Beware the Unemployed Salesperson
Most business plans I see rely heavily on the assumption that once the funds are raised, a great salesperson will be recruited who will then take the company from where you are to where you want to be. This is dangerous for several reasons.
1. A Good Salesperson who is unemployed is a bit of an Oxymoron, alongside Military Intelligence and compassionate conservatism. Yes companies are getting rid of people at the moment, but if someone is generating sales and precious revenue, they are not going to find themselves unemployed. Sales people who have been fired, or where the company has gone out of business are fine (I have been sacked twice!)
2. No one is going to sell the business like the entrepreneur. For some strange reason a lot of entrepreneurs keep saying “I am not a salesperson”. If you are pitching for investment or pitching your idea – you are a salesperson. And saying you are not a good salesperson is not a good start. I recently saw a business which looked good and they needed investment. The founders though had not obtained any sales. They had got great marketing and media coverage – but no sales. It became impossible for me to invest in the business because no one had truly validated the product. My response was to try and get sales – and then investment can come through.
Many businesses feel disappointed when a new sales person does not boost sales. It normally takes six months to find out if a sales person is any good. Most companies simply do not have that kind of time too afford. So the CEO – and other founders have to keep selling.
3. Sales people (especially good ones) are very difficult to manage and control. I was not the best salesperson, but when I look back I do seriously feel sorry for the people who had to manage me. Most good salespeople have large egos that have to be managed and they require a lot of attention, as well as always being told how good they are. (Sadly, if they do not have these insecurities, they may not make great sales people). At this stage of the business, do you have the resource to do this?
4. Finally, if you do not have the confidence to sell your solution yourself – you will always be hostage to the salesperson’s whims and reasoning. Potential investors will spot that. And of course if you really don’t feel you have the sales skill to sell the solution – you can always contact me and I will be happy to run a sales training course for you! Now there is a salespersons plug!
