Expectations of a sales rep.

[easiprint]

Just doing some forward planning and wondered what peoples expectations of a sales rep would be. Business is a printing business, and order values range from £100 - £2000 with anything from 30% to 50% profit on average. Say you employed a full time sales rep on a basic of £15,000 with commission on top when targets are met, how long would you expect it to be before that sales rep was bringing in enough orders to cover their basic salary each month. I know it's a bit like how long is a piece of string, but do you think it is reasonable to expect a reasonably experienced sales rep to be covering their basic within 3 months or should I allow longer?

Thanks in advance

 

[patientlady]

How long would it take you Easiprint to cover your salary? It's probably relative

 

[S-Marketing]

You need to remember that they need to generate sufficient turnover to cover their cost in profit, not just bring in enough work to cover their cost.

If you were my client i would be looking for you to cover the cost of paying me within a month, and then generating the equivalent of 10 times my fee within 4 ish months. If a salesman can match those kind of figures, get a better one.

 

[TotallySport]

surely there are better ways for a printer to get orders, £15,000 as an advertising budget is massive, and you don't need to pay commission.

I have never got printing from a sales rep

 

[S-Marketing]

surely there are better ways for a printer to get orders, £15,000 as an advertising budget is massive, and you don't need to pay commission.

I have never got printing from a sales rep

Exactly. Add to that the fact that using sales staff also gives you a massive marketing disadvantage and it doesnt seem like such a good idea.

 

[Multi-store]

I've worked as a sales rep for a printer. It took 6 weeks to get an order over £500 and I made the firm around £7000 in six months. Unsure on the profit margin, the firm was average at best so i left at that point.

I'd say, get on the phone yourself & spend £10,000 on advertising.

 

[maxine]

Your products are great quality, your service is fab, your market is huge and your prices are low!

So 1 month!!

Otherwise spend the budget on website and SEO (and it's very rare I say that!!) lol

 

[easiprint]

I've worked as a sales rep for a printer. It took 6 weeks to get an order over £500 and I made the firm around £7000 in six months. Unsure on the profit margin, the firm was average at best so i left at that point.

If you don't mind me asking, £7,000 in six months does not sound great - would not have covered the wages required I would guess. What were the main problems you encountered?

 

[easiprint]

Your products are great quality, your service is fab, your market is huge and your prices are low!

So 1 month!!

Otherwise spend the budget on website and SEO (and it's very rare I say that!!) lol

Thanks Max!

 

[telemax]

Just doing some forward planning and wondered what peoples expectations of a sales rep would be. Business is a printing business, and order values range from £100 - £2000 with anything from 30% to 50% profit on average. Say you employed a full time sales rep on a basic of £15,000 with commission on top when targets are met, how long would you expect it to be before that sales rep was bringing in enough orders to cover their basic salary each month. I know it's a bit like how long is a piece of string, but do you think it is reasonable to expect a reasonably experienced sales rep to be covering their basic within 3 months or should I allow longer?

Thanks in advance

3 months!! It will never happen in a month.

 

[businessfunding]

What is the sales rep selling (not just print, but what added value)?

If you are after volume business, I would support the view that money would be best spent on margn; if you are looking for good, value-added relationships han face-to-face selling can add a lot.

Broadly speaking any employee needs to 'earn' double their saary in profit to not be a liability - really at least 4 times to be an asset (unless there are other benefits we cannot see).

In 3 months you should be able to get a clear view of pipeline and potential, though it might be 6 months or more before you get these quality clients on board.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I've sold print and advertising alongside some of the best salespeople out there at the time.

One guy at Yellow Pages was phenomenal at bringing in new business worth thousands but was crap at servicing smaller companies re-bookings and needed somebody behind him to clear up the mess. He made good money but jumped ship as soon as he got bored.

A girl I employed on a local newspaper was awful at opening doors but recognised opportunities for expansion and seasonal sales within every account, was well liked and never lost a customer. She made solid money and stayed for 5 years.

The moral of the above is that you need to decide on what sort of salesperson you want before putting a price on their heads. Cold calling every day is soul destroying and requires a certain animal. Business builders may not hit the jackpot early and you will have to carry them for a while longer and support them by handing them some clients to work on. I know what I prefer...

 

[AdamStevens]

I've worked as a sales rep for a printer. It took 6 weeks to get an order over £500 and I made the firm around £7000 in six months.

I would have fired you long before six months!!!

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

I would have fired you long before six months!!!

Without knowing the reasons why?

 

[AdamStevens]

Without knowing the reasons why?

You said £7000 in 6 months, so you already provided me with a reason.

