So what would you do in this situation...

Gambit

Gambit

...
Nov 21, 2011
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I'm working on getting some local marketing services set up in my area. I got it pretty well planned out, but I would like to get someone decent at sales to go in and talk to businesses about it and I would give them commission for each deal they close.

I'm pretty picky about who I would hire to do it. I could technically do it myself, but I know a few people that would be better than me at it. I asked my one semi-close friend in between jobs if he was interested, but he ended up getting hired managing a new place.

So a couple days ago this same friend tells me that he's got "a guy" that would be good for what I am looking for. He's like I'll give him your number and I'll tell him to look for your call. From what he was saying he didn't sound like a good fit but it was all spur of the moment so I didn't know what to say about it.

He then goes on to tell me about how they fired him after 4 hours from this restaurant after he refused to touch the meat and the vegetables with the same pair of gloves because he's a vegan and that is messed up.


So basically, I feel obligated to meet this guy since my friend told him I'm calling, but pretty much know I'm not gonna hire him. What would you do in this situation?
 


If he is willing to work for commission then nothing to lose (if you keep him around the office). If he sucks let him go. He might make you a few bucks, either that or make you look like a loser around town.

Don't let him to face to face marketing on the street, put him in the office and have him pound the phones all day.
 
Yeah I really don't feel like dealing with it. Although cold calling may be a good idea.

The problem is the project I am setting out to do right now doesn't really have anything proprietary behind it so I would want to get it started with someone I know and can trust.
 
#1 stop being picky - the best sales agents are the craziest
#2 you need to sell them - no one is gonna work for you unless they believe they can make $$
#3 sales reps agree to work at places based on the cars parked in the lot - they see beemers and benzes they know $$$ can be made


Again, stop being picky u need them more than they need you

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X2 anonomoan

Rule of thumb - for every 100 sales reps you meet, one will last a quarter

For every 10 that last a quarter, one will last a year

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Gambit said:
Yeah I really don't feel like dealing with it. Although cold calling may be a good idea.

The problem is the project I am setting out to do right now doesn't really have anything proprietary behind it so I would want to get it started with someone I know and can trust.
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I don't see a downside here. You get to know him in the 2 weeks he's your coldcall bitch - and then make a decision whether he'd be good at face to face.

Some people freak out about killing animals, could've been an isolated incident lol.
 
Yeah true. I suppose cold calling wouldn't be a bad idea. My only problem is that there aren't many businesses around here. If he screws up they'll probably remember my company name. Maybe I should make up a mock company name at first.
 
Gambit said:
Yeah true. I suppose cold calling wouldn't be a bad idea. My only problem is that there aren't many businesses around here. If he screws up they'll probably remember my company name. Maybe I should make up a mock company name at first.
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Make up a name (DBA) and have him use that. If he completely fucks up and ruins the DBA name who cares through away the name and continue on with business. If you're paying him commission only it doesn't hurt much to have him hang around for a couple weeks.

Hell, if there really isn't any other companies in the area or even just one or two others doing what you're doing create fake competition. They might not go with company A, but they might go with company B. If you have more than 1 person cold calling them have person A call from company A. If they say no have person B call from company B the next day. If they say no again have person A call from company C a few days later. I have no idea if that would work, but you could have them using different scripts for each call and it might be a way to split test different scripts.
 
First off the guy got fired because his boss didn't what to follow the health laws and wanted to save on gloves so you can't fault him. Secondly have you sold this product/service yourself? If the answer is no forget about hiring anyone until you are proficient and know what realistic expectations exist. Also how can you train a salesman if you have no idea what's going to come up in the sales process? If you haven't sold it you can't possibly know what will. And lastly if you want to have any chance at success you need to be in complete controll in the initial phase. Pawning off the single most important aspect of your business is pretty much guaranteeing your demise
 
Don't waste people's time... no point meeting if you already have your mind made up.

Also, I wouldn't judge someone by a single incident like that.
 
dmnEPC said:
First off the guy got fired because his boss didn't what to follow the health laws and wanted to save on gloves so you can't fault him. Secondly have you sold this product/service yourself? If the answer is no forget about hiring anyone until you are proficient and know what realistic expectations exist. Also how can you train a salesman if you have no idea what's going to come up in the sales process? If you haven't sold it you can't possibly know what will. And lastly if you want to have any chance at success you need to be in complete controll in the initial phase. Pawning off the single most important aspect of your business is pretty much guaranteeing your demise
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I wouldn't say it would be guaranteeing any demise. That seems pretty extreme. I trust my intuition and background in psychology in evaluating talent and knowing what people can and can't do, and whether they are shady, (and if they are somewhat shady what I need to look out for with their particular personality). The business model is pretty straightforward. I know people running very similar operations so I have a good idea of what will come up.
 
