Why Experience Counts in Sales

As business owners, we are always balancing budgets. 
 
And frugality is a useful value in today’s times. This especially comes into the forefront while you’re planning to expand your business and hiring new members to add to your teams. 
 
So it makes sense to question whether one needs to hire experienced talent and whether a fresher or near-fresher might be able to do the same job, at a lesser cost. 
 
For some jobs, a fresher might do as well or even better. But there are some jobs where experience counts. 
 
For a growing business, one always needs Salespeople. Here is what I observed
 

  • Experienced Sales professionals know the mechanics of the trade

    They know that Sales is not just selling but lead generation, reaching out, first conversations that could go nowhere at the time, proposal selling, follow-ups, and all of the myriad things that make up the sales cycle  

  • Experienced people hit the ground running

    My best salespeople started lead generation on day one. I gave them 50 leads, and they found 20 more. They started bringing in closures two weeks in. They started bringing business one month in. For a small business, the difference between starting to get business 1 month in vs taking 3-4 months after getting trained and groomed is immense.  

  • Experienced people have Sales judgement

    Successful Salespeople often have an unerring sense of being able to place a prospect - will it move ahead, how much are they willing to pay, will they pay? Crucial for a small business to know to improve productivity and collections  

  • Experienced people know how to handle rejection

    Even if you are selling gold at half the market price, there will be prospects who will refuse. Entire weeks or months could go dry, for one reason or another. Experienced Sales folks know that Sales has its downs, they can handle a prospect doing multiple conversations and then not buying, they can deal with a deal-breaking down at the last minute. They get bitterly disappointed because closing deals is what gives good salespeople their kick, but they pick themselves up remarkably well and move on.  

  • Experienced people know they love sales

    Sales is tough. The uncertainty, the rejection, the waiting, and nurturing, it’s not for everyone. But good salespeople are not just ok with it, they THRIVE on it. They love the high of a good closure conversation, they love the smell of a deal, they love the challenge of a tough account. These are qualities they have recognised and honed in themselves and that’s why they are where they are.  
While it is possible to train good people, who may not have the experience, it will take time. Both founders’ time to train, and time in weeks and months to get them up to speed. And time is something we entrepreneurs can ill-afford, right?
 
Experienced Talent might seem expensive, but they pay back many times over in the business they bring. You can try some innovative options such as reducing the number of hours if you cannot hire them full-time, or doing a 3-month trial to see if they are the right fit for you, that gets you the best of both, quality and affordability. 
 
So in Sales, my experience has been that experience, counts. Good sales professionals are like athletes, who always had the raw talent but after honing it, are unbeatable!
 
Good luck!
 
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And if you do want to hire good quality and vetted experienced talent, click here.