You tenaciously built your business from scratch, and likely feel stressed and over-worked. At first, this burden was yours to bear alone. As writer, director, and producer of your unique venture, you made the big decisions and took the necessary risks, which brought you to your current success today. As your company expanded, you hired a few helping hands to alleviate some of the pressures of various jobs, such as office administration, HR, product development, and relationship management. Still, you sacrifice sleep for sales. You might even give up your weekends to pursue that next big client.
Stop wasting your time and energy! Your business is ready (and so is your social life). It is time to hire a sales representative.
Two words: win, win. Not only does employing a trained specialist allow you to return your focus to the expansion of your market, an efficient sales professional will attract additional business and help provide you with the means to continue to grow.
The first step is timing. Very simply, you may want to start considering hiring a sales representative when your employee pool consists of 4 – 8 people. Naturally, you should evaluate your business’s ability to sustain another paycheck, but if all cylinders are firing effectively, you are probably in pretty good shape and should consider hiring a sales professional.
Of course, this decision should not be made on a whim. Before you can go about hiring someone, you must first piece together a composite of what you feel represents the ideal employee. What attributes are you looking for? Professionalism aside, what type of person do you want working for you? Who do you want representing your company’s good name?
Make your decision wisely. Take the necessary time to weigh your options and consider the services you require. The decision you make will greatly affect your company so you want to ensure that this decision is not done in haste. Be sure to set a very specific mold that only the best salesperson can fill. Part of determining if you need a sales representative is determining how they will be able to help your company expand. If you believe you can benefit from a sales representative, you should be able to clearly define the role your new employee will play in the company.
Once you have found the sales representative that you are confident will help develop your business, it is time to talk money. Be sure to propose a reasonable compensation plan, allowing for feedback from your new employee to ensure that you both start off on the right foot. Fair payment fosters productive results.
After establishing benefits and payroll, you can take a moment to tell yourself “Well done!” You have paved the way for success, and all you need to do now is teach your new employee the ropes. Share your secrets – there are no magicians in the business world. You know what works, you know what you want, and you know what has proved to be effective in the past so clue your new employee in.
Branching out is a test of your ability to lead. Can you sustain and maintain a larger business? Are you able to manage a wide spectrum of different skills and talents? A successful hiring will not only give you the satisfaction and financial benefits of expansion, it may also serve as an indicator of your company’s growing potential and your abilities.
As your company moves forward and begins to grow, something else to consider is an HR information system. (HRIS) Advancements in technology have made processing payroll, tax reporting, time & expense management and performance evaluations easy to manage and implement with the proper HR software.
Now, go forth and multiply…your business that is.
About the Author
Anthony Kelly is a frequent contributor to compareHRIS.com and PEOcompare.com, with each site offering visitors the option to compare and review information to find the right PEO, HR or payroll service provider for their particular business needs.