An Advertising Director I interviewed with in the print media field said it best...

"If I could pick good salesman just from an interview I could retire from advertising, become a head hunter and make 10x's what I make now."

You never know how someone will pan out in sales until they get in there and try. You will know within two weeks if he is cut out for it.

The incident you mention about him getting fired is probably isolated and his stance makes sense. IDK
 
Gambit said:
I wouldn't say it would be guaranteeing any demise. That seems pretty extreme. I trust my intuition and background in psychology in evaluating talent and knowing what people can and can't do, and whether they are shady, (and if they are somewhat shady what I need to look out for with their particular personality). The business model is pretty straightforward. I know people running very similar operations so I have a good idea of what will come up.
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Suite yourself. Let me just ask you a quick question? Are you afraid to go out and sell? Its a legitimate fear that most people have. Or is it that you don't think you can?

I already know you don't think you should have to, but you really need to learn this. You will be your biggest cheerleader and nobody else will believe as much as you do (at least it should be). But let me ask you one more question. Let's say the person you get to sell for you up and quits or goes on vacation, gets sick,ect. What are you going to do? Just let your business sit idle?

You have to learn every single facet of your business in every situation. If your not growing your dying
 
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shawnhag said:
#3 sales reps agree to work at places based on the cars parked in the lot - they see beemers and benzes they know $$$ can be made
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The correct term is Bimmer, not Beemer. Beemer refers to the BMW motorcycles. I know common misconception.
 
dmnEPC said:
First off the guy got fired because his boss didn't what to follow the health laws and wanted to save on gloves so you can't fault him. Secondly have you sold this product/service yourself? If the answer is no forget about hiring anyone until you are proficient and know what realistic expectations exist. Also how can you train a salesman if you have no idea what's going to come up in the sales process? If you haven't sold it you can't possibly know what will. And lastly if you want to have any chance at success you need to be in complete controll in the initial phase. Pawning off the single most important aspect of your business is pretty much guaranteeing your demise
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You're assuming the meat was raw, chances are it was already cooked (as it is in lots of places). In which case, no, not violating health law. If a business told you to touch raw meat, then yeah, but probably not.
 
phew!

some of you cunts don't know what a tough gig is til you pound those phones for 12-15 hour days on commission. now that's a hella tough racket. i'd come home feeling like someone had shoved a spiked bat up my ass for hours and there ain't a fucking thing in the world that could put me in a good mood.

the guy who regularly sat next to me got fired for having a breakdown in the middle of the day and swearing his god damn lungs out at a rude prick on the other end of the line. the dude next to me was given 3 days suspension for tricking the line to call his wife and sex talking all day. the managers would listen in on the calls occasionally and that's how he was caught.

i am very, very polite to telemarketers for a good reason.
 
dmnEPC said:
Suite yourself. Let me just ask you a quick question? Are you afraid to go out and sell? Its a legitimate fear that most people have. Or is it that you don't think you can?

I already know you don't think you should have to, but you really need to learn this. You will be your biggest cheerleader and nobody else will believe as much as you do (at least it should be). But let me ask you one more question. Let's say the person you get to sell for you up and quits or goes on vacation, gets sick,ect. What are you going to do? Just let your business sit idle?

You have to learn every single facet of your business in every situation. If your not growing your dying
Click to expand...

Yeah now this is a legit question. I wouldn't exactly say it's a fear of selling, but I'm not exactly the sales person type. And I do look pretty young for my age so I know that's playing against me, especially in the town I live in.

But yeah I'm always down for pushing myself and learning something new, I just don't want to lose out on potential clients if I think I can get someone better to do something that is more suited to their strength than my own. And personally, I know I would find this work to be very draining, and my other ventures may suffer because of it. Right now I'm looking to build as many projects as I can that allow me to remove myself from the equation.

Right now I'm making income in other ways, but I do want to push myself to learn new skills. Maybe this is about falling into a comfort zone though.
 
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