samples of the product, professional receipts, paperwork for financing applications, access to technical information about the product, and anything else needed to help the sales rep complete the sale.
Implementation
4. Advertise in several places for a sales rep. Let the community know that you are hiring. Word of mouth is a great way to find sales reps, as many people have friends and acquaintances who are looking for a job.
Free places to advertise are the best way to start: Craigslist.com has local listings for job openings, and most county workforce offices will allow employers to post for free on their public job boards. You can post fliers on university campuses, but this method is a little labor-intensive on your part.
Try the free listings first, then only if you need to, try paying for ads in local print newspaper employment/want ads, Monster.com, and CareerBuilder.com. You might also try purchasing a booth at a job fair, but make sure it is an industry that is compatible or related to your company to maximize the chances of reaching qualified applicants.
5. Set aside time in your schedule to conduct interviews. Be flexible about the time needed to conduct the interviews. Because the sales rep position is so important, you will not want to rush the interview process.
If you do not feel comfortable in making the final decision yourself, then set up a second interview with your best candidates for the sales rep position with a trusted employee or with whomever will be supervising the sales rep.
6. Put the offer of employment in writing. You should include the expected start date, the offer of compensation that you agreed upon in the interview, the expectations of the sales rep (e.g., quotas), and any other terms of employment. Keep a record on file with the human resources director, and let the sales rep keep a copy for himself or herself.
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