Running a small busines: sales, business development, marketing

skolbe said:
The advice when I went out on my own after a very successful sales career in software I was told - go into the business with the attitude that this is the only way I can put food on the table - another job is not an option. In my mind a small business with 4 years still has a lot to figure out and has not been tested in a down economy. Any time I took a sales job. There were always some surprises - that nobody shared in the interview process. None of which were good things. To get a big ticket sales career going - it takes 6 to 9 months to figure everything out. With my own business I work 12 hour days and spend quite a bit of timing managing people. When I sold in the software industry - I never worked this hard. If you want to talk specifics - feel free to PM - me. But if you are thinking of buying the business. I doubt it is worth what the owner thinks it is worth. It may make sense to have a discussion now instead of later.
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Good feedback and I have asked some of these questions. I am not interested in ownership, more learning how to grow a business and be a part of that growth.

I have done 2 career changes, both hurt financially short term but paid off in the end.
 
* Have an attorney create the company structure and state filing. If there are partners, ensure you fully understand who gets what under all circumstances (especially exits).
* Go on line and create Fed Tax-ID # and your state's Unemployment & Witholding accounts.
* Go online and set up State sales tax accounts.
* If your hired help is employees, you can go on-line and search for going rates whether its technical or sales. Look at Careerbuilder for rates of all types of employees (within the state you are hiring). If you hire out of state, you have to register payroll tax and unemployment for that state...big hassle. Other ramifications here if you sell into a state where you have an employee...your accountant can review with you.
*Do everything you can yourself to keep expenses down. You can pay Fed payroll taxes via their web https://www.eftps.com/eftps/. Payroll and daily accounting can be done by hand or cheaply with Quickbooks. Have your accountant set up Chart of Accounts and show you some basics and then use them only for questions and year end Federal/State tax forms. You can create payroll, do state sales tax, employment taxes while watching TV at night...it's not rocket science.
* if you are goinig with Consultants in lieu of employees, note the Federal government thinks of consultants as employees so they will go after you for payroll taxes unless they consult for other companies also.
* Go to web to find consulting contracts as examples. Change the State venue and terms you don't like...add others. Same for employee contracts. Cheaper than attorney. I never to go attorney for what I can get from web.
* Find thin book on creating companies and make a checklist with what all to do.
* Trademark your company name and products as soon as you can. Do it yourself to save expenses. Not rocket science. http://www.uspto.gov/ Follow directions given.
* Find sample contract between your company and end user and modify. Maybe your present company has one. If your idea is very unique, go to attorney to create contract.
* Create marketing brochures and drop pieces yourself. Hand draw something and create text and the outsource to the millions of freelance contractors. http://www.elance.com/p/landing/buyer.html is example.
* Same for web site. Then learn how to modify simple text after your site is created...save $$. Don't pick a company name that doesn't bode well as a web site name; such as one with 50 letters. People don't like keying in a ton of characters. Check web domain availability before you finalize a company name to see if available.
This is a start. Good luck,
 
After owning a business for 5 years - I learned that my sales experience helped me grow it but my sales experience did not teach me the back end management stuff that I also needed to know. I find myself continually working on that.
 
I started a small business about 4+ years ago and I will tell you that it is time consuming...and it is a lot of hard work...BUT...it is extremely rewarding and a heck of a lot of fun. I have never looked back.
Before starting this company, I worked in sales (within the same industry) for 15 years. I learned a lot from this sales experience, but not half as much as I have learned in the past 4 years running and owning a business. We now have 6 employees. And there are challenges everyday (as stated in other posts)....but it sure beats working for someone else.

Many folks here have stated that "the economy is bad....or we are in a recession. Its not a good time to jump ship." Well, that is certainly true for some businesses / industries....but not all. Without knowing what industry you are in, no one can realy say whether it is a good time or not to embark on a new carrer in sales. If you have a one-of-a-kind product / service, it may be the perfect time to get into sales and learn the business.

You will always encounter a lot of nay-sayers. Everyone will tell you of all the negatives. "You can go broke......you won't have any time to go on your boat.....what if the company doesn't do enough marketing, what if, what if, what if". You should be looking at all of the positives. BTW -there is no job security in any company...big or small. That has been re-affirmed with all of the recent news about Lehman, AIG, Bear Sterns, Worldcom, Enron etc. There were many empoyees in those companies that thought they were lifers.....now they are starting all over....most of them without a 401K to fall back on.

I'll end my rant with one last statement......

Look at all of the wealthiest people in this country.....did they get wealthy working for some large company???

Good luck with your decsion.
 
mrsrobinson said:
I initiated talks with a small business recently about a business opportunity for both of us. I have always had a passion for either starting my own business or working for a small company, helping grow the business. The talks have been going on for a few months now and so far so good. It's in my industry so that is a plus for me. I have spent a lot of time with the owner and I have met most of the employees. It feels like a really good fit. The company currently does not have a sales role...the owner has been doing most of the sales.

I have been working for small companies the past 8+ years in an effort to learn more about business.

I know I have a lot to learn and I know this will not be easy. I am up for the challenge though and very excited.

Having never officially done sales, I would like to start learning "how to" if you will now, before we make the decision.

I know there are some small business owners on this forum so I would like to hear "How you do/did it" and/or what are some good references, like a web site, a book, a class, etc.

What were some of your "lessons learned" along the way?

I am asking the owner a lof of questions, but I am sure I am missing some. What question(s) should I be asking to get a feel for this company (financially, internally, etc) and the role?

What software or online resources do you use?

How does a sales person get paid? Yeah, I know, commission, but what's a typical structure? What should I be asking for if you will? Expenses?

This is a pretty big deal for me and my family and I have a lot of respect for the folks here, which is why I chose to post here. If you can, please keep the Greg is this/that sarcasm to a minimum.

PM or email me if you are not comfortable replying.


Thanks,
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I own a small business (50 employees) and have been selling technology solutions for about 15 years. I've read many books and attended a number of sales classes. I've hired and fired many sales people. Most books/classes are more motivational than practical. They simply present obvious things in an interesting way. They can be good for getting you moving, but I don't find them to be long-term solutions.

The best class/process that we've ever used is from a guy named John Costigan out of North Carolina (http://www.johncostigan.com). His process is very practical and realistic, and it is fairly aggressive. His stuff works and it is fun, because it takes you out of "selling".

PM me and I'll give my number and you can call me and I'll share more details.
 
Consider the Dale Carnegie sales course.

Now Greg, if you find the various roll playing exercises embarrassing, take it as a clear sigh that sales is not for you.

I took the class and utilize very little from what they taught however that is not the point. The point was to see if you were in your comfort zone when in various situations. If not, could you grow your comfort zone?

They take things to a extreme level to illustrate the lessons. You can’t get on your knees and beg in front of your classmates even for something stupid that they made up? Then your personality is likely not compatible with selling.

If you don’t have time, read “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”
 
"Consider the Dale Carnegie sales course. "

My dad suggested this too. His suggestion, like yours, was take this course prior to making a move.
 
sb in gp said:
I own a small business (50 employees) and have been selling technology solutions for about 15 years. I've read many books and attended a number of sales classes. I've hired and fired many sales people. Most books/classes are more motivational than practical. They simply present obvious things in an interesting way. They can be good for getting you moving, but I don't find them to be long-term solutions.

The best class/process that we've ever used is from a guy named John Costigan out of North Carolina (http://www.johncostigan.com). His process is very practical and realistic, and it is fairly aggressive. His stuff works and it is fun, because it takes you out of "selling".

PM me and I'll give my number and you can call me and I'll share more details.
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"selling technology solutions for about 15 years"

The company I am looking at does exactly this.

They have found a niche in the market with a Microsoft Product/Software and for now they appear to be the only player in the market around here. If you need a consultant for a turn key solution or for a short term gig, they are the folks to contact. They work on other projects but right now this is the bulk of their business.

The owner and I have talked about the current economy and yes, like most he is concerned. I share the same concern. This is not a done deal. He has some thinking to do on his end too. This is not an advertised role/position...I approached him. I like his model, I like him and I like the employees I have met. So I approached him with a general "tell me about your company, how you got started, etc" which turned into a conversation about where I am, my goals, my passions, etc.

I got into IT consulting after the dot com bust, when everyone said it was the wrong time. I took a big salary cut, came from a totally unrelated field (no professional IT experience at all), joined a start up who had no CV backing. I was employee #3 not counting the 3 owners, and I did well. After 2+ years i went off on my own for a while and then joined a small company as the head IT guy wearing many hats.

I mention this to share I am up for the challenge and the risk. Long hours, long days, time away from the boat do not scare me.

