Building Your Sales Force

Posted by David Wallace on September 14, 2009

“For the last four years, I’ve been working fourteen hours a day to build my company.  I do it all – I find customers; I call on customers, I close the deals.  After landing the business, I make sure we deliver the product, service our customers and keep them coming back.  That doesn’t even include all I need to do to manage the business – HR, finance, accounting, systems.  I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished, but I just can’t keep growing without some help.”

This is a familiar lament among company founders.  They’ve invested their time, sweat and experience building their businesses.  They’ve spent precious capital developing their products, honing their services, getting their messages out.  Now they need to build out their sales forces so they can work on their businesses, not work in their businesses.

When building a sales force, a business leader needs to consider several factors:

  • How complex is the sale?
  • What skills do I need in my sales team? Are those skills readily available?
  • Should I hire direct sales reps or use channel sales?
  • How many sales reps do I need to cover the market?  How many can I afford?
  • What is my plan to expand my sales force?
  • What support will my sales force require?
  • What is the cost to train new and existing sales representatives?

For more information, contact Wallace Management Group at (203) 834-0143 or email David Wallace.

© 2009, David P. Wallace

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