Before Hiring: Conduct an Efficiency Audit
Article Theme: making the right hiring and staffing decisions.
An article by Keith Rosen about making the right hiring and staffing decisions.
Are you getting the most out of the resources and the people you currently have in place? Look at the people who are responsible for your sales, lead generation, prospecting, marketing, management, administrative duties and customer service. Would you achieve the same end result without hiring a salesperson if you were more organized or continually developed the people, systems and strategies that you already have?
If you're hiring in the hopes that a salesperson would get you more organized or compensate for the weak links in your company so you don't have to, think again. Maybe a salesperson isn't exactly what you need. Once you've taken the time to refine what you currently have in place you'll be in a better position to answer the question, "Now that I'm maximizing the resources I currently have, do I still need a salesperson?"
At this point, you are probably in a better position to answer the question, "What would be more costly for me? Hiring a salesperson or not hiring a salesperson?" If you are operating at peak performance and feel that you have maximized the potential of your team, then the cost of not hiring a salesperson may be more obvious. That is, if your sales are lagging or if no one is currently out there selling, then someone's got to do it.
It's the cost of hiring a salesperson who you are better off without that may be more elusive. Aside from the cost of having to pay the salesperson, there may be some other hidden costs that are flying under your radar.
I remember one of my clients asking me if they should hire a salesperson. Both the husband and wife played an active role in running the company. She handled all of the marketing, project management and supervised her administrative team. He was responsible for bringing in sales. Not only was he single handedly achieving the company's sales goals, but he loved to sell! If he was to take himself out of the field, he would need to hire at least three salespeople to generate the same sales volume that he was. Then, there would be the time and expense of hiring, paying, training and managing a sales team.
In this scenario, hiring a salesperson would actually wind up costing them more time, money and additional managerial responsibilities as opposed to keeping things the way they are. My client quickly realized that they can make more money and have fewer problems and headaches without hiring a salesperson.
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This article about making the right hiring and staffing decisions. presented by Profitbuilders.com