Having A Hard Time Finding A Salesperson

KentWhitten

I've been in the design/build industry for a little over 20 years now. As my name states, framing is my specialty by far. But after 20 years, my body can't seem to muster it up anymore. So, I want to drop the build part of my business. I have great software that has sped up my production immensely. I have two other guys that also work for me doing design work.

I personally have never cared for the sales part, so I relinquish this to someone who is good at it. I've been thinking along the lines that a top notch lumber salesman would be my perfect fit. I don't really know how the best way to drag someone from their job.

I have also listed my job online. The compensation I am offering is significant. There should be no doubt about that. It is well into 6 figures. The responses I have received are about the same I expect when I look for someone to help me "pound nails". So far, I have asked 6 recipients a few simple questions that pertain to their job. I haven't received any response back at all. They sure seem eager to make that kind of money, but I don't see any benefits coming back at me.

I was wondering if anyone might have a better idea as to how to find a decent salesperson. I seem to be running into brick walls wherever I go.

Mike Finley

I recommend you might think about broadening your search if you haven't already. A good salesman is a good salesman no matter if he is selling lumber or magazine subscriptions, the only thing that matters is how successful he/she is in proportion the national averages in that category. I would keep my search in the same sort of sales arena, if you do B2B look for salesman in B2B, if you are in residential selling directly to the homeowner then look for salesman that deal with consumers.

Brian

You might try posting on some web sites, such as http://www.ihiresalespeople.com/default.asp

I used them once and got a very good response. Didn't hire anyone, but the quality was good. They just weren't a good fit for my company.

Brian Phillips

__________________
Houston Interior Painting
Houston Exterior Painting
Houston Painting Contractor

Grumpy

First off forget national averages, you need to know local averages. If most guys in California close 50%, and most guys in NY close 20%, the national average is 30%, but if you are in NY and expect all your sales people to be above 30%, it's going to be a hard time!

Good Sales guys are hard to find, and "Sales" guys are sterotypically slimy. I personally try to avoid those "Sales" guys who have a ton of sales experience but zero trade experience. The reason being it's damned hard to deliver the earth, moon and stars that they promise... and I truly believe they don't do it on purpose but just for a lack of knowing. I'd personally prefer to work on jobs where everything has been planned out and there is no mess to clean up. I'd personally prefer to hire a guy who sells 5% below the local average but has organized smooth running jobs than someone who sells above the average but I am spending a ton of time fixing his mistakes.

I say try advertising in any industry classifieds you may find. I know in the roofing industry there are several magazines, websites and classified adds where you can advertise directly to other roofing professionals. When I advertised in the Chicago tribune all I got were "Sales" people who knew how to ask for the sale but knew nothing of roofing and their math skills were lacking.

Mike Finley

You shouldn't have a hard time with that once you connect a portion of their paycheck to smooth running job performance. Salesman are the easiest people to control because they are money motivated. Much simplier to control then a production worker.

Grumpy

Problem is who is going to manage the job to make sure it runs smooth? Certianly not them if they don't have the background to explain what they want done. I don't expect my estimators to be the worlds best tradesmen but I do expect them to have at least a basic understanding of what they are selling and how to specify a system. The problem is that there is no one size fits all solutions, so you need to be able to think outside to box and know all the variables.

I've tinkered with the idea of paying based on job profit, but if that were the case I would definetly want my estimators/salesmen to take a much much more active role in each and every job.

Mike Finley

I think a combination of all of the above is the best mix. Part job profit to get them to not give sh!t away or make pricing mistakes, smoothness of the job to eliminate them promising the moon with no consequences and longevity to keep them around. I'm sure there is even more. I could even see connecting part of pay to a customer satisfaction survey. Accountability is the best auto-manager you can ever get.

I don't see any reason not to expect them to know what they are selling, how it works, how it goes together and how the job should run, the more of that they know the more money they will make both of you.

Tscarborough

Why would you NOT expect a salesman to participate in every aspect of the job? "Salesmen" sell used cars and vacum cleaners. In the construction industry, professionals sell knowledge, experience, and an understanding of the relationship between owner, contractor, and applicable authorities.

I have said it before and I will say it again: The only fair way to pay salespeople in the construction industry is on a percentage of profit, plus expenses.

