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We’ve spent a lot of time talking with professional freelance sales agents over the last few years. They’ve given us some really interesting insights into what they look for in an opportunity and we’d like to pass on all of this invaluable learning to you as a Company looking to recruit the best self-employed sales professionals. Not all self-employed sales agents are created equal just like no two sales opportunities provide the same value and benefit. However, there are common factors that can help you present your opportunity and your company so you stand out in a way that matters, from your competition. You’ll Learn - The most important factors self-employed sales professionals consider when searching for a new opportunity - Ideas and examples of how to incorporate each factor into your opportunity Lifetime VIP Member Bonuses In addition to the above insights you will also receive: - A personal review of your opportunity including suggestions (if applicable) to ensure you’ve covered all the basis - A copy of the presentation Why are we holding this? Agents tell us time and time again that they are looking to work with Companies who understand and respect the way they work. This series has been developed to give Companies a head start in their recruitment once the CommissionCrowd platform goes live.
Citation preview
Webinar: The top ten factors self-
employed sales agents consider
when choosing to work with a new
company
Founders
Laura McGregor
Co-Founder
Product Development,
Visionary/Architect, Project
Manager, Marketer
Ryan Mattock
Co-Founder
Content Creator, Customer
Development/Support,
Marketer, Growth Hacker
Alistair Robinson
Co-Founder
Lead Developer, Sys
admin, Toolsmith,
Designer
We started Commission Crowd to change the way companies manage remote sales teams and how salespeople build
their independent careers. Our cutting-edge online office platform enables greater communication, task management, and
overall productivity for everyone. It effectively eliminates the wasted time and resources that usually accompany remote
working relationships. The networking and portfolio-building features of CommissionCrowd neutralize the risk of hiring
freelance sales agents without any guarantee in their ability to perform. Because of this, the best self-starters are also able
to take their careers into their own hands better than ever before.
AGENDA
• Overview & Industry Challenges
• Watch Webinar: Understanding Self-Employed Sales Agents
• Private Beta – Lifetime VIP Founding Membership
• The top ten factors self-employed sales agents consider when
choosing to work with a new company
1. Honesty/Integrity
2. Communication
3. Management attitude
4. