A sales representative is the primary link between a business and its customers. They are very crucial in creating, maintaining, and growing relationships with their clients. This role requires strong communication skills, technical knowledge of goods or services being sold, as well as an understanding of consumer needs.
When it comes to hiring, there are only a few things you really need to consider. At least, if you want to hire the best B2B sales representative for your company. Many people think that sales reps just sell products, but that is simply not the case. That's only part of their job.
B2B sales reps are valuable because they can get your product in the hands of potential customers and create a relationship with them so you know who to contact when it comes time to make a sale. If you were looking for something simpler than that, an employee would be better suited for the job.
A 'B2B' or business-to-business representative is someone who works in an industry that sells products and services primarily to other businesses instead of individual consumers (or 'B2C' representatives). Sometimes they can also sell directly to consumers; this is often referred to as 'selling B2C'.
For example, when Best Buy hires a new TV rep they expect them to sell both TVs and electronics accessories like HDMI cables and screen protectors. Some reps specialize in selling one product line and focus on the needs of their customers.
Sales reps don't fit into a single mold and there is no typical profile for one. They can specialize in selling either products or services and even work across multiple industries depending on what stage of the buying cycle they're serving:
Industry specialists: These business-to-business reps focus on selling to that particular industry only, such as Lee Wilson who focuses on automotive parts, or Joe Bodemann who works with restaurant equipment companies.
Product specialists: Reps like these mainly push specific brands, such as John Mueller's focus on Apple products at Best Buy or Wendy Bitner's focus on Microsoft software among other things at Staples.
Channel specialists: If you're selling products through retail outlets, the rep who sells your product to that retailer is called a 'channel specialist'; they are responsible for working with retailers like Target or Fry's Electronics.
Sales managers: This kind of business-to-business sales rep is in charge of managing and training other reps who work for them. They need strong leadership skills and should be able to inspire their team even when times get rough.
It may seem counterintuitive to spend so much time and money looking for sales hires when there are plenty already out there. But you shouldn't settle because it affects both your company culture and bottom line. When you hire the wrong type of B2B sales representative, it can hurt your business in the following ways:
Your organization's culture will be off-balance. If you hire all product specialists, for example, your prices may be unnecessarily high and competitors can undercut you. You will struggle to build sustainable revenue if you don't have reps at every stage of the buying cycle (e.g., new customer acquisition reps vs. cross-sell/up-sell reps).
Your sales funnel won't actually contain qualified leads. Without enough qualified leads to close, no matter how many deals that rep has closed they will never hit quota or sustainably increase revenue.
The main goal for B2B sales representatives is to drive revenue which means daily activities focus on closing deals whether it's over the phone or via email. This often leads them to work long hours, but this isn't exclusive to their position because everyone who works at a startup has to do whatever it takes just to stay afloat.
These may include setting up appointments with target accounts or reaching out to new leads in various stages of the buyer journey.
When you have all types of reps on your team, each one has its own role to play. Some go out and prospect for new business while others focus on existing customers.
New customer acquisition reps: These are responsible for actively identifying potential new customers and building relationships with them so they can eventually be sold to later. This process involves lots of research, cold calling/emailing/networking, and attending networking events or tradeshows.
Existing customer relationship management (CRM) reps: They use their expertise to cross-sell within an existing account as well as upsell products that complement the one they already offer their clients; this is sometimes called 'inside sales'.
You can't expect a rep to be good at everything, so it's okay to have multiple reps with different specialties or one that does both.
The process of finding and hiring qualified people takes time, so put together a plan to avoid paying for an empty sales funnel. For example, if your team specializes in selling product A that can be sold through retailers like Target or Sears, then start looking for reps that have relationships with this kind of accounts.
Investors are keenly aware of the burn rate at startups so focus on hiring folks who are already successful reps or have some other desirable traits which will lead them to success. According to HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar, this involves "factoring in how quickly someone can ramp up vs. how long they may take to achieve some level of productivity so you can properly pace your hiring."
When new hires start, they've likely never had a formal sales training program or managed their own pipeline. This means it's also the responsibility of managers who hire them to make sure they are trained properly in selling skills, CRM software, qualifying leads, etc.
An effective way to ramp up your team is by pairing them with another rep who is already successful at hitting quota or even one that has been an advocate for bringing on more people like them.
However, this should only be done when the new hire is already competent enough not to get discouraged when unsuccessful because having an experienced rep close deals can create a domino effect and lead to the new hire getting more deals.
If you do decide to go after a rep from a similar competitor, it will be easier if they have different specialties so there is already diversity on your team. This will also help reps from the same company keep each other accountable.
