[Asterisk-biz] Good Salespeople

[Lenz]

Thanks for your excellent post, Angus. I think it summons most of what  
there is to say on this subject.
l.



On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 19:43:30 +0100, Angus Campbell  
<acampbell at aegismanagement.net> wrote:

> Tom
> I understand your dilemma completely.  I operated a small call center
> for 20+ years in Manhattan and sold remote receptionist and telecom
> services to the NY area medical community - another niche.  I had one
> strong salesperson for about 15 years and various others for shorter
> periods from time to time.  She is still working for the parent company
> I sold the business to and might be available - with you permission I
> could send her your contact info.
>
> Generally here are my thoughts on the topic, most of which have been
> corroborated by business colleagues with larger sales forces.
>
> I found that a combination of a base salary and draw against commission
> to be the best solution; it is attractive enough to get qualified
> inquiries and still controls your exposure to non-income producing
> costs.  Pure commission is ideal for the employer, but it's hard for an
> employee to ramp up to a survivable income in a reasonable time without
> a huge draw, and that makes the job less attractive to qualified  
> applicants.
>
> The base salary is justified as there is probably some non sales related
> customer service duties involved in the position, but it should not be
> enough to live on.- you  need to leave healthy incentive.  The draw
> portion of the paycheck is essentially a loan from you against future
> sales commissions and, with the base, gives the sales person something
> to live on hitting the street running.  I worked it out that by eht end
> of six months, the saleseperson should be successfull enough that thay
> have either "paid back" the draw, or are tracking on a trend to do so
> shortly.  If not, then you know you have the wrong person and you all
> part ways.  In such a case, any outstanding draw is not a liability to
> the salesperson so that is your risk.
>
> Watch our for pepetual residuals.  I do not know of anyone outside the
> insurance industry that thinks they are good idea and I'm not sure what
> the insurance people are thinking. (OK, LD providers pay on-going
> commissions).  Once a person builds a good book of business, residuals
> can supply an income stream that reduces their incentive to work
> harder.  I found a good compromise to be a one-time annual commission of
> something like 25% of the original commission.  It is not a recurring
> expense to you and it's only payable if the client is still with you, so
> the salesperson has an incentive to keep in touch with the client
> post-sale and ensure they are happy.
>
> A successful salesperson ion the NYC area is going to be able to pull
> down $65 - $85k or higher.  More in some niches but I think it's about
> right for us.
>
> As far as venues for trolling, an on-line venue such as Monster.com has
> sub-headings for sales and probably Sales- Telecom and is a well
> traveled site.  For local ads, the NY times generates a lot of volume
> but with a  lot oft screening required - an IVR app. might help there,
> but many might think that too impersonal for this level of job and might
> be a turn-off for some.  I always liked the Village Voice, as it pre-
> screens for a generally hip and literate crowd.  Fuhgeddabout the Post
> and News.
>
> Hope this helps.  Let me know if anything else.  Not a bad web site, by
> the way.
>
>
> Angus Campbell
> *Aegis Reporting
> * Aegis Management Associates, Inc.
> New York, NY
> 212-517-1100
>
>
> Tom Hayden wrote:
>
>> Since this is the -biz list, I thought I'd pick the minds of other
>> Asterisk-related business owners.
>>
>> Here's my dilemma. I've got some great asterisk based services that my
>> firm can offer (mostly IVR and whatnot), but I am having a hard time
>> finding clientele, as my target market is rather niche (right now -
>> the commercial radio biz).  Unfortunately, my area of expertise is
>> telecom, *not* sales or marketing.
>>
>> How do you find good marketing/sales people? Do you post ads or find
>> them through others? Are they primarily commission-based or do you pay
>> salary?  Is finding sales people for startups difficult?  Is it
>> possible to outsource some of these functions?
>>
>> I'm curious to hear input from other business owners on this list,
>>
>> --
>> Tom Hayden
>> Astoria Telecom, LLC
>> www.astoriatelecom.net
>> irc: astoria
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>>
>>
>>
>>



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