Blackhat Hiring Experiment
- Thread starter dexter
- Start date
stackbread123
Elite Member
- Dec 2, 2009
- 1,851
- 848
Bumping this 
I want to see more replies on this thread since Its of interest to me, I've had a bad experience with a "telemarketing company" basically I lost 2 weeks of my time and a bit of cash...
I want to see more replies on this thread since Its of interest to me, I've had a bad experience with a "telemarketing company" basically I lost 2 weeks of my time and a bit of cash...AtlasMeh'd
Registered Member
- Dec 7, 2012
- 54
- 19
Thanks for sharing this, I will be launching a similar business model after the new year. I will be spending the rest of this month laying the ground work. I know from working directly for some pretty successful guys with the same type of plan that a business like this can work. The business plan being -> High Margin "Productized" Service + Direct Sales =$XXMM/yr. for the owner.
If you like 4HWW, you should also read Built To Sell, and Millionaire Fastlane.
You're heading in the right direction but I think with a few tweaks you can really have a solid business.
I agree with whoever said it above that it is best to test the model with your own sales initially. This will help you land those case studies that will be helpful in your sales person's presentation. You will also know your numbers to benchmark your sales people against and be able to paint them a road map of what to expect. This will also help you perfect your pitch and uncover the common questions/objections that will arise from your prospects so you can prepare them for those objections and how to overcome them.
When you know your numbers you can confidently tell your sales team that if they make 100 calls, they will book 5 appointments, 1 won't buy, 2 will think about it, and 2 will close. Then you can show them a road map to achieve $XXX,XXX/yr with new business and recurring sales. Really sell the recurring commission aspect so they can push through in the beginning to build up their portfolio of customers. Sell the idea that after 12 months they will earn $XX,XXX/mo in recurring commission from 100 clients rather than they will make $XX,XXX/mo in their first month. When they get that first residual commission even if its $100 it will motivate them to build on top of that. Plus you will bring in sales people that see a long term vision with your company.
I wouldn't recommend leaving it up to the sales person to find their own leads. Their only focus should be prospecting (cold calling to set appts), presenting (pitching the deal), and closing (getting the money). Give your sales person the qualified leads, a call outline, a presentation, and marketing materials so they can focus 100% of their time on chasing down deals.
Commission only will be tough to retain anyone. Trust me I've gone down that road before. You might find yourself bringing on a bunch of people who show a lot of excitement initially but they will be looking for something more secure at the same time so be prepared for high-turnover and a lot of Whodini acts.
Have you considered offering a commission vs. a base? With this type of comp plan your sales people will be able to keep their eyes on the big money but will have something to fall back so they won't be selling out of a position of desperation. Just make sure to set some quotas to get the base pay such as # of calls, # of appts, # presentations, etc. Back to the point above, if you do the sales yourself initially and know your numbers you can put together a comp plan based on real figures that makes sense for your business model and is realistic and achievable for the sales person. Your comp plan should be rewarding enough on the first payment to get them motivated to bring the sale in the door with a low but reasonable recurring %. You can also structure the recurring % based off previous month's "new revenue" to keep them hungry so you're not paying out on reps who aren't bringing in new business.
Don't have everyone working off of their own spreadsheets. Centralize your leads in one CRM so you have total control and visibility into your pipeline. When a sales guy drops off, reassign his leads to another rep or follow up yourself.
Much success to you, maybe one day we can toast to our success in miami and watch the girls in thongs walk by.
If you like 4HWW, you should also read Built To Sell, and Millionaire Fastlane.
You're heading in the right direction but I think with a few tweaks you can really have a solid business.
I agree with whoever said it above that it is best to test the model with your own sales initially. This will help you land those case studies that will be helpful in your sales person's presentation. You will also know your numbers to benchmark your sales people against and be able to paint them a road map of what to expect. This will also help you perfect your pitch and uncover the common questions/objections that will arise from your prospects so you can prepare them for those objections and how to overcome them.
When you know your numbers you can confidently tell your sales team that if they make 100 calls, they will book 5 appointments, 1 won't buy, 2 will think about it, and 2 will close. Then you can show them a road map to achieve $XXX,XXX/yr with new business and recurring sales. Really sell the recurring commission aspect so they can push through in the beginning to build up their portfolio of customers. Sell the idea that after 12 months they will earn $XX,XXX/mo in recurring commission from 100 clients rather than they will make $XX,XXX/mo in their first month. When they get that first residual commission even if its $100 it will motivate them to build on top of that. Plus you will bring in sales people that see a long term vision with your company.
I wouldn't recommend leaving it up to the sales person to find their own leads. Their only focus should be prospecting (cold calling to set appts), presenting (pitching the deal), and closing (getting the money). Give your sales person the qualified leads, a call outline, a presentation, and marketing materials so they can focus 100% of their time on chasing down deals.
Commission only will be tough to retain anyone. Trust me I've gone down that road before. You might find yourself bringing on a bunch of people who show a lot of excitement initially but they will be looking for something more secure at the same time so be prepared for high-turnover and a lot of Whodini acts.
Have you considered offering a commission vs. a base? With this type of comp plan your sales people will be able to keep their eyes on the big money but will have something to fall back so they won't be selling out of a position of desperation. Just make sure to set some quotas to get the base pay such as # of calls, # of appts, # presentations, etc. Back to the point above, if you do the sales yourself initially and know your numbers you can put together a comp plan based on real figures that makes sense for your business model and is realistic and achievable for the sales person. Your comp plan should be rewarding enough on the first payment to get them motivated to bring the sale in the door with a low but reasonable recurring %. You can also structure the recurring % based off previous month's "new revenue" to keep them hungry so you're not paying out on reps who aren't bringing in new business.
Don't have everyone working off of their own spreadsheets. Centralize your leads in one CRM so you have total control and visibility into your pipeline. When a sales guy drops off, reassign his leads to another rep or follow up yourself.
Much success to you, maybe one day we can toast to our success in miami and watch the girls in thongs walk by.
BHopkins
Elite Member
- Dec 31, 2010
- 2,609
- 1,753
Hey dexter, how did this work out in the last month? I've been in sales for the last ~15 years and have sold everything from pet supplies and cars to SEO and ORM.
Sales, like 7878 said isn't a taught skill, it's very instinctual and difficult to train. I've worked with some excellent sales people and some horrible sales people.
The best are always outgoing and generally have some sales experience, know how to close a deal and handle objections. Seeing an objection as a sales tool is infinitely beneficial, but like most sales, comes with experience and not a book.
Sales, like 7878 said isn't a taught skill, it's very instinctual and difficult to train. I've worked with some excellent sales people and some horrible sales people.
The best are always outgoing and generally have some sales experience, know how to close a deal and handle objections. Seeing an objection as a sales tool is infinitely beneficial, but like most sales, comes with experience and not a book.