Most managers spend a majority of their time hiring instead of focusing on what really matters: developing a plan to hit revenue goals and following through with it. This is why it's important to create an interview process that gets the type of data you need as well as ensuring your team doesn't miss out on great talent because they didn't know how to sell themselves.
For example, you don't want someone who has all the expertise to be able to close deals without any support or help so require them to give examples of how they've successfully built trust with clients over email or phone, even if it means digging up old Excel files for qualifying metrics.
One of the worst things you can do is take a week to write out your interview questions. The best reps are busy and don't have time for slow recruiting processes, so make sure that if they're interested in your offer then they receive an answer within two business days or less.
While sales reps are primarily focused on closing deals, they also take it upon themselves to be well-versed in buyer personas so when prospects are asking tough questions during discovery calls, they can keep them engaged with helpful information instead of wasting time by talking about features this person has no use for. This is because most buyers have an easier time trusting someone that isn't trying to sell to them or who appears incompetent.
In order for a rep to be successful, they need intimate knowledge of their industry as well as their customers' pain points. They also need the tools that help them do their jobs more effectively.
When you're trying to increase sales through cold calling or networking, for example, then you'll want them to have software that helps to prospect like Outreach.io or Close.io. If reps at different stages of the buying cycle sell with different tactics, then you'll want to equip them with software that helps them stay organized like Apttus or Outreach.
There are some reps who may not be as familiar with all the features of a product as their counterparts but manage to learn everything they need on the fly and land deals. This is because those reps can quickly adapt to different situations and find ways around obstacles instead of giving up or coming off as incompetent.
You could probably get away with hiring someone who is a "good talker" to make cold calls and do networking but if you want them to close deals then they need to be in the office around 8:00 AM and not leave before 6:00 PM or constantly check emails in between meetings.
They also need the ability to adapt quickly when prospects ask tough questions during discovery calls and know how to address concerns without making assumptions about their capabilities.
Bad sales candidates usually struggle with differentiating themselves from competitors and end up getting defensive when prospects ask them tough questions during discovery calls. They also lack proper skills and try to hit quotas too quickly by pushing deals that aren't ready for prime time.
When trying to fill an open position, managers tend to focus on only one type of candidate: someone who's currently selling for another company and wants to join their team.
However, this can be a big mistake because most reps leave companies for three main reasons: they want more money (often times your salary isn't competitive), they're not happy with their boss/management style or there's no career growth opportunity for them within the company.
Prospecting/Cold calling
In the age of social selling, creating a prospect list from LinkedIn is not enough. In order to find new prospects, you need to make calls to decision-makers in your target companies even if they are not visible on social media. In order to get appointments for yourself or other members of the sales team, you need to create a set of guidelines that can be followed by all your colleagues when making outbound calls.
Upselling & Cross-selling Existing Customers
While making high-value sales gives a lot of satisfaction and marks an expansion in business, maintaining consistency along with growth becomes challenging as more and more revenue targets have been achieved. You might want to consider cross-selling or upsell opportunities so that you continue to expand your business even after the large scale.
Organizing the Pipeline (weekly)
It is very important for sales reps to organize their pipeline every week by evaluating the number of prospects, qualified leads, and opportunities in each stage. It gives you a clear direction on how many deals need to be worked upon at any given point in time so that you can increase productivity without burning yourself out. Going above and beyond for customers (daily).
Sales reps should take it as their responsibility to come up with new ways to handle customer objections or concerns instead of just reacting to them without having all the facts ready. It would prove beneficial if they are able to respond quickly because then both parties can move on from an issue that's holding up revenue growth.
Creating content that educates prospects (daily)
While aggressive selling and closing deals would bring in revenue, creating high-value content that can educate your potential customers will increase the number of opportunities over time. Not only you are able to get new business but existing customers are also willing to buy more products from you along with recommending your company to their colleagues. Want to fill your sales funnel?
A key benefit of having a well-defined B2B calling plan is your ability to see where there are gaps in the pipeline so that you can get started filling them right away. Right outbound calling strategy will help you generate more conversations with prospects so that at any given point, 10% - 20% of qualified leads are ready to be passed onto Sales or Demand Generation teams.
While there is a lot of advice and guidelines that can be given to B2B sales reps, one should not forget the most important thing: every company needs B2B sales reps because they are responsible for generating revenue.
That's why it is extremely important for companies to get their candidates right by hiring them after giving due consideration based on their experience, interest, and background so that they don't leave you in the lurch by walking away easily. If you need materials like templates or anything else related to business then check out here.
