When Is The Right Time to Hire A Salesperson

Published On: September 9, 2024

When is the right time for my shop?

When is the right time to hire a salesperson?

I liken this dilemma to other situations: When is the right time to get a dog?

When is the right time to step away from the shop? When should I add another press? etc. etc.

It’s never the right time! However, it can make a strong positive impact on your shop.

Thinking about hiring a sales person to go out and help your shop grow can be a daunting task.

I’ve compiled 5 key areas to consider if this topic has been bubbling up.

1. Longer term goals for the shop:

Most of us haven’t built a strategy for going out and finding/closing business. We’ve relied on current customers and referrals to build our business. In my experience in helping shops develop sales strategies the vast majority bring in outside help when they decide they want to go out and find business. Selling is hard and even though most shop owners excel in this area it becomes a backburner item when all the other aspects of the business get in the way. I’d recommend sitting down and really looking at what you want to accomplish from a revenue and profit perspective in the short and learn term. If growing sales aligns to your why and your shop goals, it might be the right time to bring someone in to assist.

2. Economic environment:

We’re in an interesting economic environment today. Some shops are ripping and others are starting to slow. I’m hearing more and more shops starting to focus on what they can do now to prepare for what’s to come. Hiring someone into a small business is never an easy decision, especially when we have some uncertainty pending. In slower times, it can be easier to onboard and train new team members. Ultimately, you can really look at this through 2 different perspectives. One being, let’s hold tight and see what happens. The other being, let’s own our destiny and get someone in here that can help us weather the impending storm and continue to grow.

3. Do I have the right hiring process:

If hiring a salesperson is something that’s top of mind for you, I’d challenge you to think about the steps, resources and process needed to hire the right person. I find too many shops put little time and effort into this area. This person could have a huge impact on your shop. If you get the right person, they could help you hit your growth goals and make you quite a bit of money in the process. If you get it wrong, it can be tremendously costly. Investing time in sourcing candidates, creating a strong profile of what you’re looking for, building interview guides and other selection criteria, is critical if you want to bring on the right person.

4. Do I feel confident in onboarding, measuring and managing this person:

Deciding on the right hire is just the first step. You must now onboard them effectively into your organization. What will their first 90 days look like? What will they need to learn? What internal tools and processes will they need to master? Once onboard, how will you manage them? What one-on-one meeting structure will you set up between the two of you? How will their performance be measured? Having all of this set up in advance is going to be crucial to your combined success.

5. What process/messaging will they use:

Another area to focus on is the sales process and messaging we’d like for this new salesperson to use. In my opinion it’s better to have this somewhat baked prior to them starting. I’d like to share how we’ve been successful in the past, what our clients value in working with us and what differentiates us from other shops. The new salesperson can definitely add to this and bring their own customization to the message. Getting a new salesperson ramped and producing as quickly as possible is key and providing them with this information in advance can help tremendously.

In closing, timing around adding a salesperson is likely never going to be 100% right.

That said, a strong seller can make a big impact on any business.

If you are considering bringing someone on, put in the time and effort and invest in it.

It will likely pay dividends.

Good selling!