Grumpy

I agree 100%. However you'll be hard pressed to find anyone to do this... or at least I have been.

When I was an employee this was how I was paid. I had a company car and cell phone. I had various expense reimbursements and I shared in 25% of the gross profit from all of my sales. I wasn't just a salesman. I pretty much managed all of my jobs; always put together detailed material lists, often times scheduled the materials, often times scheduled the crews, often times picked up the permits, often times I would pick up various materials the crews needed mid job. I tried to do everything myself and my boss was there to assist me.

While I know I will be hard pressed to find someone willing to take as much of a hands on approach, I'd love it if I could... I just haven't been able to. Just like you said a "salesman sells cars" this is why I referr to my guys as estimators, because I don't want a "salesman".

dougchips

For some reason www.justsell.com keeps sending me list of sales jobs, they must have a way that you can list yours.

As far as closing percentages Grumpy, check out Rodney Webb---91%.

Grumpy

Anyone closing 91% doesn't work in my industry. They are either working off all referrals and past customers, or they are extremely cherry picking and over qualifying. It's just NOT possible to be working of new customer leads and sell 91% in my industry and I truthfully don't believe such claims when most people make them.

Mike Finley posted something about a guy who claimed be be closing something like 75%. Wow sounds astonishing, then later on the article went on to say that things like one leggers and jobs less than 4 windows wern't counted. Hmmmm So basically he skewed the data in his favor and I am willing to bet his ratio was more in line with averages after compiling true data.

As far as justsell and ihiresalespeople goes, I stay away from those services. A "Sales" person is not what I want.

dougchips

Grumpy, the 91% guy sells windows, siding and I believe roofing. No cherry picking, the only info he gets is the appointment time, customer's names and what products they want to see- no phone number to pre-qualify and no info on size of the job. The percentage is based on how many of his demos(full presentation) turned into contracts.

mdshunk

If you're offering a possible 6 figure compensation, let me suggest that you shouldn't be conducting this search at all. Hire an "executive search firm" to find this person for you. Some people call them "head hunters". They are a little bit like a temp service, in that they find the people, but they deal with a totally different crowd altogether. They deal with the sort of professional that you're seeking.

KentWhitten

Thank you one and all for the responses. I apologize, I did let it go for awhile from the lack of confidence in what I have gotten in return for hopeful salesperson.

I know a few men in the headhunter dept. Their results are exceptional in my opinion. However, the fee that they charge, I cannot afford. I expect the person I hire to be completely under the assumption that if they fail in a month without any sales whatsoever, then this whole business deal will be short lived.

Thus, I'm being particular about who I hire. I figure that I'm wanting someone who really knows sales. I think a little connection to residential homes is necessary. I'm not really concerned too much with percentages nationwide. If they can't do it, they can't do it.

I was reaching a frustration point in my search. I thought, "it should be easy to find someone in this price range". I think that it doesn't matter. A suitable person will eventually come along. My old boss used to tell me "it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".

Out of a good 2 dozen respondents. I just may have one. This woman's credentials are impressive. So much it scares me

Thanks again everyone for the great responses. For a minute there I thought it might have been a poor question

Publisher1

The 'finding salespeople' problem is a virtually universal issue for business -- at a meeting of a peer group (substantial, export oriented Canadian businesses) I attended, consultants marketing their services gathered a concensus that this is actually the most important unresolved issue for everyone in the room.

There are a whole lot of related and awkward issues -- when you find a truly great salesperson, are you finding your next competitor? (I certainly did.) Or are you finding someone so powerful and head-strong that s/he will drive the rest of the organization crazy with his/her ego drive and power? (Yes, I achieved that too -- and know from talking with other business owners that my experiences are far from unique.)

Some pundits (and highly successful business owners) suggest the best approach to sales hires is pure salary with a commitment to reasonable employment stability -- something that is heretical to those who have always believed salespeople need to be paid for performance, in many cases on 100 per cent commission. My sense is that when you have your business truly right; with sufficient retained earnings, a stable and effective business model, and opportunity for growth that that salary approach is indeed the best way to go -- but this doesn't answer how you get to this perfect state of affairs.

In the meantime, like it or not, the number one salesperson (or at least a very strong sales manager) for any business must either be the owner or an owner/partner. Forget that rule, and I'm afraid you are going to run into problems sooner or later.