When You Need More Sales Help, Just Look Outside

The common denominator across all business types is revenue. You need to be able to sell your product or service in order to stay in business. For young businesses, building up the prospect and sales pipeline can be a time-consuming task, eating up critical hours without producing any short-term revenue. Not having a reliable revenue stream, however, makes it difficult for businesses to hire the sales and marketing help they need to help generate that stream.

It may seem like a somewhat hopeless Catch-22 scenario, but other businesses successfully navigate their way through this startup and growth dilemma – and you can, too, with some valuable resources from outside of your company. Just remember that while you’re seeking help from the outside, assess how your presence appears to those you reach out to. Investing in your brand image and online presence displays your professionalism and appeals to quality workers and customers alike, enhancing your sales efforts. 

If your business needs help with its branding, e-commerce strategy, and digital footprint, check out the following insights.

Celebrate independence

Hiring temporary, independent contractors and workers gives businesses several advantages over permanent hires. First, you keep your overhead low by avoiding benefits and other perks and requirements that regularly accompany employer-employee relationships, and it’s easier to avoid legal entanglements if the relationship doesn’t work out. Second, many contractors and consultants have years of expertise that might prohibit you from hiring them permanently due to their salary requirements but is certainly affordable on a temporary basis. Third, It's much easier to scale up and down according to your needs and your finances – simply add more workers when you need them and release them when you don’t.

Adding temporary employees is also a useful way to try out an individual for a permanent position. Many temporary and staffing agencies have personnel looking for both short- and long-term temporary work, as well as temp-to-hire positions. Another option is to take advantage of the proliferation of online freelance and contractor platforms that allow you to search for workers and agencies that meet your sales and marketing needs.

Finally, don’t forget your own personal and professional network. Not only is your circle a good way to get a trusted referral from an independent contractor or freelancer that someone you respect has used and had success with, but you may very well find someone – or a relative or friend of someone you know – who has the sales and marketing expertise you need and is looking for a temporary opportunity to make some extra money.

Celebrate technology

If sales and marketing manpower isn’t the problem, examine whether some of your sales and marketing processes could be streamlined through a technology solution. A customer relationship management system, or CRM, can track your prospects, contacts, and goals, saving time and adding efficiency to your efforts. Make sure that your sales and marketing team members – whether permanent or temporary – are well-trained in whatever system you select and that they are working as an integrated team.

Other technological strategies that can enhance and bolster your efforts include email marketing and social media campaigns. Email marketing can be particularly effective because your recipients have already agreed to “opt-in” to receive your emails, making them receptive to your communications. People are also more reliably attending to their email inbox each day than they are on social media. Additionally, to save online storage space, use this free tool to reduce PDF file size and to make it easier to send larger files online. 

Something else to consider: if you plan on doing some work from home (including video meetings), you’ll need to set up a professional home office where you can work. If your home requires some renovations to provide you with the space you need – like expanding a room or adding windows to let in more natural light – the added benefit is that many renovations also improve your home’s value, should you decide to sell down the road.

Help within your reach

Building and running a business is nerve-wracking, and you won’t need to seek out things to worry about – they will find you! Revenue generation is a top-of-mind worry for many business owners, but by casting a wide net outside your company and across the available human and technological resources, as well as presenting a professional and credible brand, you can find several options that just might make you sleep a bit better.