Hiring Outside Sales Agent Support: Why & How

Toying with the idea of hiring a third party to help with sales? It’s not the worst idea and can actually be the best move for some organizations! If your company does not have the resources to provide full time employment, benefits, severance or other typical employee obligations, hiring an agent at part time can cut costs. Your company also may lack the skills necessary to direct a sales rep. Having someone come in independently typically means they will be comfortable leading themselves, leaving you with more time to focus on your strengths as a business owner, manager etc.

Once you get to the scouting process be sure to look for proven skills and a record for revenue generation, because at the end of the day sales is about making money for your business. Remember that experience is important, it creates comfort for you as a business owner, but don’t discount newer industry professionals. Younger agents are typically more eager to work and will make suitable candidates if they have the proper attitude and a work ethic.

When hiring an outside sales agent consider it an investment, and when evaluating look at it as three fold: they are paid advertising and marketing exposure, they will identify leads or customers that can be nurtured longer term (i.e. an opt in email campaign), and any sales they do make are considered a customer for life and should be measured for the repeat business value as well. When conducting your ROI on the agent look at all three variables. When deciding on an appropriate pay plan, be sure you aren’t spending too little or too much. Reach out to your network and obtain advice on how to strike a balance between minimum pay for effort and variable pay for performance. Be sure to have clear objectives surrounding all the agent’s activity and identify opportunities to insure a quick start and clear deliverables.

In some cases, keeping your sales support internal is the better move. If your sales process is less complicated and requires a lot of touch point early on in the process (meaning more consistent customer communication), hiring within should suffice. A good rule of thumb is if your selling process is non-consultative, it’s usually a safe bet to hire an outside sales agent.