More often than not, small business organizations don’t have the resources to hire a full-time qualified sales manager and supporting team. Instead, they either designate one of their salespeople to manage the team while continuing to sell, they promote that person to be a full-time manager, or they continue on without a person dedicated to sales management. Unfortunately, all of these approaches typically don’t work out because they either pull a top producer off the line or attempt to continue on with no sales management whatsoever. Sales management is required for a business to succeed, yet ineffective sales management is one of the largest unnecessary costs a business will face.
The solution? Hire a fractional sales manager
For these reasons, many businesses are leaning on fractional hires to lead their sales team. But the reasons go far beyond a monetary loss. The sales manager is an integral part of any business. It’s their job to deliver healthy pipelines of opportunity, ensure sales activity is hitting key metrics, and coach team members on how to improve on closing deals.
What are the real costs of having an ineffective sales manager?
Many small businesses remain small because they aren’t dedicating the necessary resources to the sales management function.
What about the rest of the sales team?
Companies fear experimenting with their sales force; it’s the engine that drives revenue. Even when the engine is clearly failing, the thought of overhauling it fills most executives with dread. Instead, companies will try “quick fixes” to fix declining margins, like purchasing a list of leads or cutting back on the back-office sales staff.
To avoid these understandable mistakes, consider a fundamentally different approach: what if you outsourced key areas of your sales team? There are many ways to leverage fractional sales employees--the most common would be to examine your customer profile and prioritize the markets and services that are growing. Switch up your strategy to reject some traditional sales practices, such as assuming large customers need large sales coverage and focus sales resources on opportunities with a higher percentage to convert.
Small changes to your sales team can make a big difference. What are the benefits of leveraging a fractional sales team?
Leveraging a fractional sales force doesn't just sound good on paper, it can be the catalyst for growth at your company. If you’re a small business struggling to break through during an economic downturn, maybe it’s time you considered fractional hiring to reach your business goals.
A proud nominee of the 29th Annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards
