Page 195 - Social Media Marketing

Building and Managing Your Own Sales Team 181

However, you can probably serve customers better by bringing
someone on board who can deal with lower-level issues, so you
can focus on more complex issues. You need to convince your
clients, through words and improved customer service, that
this new approach is best for them, too.
• More free time: True success requires balance. If you become
a top-producing salesperson at the expense of your personal
relationships, you are not successful. Having a team can free up
your time and energy, so you can establish a happier, more sat-
isfying balance between your professional and personal lives.

Knowing When You Need a Team

Forming a sales team is a little scary. You may be so busy that you
cannot imagine where you will find the time to recruit, hire, and
train the people you need. Or you may be afraid that if you hire
someone and sales taper off, you will be unable to pay the person.
Although these are certainly valid concerns, you can usually tell
when the time is right to start forming a team by taking an honest
look at yourself and the current situation. Here are some signs that
the time is right to form a sales team:

• You have more clients or leads than you can handle. You are
actually referring prospects to your competitors.

• You are experiencing an increasing number of missed oppor-
tunities due to constraints of time and resources.

• You find it more and more difficult to meet deadlines or you
are chronically missing deadlines.

• You are making numerous careless mistakes.
• You feel as though you never have enough time to do what

you need or would like to do.
• Family members are complaining that you don't spend enough

quality time at home.
• You skip vacations to catch up on work.