Joel Goldstein is the President of Mr. Checkout Distributors.
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If you have gotten to the point of promoting the sales for your product where you are just unable to be in all places at one time, you have more than likely already opted to implement the assistance of a sales rep. While that may seem like a really good thing to do, you are going to need to determine if the individual that you have hired is well worth the money that you are paying them. So, how can you tell if your sales rep is actually doing their job? Here are some of the top qualities you should seek out in a sales rep and strategies you should implement to ensure you are managing them in a way that will allow them to thrive.
First and foremost, you need to consider if you have hired a motivated sales rep in the first place. What makes a good, motivated sales rep? Well, for starters, you know you have a motivated sales rep if:
1. They are confident.
2. They are extroverts.
3. They are good listeners.
4. They are subtle but to the point.
5. They are resilient.
6. They can multitask.
7. They genuinely care about the interests of your customers.
One of the best things that you can do to motivate your sales reps is to create an incentive program. Simple things such as goal-setting, implementing sales tiers, rewarding your sales reps for a job well done, offering bonuses and creating commission timelines are all incredibly beneficial ways that you can encourage your sales reps to improve their course of action when it comes to boosting their sales.
The more ways you can incentivize your team, the more they will want to do better in order to reach their goals. And when your sales reps reach their goals, you, in turn, will be reaching your goals as well.
This brings us to the concept of commission versus retainer for your sales reps. Many wonder how you can prioritize them to work into your company plans for sales. As a general rule of thumb, sales reps are paid either a commission (based on the percentage of product sales) or via a retainer (a fixed weekly income). And the more sales that the sales rep makes, the greater their income will be. The choice is up to you with regard to which option you want to choose. A lot of companies even implement both options in order to encourage their sales reps to boost their sales to create an even greater income.
It is vitally important to make sure that you both track the progress of your sales reps and also continue to motivate them. Tracking the progress of your sales reps is invaluable when it comes to ensuring that you have selected a motivated sales rep who is really doing their job to its utmost capacity. This is also the key to making sure that the sales of your product are actually where they should be.
As previously stated, another great way to track the progress of your employees is to offer incentive programs for your sales reps to motivate them to perform better. If incentives really are not your style, then you are going to need to come up with other ways to ensure that your sales reps stay on track and motivated to sell your product to their maximum capacity. If they are not, you are going to need to start weighing your options in terms of potentially finding a replacement for the team members falling short or simply do not have their head in the game to sell your product with confidence, drive and success.
It really does not matter if you personally like the sales rep or not. When it comes to selling products, some people are cut out for it, and some people just are not. Yet you must also keep in mind that this is not something personal; it's still a business. If you personally like a candidate who just doesn't seem cut out for sales, perhaps you can find another niche for the individual within your company where they may be a better fit.
When it comes down to ensuring that your sales team is doing its job properly and successfully, it certainly takes a bit of time to learn their process. But learning this process will assist you greatly when it comes to driving your product and your company forward in the market. Some sales reps may be good at what they do, but if they simply are not passionate about your product, their inauthenticity will be evident to a potential buyer. You want your team to show they genuinely care about your product and getting its name out there on the market in order to assist in boosting your overall sales.
To save yourself the time, hassle and money that can be lost in hiring the wrong sales reps for the job, make sure that you take the time to interview them properly and can ensure you are both on the same wavelength before giving them the time and chance to prove their worth on your sales team. A trial run is a great way to determine if the sales rep you are considering is going to be worth your time and investment.
Having a good sales rep on your team is one of the most important things that you can do when it comes to getting your product out there and boosting your sales overall. You are most certainly not going to want to choose the wrong one when there is so much riding on the line.
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