 

[bizrep103]

Employing sales people is without question the biggest challenge facing SME's. There are so many people out there who are 'professional sales jobbers' who go from sales job to sales job because they can't get anything else. The problem is sales is a professional career and the old days of being a bit of a del boy don't work. Customers appreciate technical knowledge and an educated pitch. Cold calling through a telephone book also doesn't work. On average you will need to recruit 5 people to get one good sales person. This means if you wait too long for the person to perform you place your entire business at risk. If you are not getting positive sign as after 8 weeks they have to go. They don't have to hit target at six weeks just demonstrate early ability.
A professional sales person can prospect more intelligently that just calling a list from a-z, they will find a hook and establish the business and contact has a need.

 

[AdamStevens]

Hmm , sounds like you need some help recruiting sales people?

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

You said £7000 in 6 months, so you already provided me with a reason.

Not me i'm afraid but the poster who did said he 'made' £7000 in six months. You assume he turned over £7k, I assumed it was profit.

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

Employing sales people is without question the biggest challenge facing SME's. There are so many people out there who are 'professional sales jobbers' who go from sales job to sales job because they can't get anything else. The problem is sales is a professional career and the old days of being a bit of a del boy don't work. Customers appreciate technical knowledge and an educated pitch. Cold calling through a telephone book also doesn't work. On average you will need to recruit 5 people to get one good sales person. This means if you wait too long for the person to perform you place your entire business at risk. If you are not getting positive sign as after 8 weeks they have to go. They don't have to hit target at six weeks just demonstrate early ability.
A professional sales person can prospect more intelligently that just calling a list from a-z, they will find a hook and establish the business and contact has a need.

Generally what you will find is that good and bad salesmen will go off an set up a company advising people how to find and train good salespeople.

Industry and product knowledge is a crucial part of sales these days, yet many employers who seek a near immediate return are reluctant to give time for them to grow into the role and find the 'hook you speak of.

Today i've been to a specialist window companies showroom that was manned not by a salesman but by one of their production guys. He didn't try to sign us up on the spot but provided great inside knowledge and information and we will buy from them on that basis.

 

[MBE1]

A lot depends on the type of clients you wish to aquire. You need a cold caller for one off clients, you need a salesperson to develop long term profitable accounts IMO.

A business rep is neither. Reps stand around drinking tea asking how things are, salespeople ask for orders. You need to decide what you want. Personally I have never employed a rep, but I have took on many salespeople because I wanted orders, not requests for catalogues.

To build relationships takes time, but three months should give you an indication of whether your rep/salesperson has the right stuff.

 

[S-Marketing]

Not me i'm afraid but the poster who did said he 'made' £7000 in six months. You assume he turned over £7k, I assumed it was profit.

Either way, it's still a miserably poor show making sales for a profit of 7 grand in 6 months.

 

[businessfunding]

Either way, it's still a miserably poor show making sales for a profit of 7 grand in 6 months.

Surely it would depend on the nature of the sell, the curve & the pipeline?

I would actually be quite happy with that if all the other components were right.

 

[S-Marketing]

Surely it would depend on the nature of the sell, the curve & the pipeline?

I would actually be quite happy with that if all the other components were right.

You are right of course. If this 7 grand just represented the first orders from some major long term clients, then yes, this would be a good result.

Standing alone, with no additional relationships built, I would say 7 grand in 6 months is poor.

 

[Multi-store]

[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']1) [/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Im back, it was me that mentioned the 7K 6 months. This is 7K profit, all new business, no inbound leads / enquiries. It was a poor show, and I was utterly disappointed, and moved into a new sales position. However in my defence I did not know the industry when I started, so I started the game with nothing. I had no company car or mobile, I relied solely on outbound sales calls. The firm specialised in brochure design and print, however they were particularly bad at both elements. There sample room was bleak and full of leaflets & junk. They did no advertising what-so-ever and the website was professional looking, yet poorly writing and designed. Not only that, the print prices were often uncompetitive & the designers lacked enthusiasm. I was also roped into other things like delivering jobs around the midlands and helping to hand pack cartons so lost probably 1-2 hours per day selling time. So hold back when you say I should've been sacked straight off. The person before me lasted 3 months and didn't make a single sale. Ultimately a firm can set expectations that they feel are realistic. The people I worked for weren't pleased with my sales but they weren't disappointed, I'd picked up a few decent, high margin sales. Can you imagine how many sales it would take from scratch to make 7K profit? Sales on leaflets and quick jobs are only worth £100 revenue, and how many firms commit to a £5,000 order with a sales rep from a firm they've never encountered and have 0 trust in? Sales is tough at the minute in every way shape and form, but ultimately the backroom staff make it or break it for the salesperson.[/FONT]

 

[Lucan Unlordly]

[FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']1) [/FONT][FONT='Century Gothic','sans-serif']Im back, it was me that mentioned the 7K 6 months. This is 7K profit, all new business, no inbound leads / enquiries. It was a poor show, and I was utterly disappointed, and moved into a new sales position. However in my defence I did not know the industry when I started, so I started the game with nothing. I had no company car or mobile, I relied solely on outbound sales calls. The firm specialised in brochure design and print, however they were particularly bad at both elements. There sample room was bleak and full of leaflets & junk. They did no advertising what-so-ever and the website was professional looking, yet poorly writing and designed. Not only that, the print prices were often uncompetitive & the designers lacked enthusiasm. I was also roped into other things like delivering jobs around the midlands and helping to hand pack cartons so lost probably 1-2 hours per day selling time. So hold back when you say I should’ve been sacked straight off. The person before me lasted 3 months and didn’t make a single sale. Ultimately a firm can set expectations that they feel are realistic. The people I worked for weren’t pleased with my sales but they weren’t disappointed, I’d picked up a few decent, high margin sales. Can you imagine how many sales it would take from scratch to make 7K profit? Sales on leaflets and quick jobs are only worth £100 revenue, and how many firms commit to a £5,000 order with a sales rep from a firm they’ve never encountered and have 0 trust in? Sales is tough at the minute in every way shape and form, but ultimately the backroom staff make it or break it for the salesperson.[/FONT]

Now that's a more realistic appraisal of how many companies misuse their sales people. I can honestly say that the places I've worked at which had high staff turnover had many of the same elements, poor presentation, poor marketing materials, poor lead generation.

 

[patientlady]

Now that's a more realistic appraisal of how many companies misuse their sales people. I can honestly say that the places I've worked at which had high staff turnover had many of the same elements, poor presentation, poor marketing materials, poor lead generation.

Or no presentation, no marketing materials and no lead generation. I have just worked very briefly, just two weeks, for a co. where I was given an A5 leaflet, which gave the wrong information and a very poorly designed business card - and that was it! My own fault, I should have realised on day three!

 

[Ned Kelly]

I agree with all the comments above from sales people who have actually been out there and done it. Companies need to realise if they aren't getting the results from there sales staff, there maybe a problem with the operation as a whole.

I have worked for some terrible companies, with the same rubbish that others have had to put up with ie, helping deliveries, picking, packing, answering the phones, rubbish car. One even gave me business cards without my name on and told me to write it in pen.(Very proffessional )

Needless to say, I got out at the first opportunity, and these firms looking back have all gone bust. Doesn't matter how good a salesman you have, or how experienced, they are only as good as the firm they work for.

 

[Multi-store]

[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Exactly. You can only be as good as the firm you work for. My particular example acted like children when I left, being unresponsive & arrogant. They were a family fun firm and ultimately didn't care for the success of the business as long as the profits just covered their director wage. When I left I filled out their exit interview form, telling them exactly how it is, why I didn't do too well and that they will continue to fail if the carry on being tight with marketing and hopeless in finished product. Ultimately they gave me a bad reference, which made them look even worse as I still got the job and their comment of "he was always late" made no sense because I was on flexitime, and 7 months into my new job and I've not been late once. I actually hate that firm now and if I ever bump into the MD I'll tell her exactly what I think of her and laugh while telling her the business will fail and she'll go back to pulling pints. Lucky for her, her dad was a clever man and built the business from scratch, now he's retired, you can tell its been taken over by a waste of space. Rant over.[/FONT]

 

[Ned Kelly]

To answer the original post, I would not get a rep if you are expecting them to cover there wages straight away. There are a lot of posts on here about "the rep" covering his wages etc. I have seen some very dodgy salesman who will lie and cheat to cover there targets, these people do more damage to a company than good.

If you can afford to employ a "rep" then do so as a long term project. They will be the face of your company, and will build long term business. Use them to find out what is happening in the market place, what special offers/promotions are being offered. Be prepared to listen to criticism about why people will not use you, then see if you can change things.

Work with your rep, have regular meetings. Come up with targets and strategies together, think of deals or promotions you could implement. When you make a rep feel like part of the firm they will work for you like it is there firm

 

[paulstewart64]

I have 12 years experience working with a digital printing business as an adviser.

Finding a sales rep experienced in print is tough. Taking on a newbie to the industry is very hard as there is a lot to learn (depending on your product offering).

There are lots of marketing initiatives you can introduce to boost your business and perhaps you need to consider these too.

in fact, you'd be surprised how many options you have to expand your business.

One last thing, if you consider £15,000 salary for a sales rep is reasonable, is the rep office based or are you expecting them to hit the road to generate business? If so, have you built the cost of travel and a car into the equation?

Good luck