How to find the best advertising sales people
In an age when a lot of talented ad-sales people are setting up their own freelance businesses, there are two main options available to you. Do you go for the traditional route of finding a suitable sales person on a permanent level, or do you look for someone who may be willing to work on a commission only or part time basis, through an outside company or agency? Whichever one you choose, there are certain things to look out for when choosing someone who can sell for you
1. How many hours per day do you need someone to sell for you?
This is important, as it will determine whether you offer a more permanent position to someone with a salary plus commission, or the slightly less risky option of appointing an outside company.
If you already have a vibrant and enthusiastic sales team who thrive in an open-plan type environment, then you'll probably have to look at more of the same with a permanent position.
However, if you 'just need a hand' or would like to experiment, a freelance sales person might be the better choice.
2. What kind of experience does the potential candidate have?
A lot of companies have the opinion that if you have ad-sales experience, you can sell across any media. Well, I have to say this is true, but only to a point. One thing is for sure- it will take someone longer to get going if they don't have direct ad-sales experience in your media.
I am sure they'll fly with it eventually, but you ideally need to get someone who looks the part, sounds the part and has experience in the media format you are selling. If they are already well versed on the sales, design, production terms and other terminology, they will be able to communicate on a more articulate level early on and get results quicker.
3. How do they sound?
This is an important point. Some people (through no fault of their own) have a rather mundane, single tone to their voice. Always have a good chat with the candidate and ask them to speak about something that they are enthusiastic about. If they sound good to you, you can bet they'll use that same tone when they are trying to make money!
4. How do they look?
Appearance is everything. A well turned out person says everything about their attitude, as well as the company they work for. Try and meet your candidates in a formal and informal environment. If they scrub up well in both situations, you can bet they care about the way they look and won't embarrass you when they meet a client in the lift, during the hotel fire drill!
5.What drives them?
Find out where they want to be in 5 years from now. If they tell you they like the look of the job and they'd be happy to work for you, then be careful.
IF they say they'd like to be running their own business on a beach with their family, but they want to make some money first, then shake on it there and then! No seriously, you don't want someone who is going to sit back and work the usual 9-5, doing just enough to do a weekly shop and take one holiday per year.
If you find someone with a good personal goal, then you can bet they'll be honest and hard working for you in the time it takes them to reach it.
Please note: Myadbase offers a freelance ad-sales search service for publishers and media owners. If this is a route you'd like to explore, then please take a look at this page. This article (and over 35 others like it) make up a great value e-book for sale on this website here. The e-book is designed for website owners to sell more ads and to generate revenue from their websites.
\finally, we have a very exciting new service for webmasters and sire owners called ARC and we promise that it will make you look closely at your online business
Date added: Sunday June 3rd, 2007
