Hiring first sales person

[Glenn Jacobs]

Hi there

I run a small (ie. just myself and some occasional contractors) web
development company that specialises in e-commerce sites. We've done a
few now and have a brochure being made and a new website to promotion
the e-commerce package.

Average e-commerce sale would range between 2,000 - 5,000 UK pounds.

All sales so far though have been accidental, word of mouth. Although
this gets enough work in for me to survive nicely on I want to push the
company forward. I'm no sales person and so am looking into bringing a
sales person on board to sell our e-commerce product.

But, how I go about doing this I don't know! There are obvious
problems/questions such as

- Why would a sales person want to work for such a small company?
- How much commission do I pay?
- How much basic salary would I pay?
- Whilst the sales person is getting up to speed do I pay them the OTE
for say the first month or so??
- When do they get paid the commission (ie. do they wait until the
project is finished and paid for by the client or ??)

As you can see I'm quite new to this and am looking for guidance. It
would seem employing your first sales person is quite a major step and
not one to get wrong!

Many thanks in advance for any help!

[Wordmuse]

I used to own a sales represenative company in Southern California. We
sold electronics into places like Hughes Aircraft, TRW, and the like.
Typical commissions were very small (5%) because the sales were often
very large and the profit margin for the manufacturer were not very
large.

I don't know how it is in your biz, but I can't imagine that you have
the overhead that a hard goods/electronic goods manufacturer has. And I
don't believe your sales will typically range in the $500,000+ range.

So if I were to come on board with you, and that was understood to be
my only/main source of income, it would have to be a big enough
commission for me to make a living.

What you need to do is project how much in sales you think you'll make
in the next year. Then figure out if there's enough money in the money
pie to afford to bring on a direct hire (even if commissioned) sales
rep. If there isn't, consider working with a sales rep firm. If
you're good at what you do, you may offer capability that compliments
what they are already selling.

Regards,
Bal Simon
WealthCountry.com

[Wayne Sallee]

The other question is, will increasing the size of the
business and hiring really make things better for you?

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets

Post by Glenn Jacobs
Hi there
I run a small (ie. just myself and some occasional contractors) web
development company that specialises in e-commerce sites. We've done a
few now and have a brochure being made and a new website to promotion
the e-commerce package.
Average e-commerce sale would range between 2,000 - 5,000 UK pounds.
All sales so far though have been accidental, word of mouth. Although
this gets enough work in for me to survive nicely on I want to push the
company forward. I'm no sales person and so am looking into bringing a
sales person on board to sell our e-commerce product.
But, how I go about doing this I don't know! There are obvious
problems/questions such as
- Why would a sales person want to work for such a small company?
- How much commission do I pay?
- How much basic salary would I pay?
- Whilst the sales person is getting up to speed do I pay them the OTE
for say the first month or so??
- When do they get paid the commission (ie. do they wait until the
project is finished and paid for by the client or ??)
As you can see I'm quite new to this and am looking for guidance. It
would seem employing your first sales person is quite a major step and
not one to get wrong!
Many thanks in advance for any help!

[Glenn Jacobs]

I never considered a sales rep firm, hmmm.

The main reason to hire is to increase sales, which will then allow me
to take on some full time programmers and realise me a little from the
day-to-day running of the company.
Also of course, I want more money hehe

I think I could offer a high commission rate (say 20%) as all we're
selling is time at the end of the day. If anyone has any answers to my
specific questions it would be good to hear.

Many thanks.