Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`m actually pretty good with sales ... but I tend to have problems when I start to talk about money and cash.

So I was considering having someone do my sales. Is this even possible? Do some of you use another person do your sales?

My only concern is that the nature of my business ... well, I`m pretty picky and personal. So when we are in the business of relationship building, does the relationship and the product get lost when you have someone else selling for you? How do you ever find someone who knows the product and the capabilities as well as you do?

I`d love to hear from others on this. How do you outsource your sales, maintain your company culture, and bring enough work to support a sales person?


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That PHP Girl
Small Business Essentials
Latest Post on SUN: New Facebook Pages - First Impressions

You are right you cannot do everything.  The smarter you are the harder it is to give in to this fact.  Maybe you just need to have a full or part time employee or partner.  College students are a great resource for part time help too.  Outsourcing is not the only solution.  Bringing it in-house gives you control that you lose with outsourcing.  This web site is a good resource for sales ideas too:  www.sales-lead-experts.com

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Bert at Harvey Software, Inc.
Multi-Carrier Shipping Software and Supply Chain Solutions for Internet Retailers

Also a provider of free shipping information and resources at Harvey Software`s Parcel Shipping Blog along with free tracking solutions at TrackingPage.com...

I think this topic falls under the heading of "When & How to Delegate." It`s a control issue, but also rational self-interest concept.

I like Bert`s idea of hiring college students, maybe as a paid intern kind of thing. There you can get people already categorized by interest: marketing, sales, writing, development, etc.

Sales is your point of contact with potential clients. You should not delegate that role carelessly.

You need to get to the root of your issues with talking about money and cash. Like anything else, the more you do it the better you get.

I think you`d be better off training people to code to your standards while you continue to do the sales.


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Steve - Kirk Foods, LLC home of the Gluten Free Cookie Factory - To reach any significant goal, you must leave your comfort zone. - Hyrum W. Smith, Founder, Franklin Quest

One thing I have read about (haven`t implemented it) is that if you are picky about how you do something, sales, relationship building. Write down and document each step to what you do how you do it and how you could possibly measure the results (sales numbers up, better satisfaction surveys, whatever the metrics as, make sure you have a way of measuring what you are doing is doing something right).

What you end up with is a prototype process that works for you and can be taught to somebody else. Script how they should introduce themselves, etc. Sure there will be times the process won`t work or doesn`t fit a situation but you can still try and control those outside individuals.

To outsource sales, you want to ensure that the salesperson is as passionate as you are about your business - otherwise you risk losing your good name. If they have that energy, you can train them on how you like your sales relationships managed. College students are excellent as they have the basic skills and are not set in their ways in terms of sales management.

IMHO there are two components of sales - strategy and execution. One is what you feel you are best at - the relationship side of things. The other is what you said you have problems with - talking about money.

The first part is hard to outsource and quite frankly, if it`s key to bringing revenue in, you want to maintain control. Since you are freed from the tension of discussing details, you will probably increase your productivity in this area.

The execution side, which includes talking $, can be comfortably handled as long as you provide the parameters. Sales people that I have worked with like to negotiate, feel that they`ve added some value and solved some problems...basically contributed in some way. We all like this don`t we?

nGenuity`s suggestion of documenting processes will help with your comfort level on outsourcing . The more you know, the better you can articulate your standards, terms and conditions. The salesperson gets a template or guide that will ensure s/he is consistent. When challenged, it is easy to say that this is company policy or that they have to check with the boss. An added benefit that is often hard when you`re the one doing the negotiating directly.


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A good idea is a good idea NOW![sup]TM[/sup]

ethnicomm inc. | sales | marketing | web | strategy consulting

Steve - my thoughts exactly on this. I have just given up the idea for now because I can`t have someone else be the customer contact for my brand. I have looked at having other people to help with the development side, but we are so low-margin ... I`d make nothing at the end of the day. So, I guess I`d just better work on improving myself for now. 

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That PHP Girl
Small Business Essentials
Latest Post on SUN: New Facebook Pages - First Impressions

What if you were to hire someone to handle the money, and say they`re your "Accounting" or "Billing" department? You`d do the initial sale, then say, "Listen, here`s my card. If you`d like to go ahead with this, I`ll have my billing department get ahold of you and they can go over the contract and details." Would that work?

Great, now I`m thinking good cop, bad cop. 

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That PHP Girl
Small Business Essentials
Latest Post on SUN: New Facebook Pages - First Impressions

LOL!! Yup....that works too...!

Reason I mentioned it is that Jim was the sales guy in our twosome. I did the production. work. I didn`t have the calmness to handle negotiations, he wasn`t all that good at writing. It worked great. He`d tell me the hardcore line in the sand, and I`d bite my fingernails, figuring we`d just get dumped. Then the buyers would cave or compromise, and we`d make money. :-D