SMEs have several challenges – among them – getting customers, keeping them and getting each of them to leave more money in the company for the purchase of products and / or services. A professor with whom I learned about sales said it well: “If you are going to give me something, give me something that I want to buy it much more than you want to sell it to me”, so acquiring new customers, loyalty and increasing the income of your SME will help you improve performance, which will have an impact on the profitability and growth of your company.
For this, SMEs must train sales teams, but here is a first problem: the profile of the seller. Does your SME have clarity regarding the type of seller it needs? What is the criteria for hiring salespeople? What are the aspects that will be evaluated? Generally, SMEs – given the structure and cost it represents – do not have a Human Resources Manager. In some cases they have a boss, responsible or coordinator of human resources and, in others, it is the head or head of administration who has the mission of interviewing and hiring, so the success of a good recruitment and selection process is to identify the need for the position and define the requirements.
Some questions that you can use to define the profile you are looking for are the following:
1. What specific tasks will the seller have to perform? What skills, knowledge and experience are needed to sell my product and/or service?
2. What are the personal characteristics needed for this position? What values, motivation, attitudes, and social skills are necessary to be a good salesperson?
3. What level of experience is required? Is it necessary for the candidate to have previous sales experience or can they be trained from scratch?
4. What is the educational and/or technical profile required? Is it necessary for the candidate to have some kind of technical education, bachelor’s degree or specialized training in sales?
5. What are the requirements to work in this position? Is it necessary for the candidate to have some kind of license or professional certification?
6. What is the level of responsibility that the candidate will have in this position? How are you expected to perform in terms of sales goals and objectives?
7. What opportunities for personal and professional growth exist in this position? What kind of training and development is the candidate expected to receive?
Once you have clarity about the profile of the seller you need, you can start your search.
Here a second problem appears. After having interviewed many salespeople, choosing a shortlist, hiring him or the salespeople to be part of the commercial team and launching them to sell, we realize that they do not achieve their sales objectives. What was the possible problem? “Induction.” What did we do the first week with the hired salesperson(s)? Do we have an induction process? Do we have the elements that are required to prepare the sellers? In many cases, no.
I define induction in SMEs as the strategic immersion that we give to a new employee with the purpose of being prepared to perform successfully in the workplace and that their effective rate is high or higher than average.
For this immersion to be successful for your SME and the seller, I share 10 fundamental points that you must address clearly:
Vision, mission, purpose and values; So that you know what we do, where we want to be, why we do it and what are those principles that will guide the decisions and behaviors that are made within the company.
Organization chart; in such a way that the seller knows the structure and interrelation of the charges and becomes familiar.
Seller Functions Manual; with the objective that you know what will be the objectives, general and specific functions to follow.
Key processes; They are those that are related to the products or services that are delivered, that add value and that are perceived by the client. For example: What do I do when a customer wants to buy on credit?
Business process; It is the series of stages that is followed to close a sale from the way in which we are going to attract customers to the service after it. If I don’t know how to sell, how do I expect to close sales?
The product or service; It is key to train the seller regarding the products or services we sell, their features and benefits. If I do not know the product or service, how can I venderlo?
Competition; It is essential to know with whom we compete, their products, benefits, strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, how will we handle objections and/or arguments?
Clients; Much of the time salespeople must visit or call customers. When we are not clear about who the client is, we can waste time and money calling and/or visiting people who do not have money, are not interested or are simply not the prospect for us. What is the profile of the customer who buys from us? Why do you buy from us?
Objectives and strategy; Knowing what and how we are going to reach the goal is fundamental. If you have a goal with a definite date, it’s called a goal. A goal with steps is a plan, and a plan with actions is a result achieved.
Accompaniment, you must accompany the seller in the first days or weeks so that he knows customers and / or potential customers, feels confident, security, even to correct errors in the process, which will allow to better achieve success in the process.
Surely you will find that you need to carry out a good induction and that hiring a salesperson without having the assurance that he will sell, just because “it seemed to us” that it is good or because the curriculum (paper) says that he has experience, is enough. Even when you hire him, give him a tour of the company, introduce them to certain bosses, the owner and send him to sell, it is a sign that things will not go well.
Carry out the recommendations, improve them and you will see that, with it, better results will come.
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The content expressed in this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
