Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

OK, so I am 28. I started an energy efficiency business in 2007 and luckily enough we've made it through 2011. We've catered to over 3000 businesses locally and I am looking at expanding the company across the country. The routine was run an ad for COMMISSION only sales position in some job boards, then interview them, give them a binder full of brochures, business card, price list, and everything else they could possibly need. Two days later you don't hear anything back from them. I am not understanding why they are not working? Are these sales people that lazy nowadays? I go through 200 of these applicants per month and I would be lucky to get one or two that actually goes out there and try to knock on doors. This is a B2B sales and I have heard some of them whining that it is a lot harder than selling directly to individual consumer. The last salesman that I had sold a 80k lighting retrofit job last month and his commission was about 25k. I mean, am I paying too low? Or could it be because I'm a woman and most of my sales reps are men? Most of my competition (90%) of them are managed and owned by men and the game can get harsh at times. Anyone have any ideas how to keep salesman around? How to hire the best ones out there?

Here is a suggestion.  Don’t hire the sales people.  Instead, contact a sales company that will take a percentage of what they sell for their fee.  These companies represent multiple clients.  And, each time they go on a call for one client, they also mention the other companies they represent.  This increases your company’s exposure with no additional cost.

Here is a typical example.  A door hardware company worked with a sales rep firm.  This firm represented a door manufacturer, door window manufacturer, a front lobby treatment decorator and our company.  Each time the sales rep went out on a call, she would work all four companies into her sales pitch.  Similar to the ideal of cross marketing.

Hi Cathy,

I'm not familiar with energy efficiency industry, but have you considered letting your new hires shadow some of your more successful sellers before they hit the streets? It might give them the insight and confidence they need to get started.

Best of Luck,

Jon Stojan

Thrifty Wrench

I feel your pain!

Last year, each time I had a prospective rep who would be perfect for the job it seems that unemployment benefits were extended and suddenly, the prospect decided that it wasn't the right position for them after all...

I want to know how you got the original 3000 clients. 

Also, tell me more about how to find a company that would go have their team go out and do the selling... I don't have a "hard" product.  We do advertising sales that appears in annual publications.  Any advice on where to go would be greatly appreciated.

Try offering them some training via training videos or Skype. Direct sales is hard, and it's extremely difficult to get past the gatekeepers. Straight commission jobs are easy to walk away from because you're not paying them anything yet, so they don't owe your company anything.

Energy efficiency sounds like a really cool business, so maybe look for salespeople who have an interest in helping the environment and sharing that knowledge with other businesses. Train them to care about the topic as much as you do, because your company wouldn't still be around unless you have some kind of passion for this subject.

Anyway, train them so that they know they are helping companies go GREEN while saving money. They need to see your vision and understand WHY they should put up with the hassle of being rejected over and over again, until they get that appointment.