How Do You Recruit the Best Salespeople When You Don't Have Much Money? Creating the best sales team takes more than monetary incentives.
By Blair Singer •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Just about any business needs good salespeople. In order to sustain your company, you need someone who can bring in new clients so that you can focus on the business itself. But, what if you have no money? What if you're just starting out and have not made enough money yet to attract the best salesperson for the job?
Well, lucky for you, you don't need a lot of money. Studies have shown that people aren't always motivated by a bigger salary, and job satisfaction depends on more than just money.
In my business, I have more than 200 people around the world as a part of my team. And, I don't pay any of them -- they actually pay me. I have a licensing model that allows them to use my branding and assets for a small fee, once they have proven their qualifications to teach my materials and made the commitment to deliver on the brand promise.
Related: 5 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Should Start in Sales
They might not fit the role of what is traditionally thought of a salesperson in a company, but that's what everyone in my business does: sell. That's how it should be in every company. No matter what role someone in your company fulfills, everyone does some kind of selling on a regular basis, whether it's pitching to investors or bankers, selling coworkers on a new project idea or vision, providing customer service, negotiating with vendors, etc.
So now what? If your goal is to be a solopreneur and not grow your business to something bigger, then you don't need to read this. However, if you want to add top-notch people to your sales team and massively increase revenue, keep these things in mind:
Your mission should be exciting and purposeful.
What are you looking to achieve with your business? Most people these days are looking to join a company because of its mission -- its goal to change the world in some meaningful way. It has been reported that the younger generation looks for purpose when finding a new employer.
Your mission doesn't necessarily have to be charitable or save lives; it just needs to be inspiring and bigger than you. One of the critical factors I personally believe about sales is that sales people need to deliver real value to their customers and in doing so, they impact not just their personal income and their company's wealth, but the global marketplace overall.
So, on the sales side of our business, our mission is to: Enhance the global marketplace by developing and training the best sales professionals and sales leaders to create real income and wealth through high value exchange. My team is driven by the same idea, too, and it is something that we all communicate on a regular basis throughout the world.
Related: 7 Steps to Build a Winning Sales Culture
Be the best salesperson you can be.
If you're looking to hire salespeople, you might think that you don't need to be good at sales. But it is quite the opposite. As I mentioned earlier, everyone -- including yourself -- should know how to sell. You may get to a point in your business where you're not the main person bringing in new clients, but you still have ideas you need to sell to others, like investors or the press. You still need to be able to sell your ideas to your team, and get them on board with your vision.
When you're interviewing a potential candidate, how is your energy level? Are you charismatic? Are you enthusiastic about the position and the opportunity? When the interview is done, you want the candidate to feel like they're ready to jump on your bandwagon and get started right away.
Know what else you can offer.
If you can't compete in the market with a high salary, you can at least offer other incentives that not only attract top talent, but also keeps your business afloat. Many employees now want better work-life balance, so maybe you can offer a flexible work schedule. Let people telecommute. Consider offering profit sharing or higher commission in the near future.
If your product or services are innovative and revolutionary, that alone may be incentive enough for a potential hire. People like to know that they could be joining a business that's about to blow up. Can you sell that vision to them?
Related: 5 Rules of Salary Negotiation
You don't need money right now, just good energy and a good vision.
Whether you're looking to build your internal sales team, or looking for franchisees to buy into your business model, you need to be your business's biggest ambassador. And like any good leader, you need to have infectious energy and a vision that's bigger than you.
If you're starting small, people will know that you won't have a lot of money to offer. You don't need to make any empty promises, but if you can convince others that growth is on the horizon, that your business has legs, that your goals are bigger than life, then you'll have no problem attracting people for your team.
