I remember starting my first job out of college. I’d just graduated and was a starry-eyed optimist looking forward to making a difference at my first real job.
That optimism didn’t last long. The position I was in was a new one, and I was promptly seated at the corner of someone’s desk and told to read a training manual that was literally hundreds of pages. And that’s what I did for a week. I retained little of that knowledge.
Needless to say, it was a less-than-ideal training experience, one that you certainly don’t want to duplicate in your green industry business. That experience could be even worse if you’re hiring a sales representative that’s responsible for growing your business.
For many green industry businesses, the owner is typically the salesperson until the business grows to a certain stage. For many, training that first “real” sales rep is vital to the success of the business. And for many, finding the time and having the knowledge to do it right can be very difficult.
With that in mind, here are some tips to get you started:
Assign a mentor
Your new sales rep is going to need someone they can talk to about sales ideas, closing techniques, messaging, and more. If this is your first sales rep, it’s likely that the owner will serve in this role. This is where many owners fail; they don’t clear enough time to really listen and help a new sales rep get on their feet. Small business owners have a lot on their plate, so they rarely take the time required to really mentor a new sales rep.
If you already have multiple reps, you probably have options when assigning a mentor. I advise you to choose someone that is a good personality fit, not necessarily your best sales rep. You want your new sales rep to feel comfortable asking questions, and your top-performing sales rep may feel threatened by the new guy.
Train on software
If you really want to manage your new sales rep, you need to be able to track their activity. Which means you need a field service sales CRM. What’s that? HindSite bundles the HindSite Sales Manager into our field service software, and it basically enables you to track every sales opportunity from prospect through to the sale. You can store information like the expected size of the deal, the likelihood of closing it, important dates, service lines, etc.
If you’re not tracking this data, you’re going to have a really hard time understanding your sales rep’s strengths and weaknesses. So make sure you have a plan in place to train your new sales rep on how to enter data in your sales tracking software.
Create goals
Goal-setting in your green industry business is one of the most important activities you can do. Don’t leave your sales rep in limbo - they can’t perform their job if they don’t know what they’re expected to do. Plus, setting a goal helps you measure how they’re progressing and performing. Goals also help motivate your employees.
Eventually, your goals should all be sales-oriented. But initially, you may want to set knowledge-based goals for your sales reps. They’ll need to understand your processes, the services you sell and the products you offer. Create a verbal or written test around these goals and set a target knowledge goal.
Start small and get easy wins
If you’ve got a big project to complete, the easiest way to accomplish it without feeling overwhelmed is to break it into smaller, more digestible parts. The same applies for getting your sales rep to 100% productivity.
Don’t throw the most complex sales at your rep. Start small with services that require little knowledge. Not only will it help your sales rep learn and gain confidence from those small wins, but it will most likely also help your business sell complex services/products while your sales rep gets up to speed.
Need some more sales and marketing tips for your green industry business? Check out our free eBook, 15 Sales and Marketing Tips Guaranteed to Grow Your Green Industry Business