I am doing my 'due diligence' if you will now making sure I ask good questions and cover as much as I can prior to making a decision and maybe a move.

The responses have been fantastic, thanks.
 
mrsrobinson said:
"selling technology solutions for about 15 years"

The company I am looking at does exactly this.

They have found a niche in the market with a Microsoft Product/Software and for now they appear to be the only player in the market around here. If you need a consultant for a turn key solution or for a short term gig, they are the folks to contact. They work on other projects but right now this is the bulk of their business.

The owner and I have talked about the current economy and yes, like most he is concerned. I share the same concern. This is not a done deal. He has some thinking to do on his end too. This is not an advertised role/position...I approached him. I like his model, I like him and I like the employees I have met. So I approached him with a general "tell me about your company, how you got started, etc" which turned into a conversation about where I am, my goals, my passions, etc.

I got into IT consulting after the dot com bust, when everyone said it was the wrong time. I took a big salary cut, came from a totally unrelated field (no professional IT experience at all), joined a start up who had no CV backing. I was employee #3 not counting the 3 owners, and I did well. After 2+ years i went off on my own for a while and then joined a small company as the head IT guy wearing many hats.

I mention this to share I am up for the challenge and the risk. Long hours, long days, time away from the boat do not scare me.

I am doing my 'due diligence' if you will now making sure I ask good questions and cover as much as I can prior to making a decision and maybe a move.

The responses have been fantastic, thanks.
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Good luck. I think you'll do fine. In my experience people that win, will win in virtually any environment.
 
After 5+ meetings, lunches, meeting everyone at the company, attending and participating in a sales opportunity, things have progressed to "you are good at this, lets make this happen".

My technical background coupled with my business experience makes me a natural at this sales thing!

Thanks to all for the great feedback here, now it's time to figure out how to pay me for this! If this works out the way I think it will this could be a BIG opportunity for me (they are close to buying another company), though short term it may be tough as I may have to go without income for a while.

We have started the talks about compensation/commission, and, as expected they put 100% commission on the table with sharing profits likely in the future. I can do this for a while, just a matter of taking a chance.
 
Good luck. Commissioned sales can be very rewarding, but also very stressful.
 
What I like about this opportunity is yes, it's sales, but there is opportunity for a lot more since the company is small and I would be working directly with the owner.
 
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If you are on 100% commission, how would you get compensated for "a lot more" and "working directly with the owner"?
 
Profit sharing and ownership/partnership plus being involved in the day to day of running a small business. It's really just him and billable folks right now with a small internal admin staff. I see this as an opportunity to grow and sell the business, and be a part of that growth and possible sale. I also see it as an opportunity to learn how to manage and run a small business.

What I am trying to say is if XYZ 25+ year old company offered me the same role to just do sales, I would not be interested. It's the company and opportunity that's appealing to me with this role.
 
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Opportunities like this dont come around every day, if it is truly viable in your opinion, and it seems like it is.

If you can go for at least a year without any income, then go for it.

It may be scary, but most entrepreneurs push the fear away and go for it. To me, this is an entrepreneurial endeavor. Go for it!
 
Technical sales positions such as this one seems to be are an exercise in problem solving. Successful problem solvers who communicate well can make a lot of money, for both their companies and for themselves. I have found that often the key is framing the problem is such a way that it can be solved. A multi-step sales process involving getting the client to sign-off on the problem definition phase before proceeding to the next phase seems to work most of the time; you have to get the client to agree on a fee schedule that compensates you as you go. Even if you are unsuccessful in providing the solution that they ultimately employ (once the problem is defined, sometimes they will come up with the solution themselves), you have provided value to them in the problem-definition phase and ought to be compensated accordingly.

Best of luck!
 
tmhudson2 said:
Technical sales positions such as this one seems to be are an exercise in problem solving. Successful problem solvers who communicate well can make a lot of money, for both their companies and for themselves. I have found that often the key is framing the problem is such a way that it can be solved. A multi-step sales process involving getting the client to sign-off on the problem definition phase before proceeding to the next phase seems to work most of the time; you have to get the client to agree on a fee schedule that compensates you as you go. Even if you are unsuccessful in providing the solution that they ultimately employ (once the problem is defined, sometimes they will come up with the solution themselves), you have provided value to them in the problem-definition phase and ought to be compensated accordingly.

Best of luck!
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Thanks Tom

You always have well thought out, caring great advice here...I appreciate it.
 
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