So You Want To Hire Sales Representatives?

One of the biggest topics I discuss with my friends that are entrepreneurs is sales representatives. Sales representatives are supposed to be lifeline of a company, yet in many instances, their boldness and bravado can turn into entitlement and narcissism. The ability to find high quality sales representatives is an art in itself.

At all of my companies, I have always stressed the importance of remote work offerings, because I do not see taking on real estate costs while my competition saves the cost and gets better talent than me. That being said, I want to discuss some of the current demand-generated offerings within the sales development realm.

SDRs, or Sales development representatives, that are outsourced have similar constraints that other organizations face - choicey sales environments for top tier talent. If you are choosing to outsource your sales development, make sure the sales development organization has a 2023 winning talent strategy - remote, flexible and multiple streams to enter sales. With organizations that are built on the manufacturer representative structure, sometimes they have antiquated sales processes that do not serve the manufacturer adequately. High turn over organizations do not offer the type of benefits that more consistent staff organizations offer. If you offer livable wages combined with flexibility, you can see a great return on talent campaigns. Yet if your company offers hybrid, masked as remote some days, you are not seen as a company someone wants to work for. Sales representatives work leads the best way THEY know how. It is not advisable to change the manner an experienced sales professional works their leads.

I want to highlight a company we are currently working with, SellX. SellX offers a robust sales system that includes all the functionality needed for a successful sales campaign - LinkedIn Messaging, Phone, and Email support. What is even better than that - experienced SDRs love working in their format. Total control over the process. They also don't have managers that are micromanagers - there is no need. If you want to make money, the XDRs will have to complete a specified number of actions. Once said actions are completed, their payment for work is given - weekly. Let's be frank and honest, most employers are not taking the added cost of weekly payouts into their payment structure. If you hire SellX, it is not something you need to worry about. The SDRs come with the Sales system - together! You are easily able to to view what the SDRs are doing and saying, and then you can understand which SDRs are doing the best, by seeing all their emails, phones and LinkedIn Messages that were performed for your organization. For one flat fee, everything you need to push your vision forward, minus the cost of benefits and talent acquisition costs.

Why I prefer sales teams that are outsourced sales teams as opposed to in house sales teams? Most manufacturers and tech organizations are great at product development and technology, not talent. Sales organizations account for the highest turnover department within their respective companies. Why? Sales people like to perform and get paid nicely for the work. If a sales person receives $1,000 this week, they want $ 5,000 next week. Yet, your organization is only going to give them the products you have to offer. With outsourced sales organizations, they can offer additional product offerings that augment the sales persons' earnings, giving them additional ways to create profit for their personal well being. This will keep the sales professional working on your project, instead of, okay we have a new sales rep for you Charles. We know that game all to well.

Remember, taking on your sales development in-house is pricey and offers a world of high turnover, and insane training for your sales representatives to be effective. And once you get everything handled properly, your sales rep will probably leave. Outsourcing your sales talent is definitely a great move, as you have the combined costs of talent removed, and now you are able to concentrate on receiving sales, not making them.

About Author

Alecia Chrin has been creating products and companies since 2002. She has been on transformational teams that have produced products and strategies in excess of $2 Billion and uses her knowledge to educate people on common mistakes in business, business hacks, and creating a profitable business by exploding your ICP footprint. Any questions or concerns, please reach her at [email protected] or call at ‪(703) 705-2705‬!