marketing strategy

[ironlady]

I just started out my firm but am thinking of employing a part time employee to do marketing for my company.

What do I need to provide my employee with in order for her to successfully visit clients and introduce my company's services ?? I am very new to this so dont have an idea.. hope some of you can advise.

Also , I notice that in some companies, the marketing or sales staff are paid a basic and commision..in my case.. what kind of commision do I offer my staff ?

Thanks in advance!

[Strong Eagle]

First of all, marketing and sales are two very different things. Your marketing strategy is how you position your product, your company, and your approach. If you are selling soap, is it high end 'designer' soap? Is it for the ladies? Do you sell only in high end boutiques or do you sell internet as well? Do you engage in partnerships and symbiotic relationships, for example, sell a package with someone else's shampoo? How and where do you advertise? What is your target market? What is your competition and how do you differentiate? How do you justify your prices? This is a marketing strategy and plan. This ought to be pretty much in place before you go out and sell.

Which it seems is the question you are asking... how do I select a good sales person to represent my company and sell products or services.

A key trait of every good sales person is the ability to empathize, to develop a trust relationship so that the customer can believe in the product and company.

Second, the sales person must be able to sell solutions. She/he identifies the problem the customer has and shows how the product solves the problem. You'll never sell anything unless it solves a problem.

Your sales person needs to clearly understand your marketing plan, your audience, so that she/he can sell the product as a solution.

As for commissions, this really depends on the selling price and sales cycle time. People who sell large ticket items that may take months or years typically get most of their compensation in fixed salary with a bonus for successful targets. For small ticket items with very short sales cycles, most or all compensation will be commissions. You really have to determine what incentivizes your sales staff. Without knowing anything of what you sell, you might consider a base that barely pays the bills plus a commission structure based on monthly and quarterly revenues... say 10 percent to make quota increasing to maybe 20 percent for double.