When many small business owners think of increasing sales, they think of discounts, coupons, and other price point alterations that will encourage customers to increase their overall purchases. While these can be useful tools to move products, they aren’t always successful in boosting overall sales over the long-term. For that, looking inwards can be a bit more important.
The types of long-term increases in sales and ultimate business growth that many are looking for starts with the way you run your small company. In particular, it begins with who you’re hiring to make the sales happen and how well you are training and retaining your new employees. That’s right. Staffing has a profound impact on sales, one that many of us take for granted.
Here are a few steps to really make the change to staffing for sales growth. First and foremost, it is important to find the right people to hire. From there, the next essential step is to decide on a salary and build engagement from the staff as well as buy-in from customers.
Finding the Right Person
Finding the right person for the job isn’t always easy. It can be downright difficult. After all, you’re looking for someone that meets all of the necessary qualifications to do the job correctly, but you’re also looking for a personality you and your loyal employees can also work with.
Hiring a person who fits in with the company culture you are trying to build within your business can be a major factor, especially if employees need to work together frequently. Having someone who fits in and is willing to learn new things can be more valuable than hiring someone with all the qualifications that has little interest in connecting with your current employees. A strong organizational fit can increase retention and overall productivity, which will ultimately help your sales.
In addition, since the goal of filling this position is to increase sales, you’re going to want to focus on someone who has the personality to do that. After all, they are promoting your product. A bad hire can go a long way towards hurting your business and reputation. Look for someone who is great at making connections with people and passionate about what you’re selling.
What’s it all Worth?
Once you’ve found the right person, the next major question is how much to pay them. Great salespeople aren’t cheap, and if you’re not paying what they’re worth, chances are they’ll move on after a few years. Before committing to anything, make sure to analyze what the cost of a new employee will be, how much you can afford, and what benefits they are expected to bring to your company.
Wages can be tricky. You have to balance paying your employees enough so they can make ends meet and want to stick around, but you also have to cover your bottom line. Higher wages attract more experienced and talented employees, while lower wages may enable you to have a lot of manpower. You’ll likely want to have a range of both, but depending upon your company you may be skewed toward one side or the other.
Over the coming years, it is likely that the minimum wage will continue to increase. This is great for employees who can really benefit from the extra take-home. For your small business, however, it could mean making choices about what to prioritize. For instance, if the goal is still increasing sales, you’re going to want to make sure you’re paying your sales team enough to attract and retain quality candidates.
Build Engagement and Experience
So you’ve got your team and you’ve decided on a satisfactory salary for them. What’s next? You must get them involved in the process and help them buy into the experience and products they’ll be offering. To get employees to commit to your overarching goals, one of the best things you can do is make them part of the solution. Be transparent, and try to make all of the work the company does relevant to them.
Many employees tend to just focus just on their jobs and forget about the big picture. This can be okay, but if the employee isn’t working directly toward company goals, you could be missing out on sales. Take steps to make sure employees are all in line with the company’s overall goals by completing comprehensive reviews, dropping irrelevant tasks, and encouraging employees to come up with solutions.
From there, the next step is translating that laser focus to the customer. Your sales hires are key to building the user experience you want your customers to have prior to and during their purchase of your product or service. For example, sales teams can use new technologies to engage potential customers in your product and give them a taste of what it might be like to purchase it.
Hiring for sales and revenue increase is the goal of many small and growing companies. In order to compete and come out on top, make sure you are hiring the right person who fits the needs of your company, and be sure to find a pay rate that encourages loyalty. Build engagement and keep each employee in the loop and focused on overall company goals. Ultimately, this will lead to more customer sales.
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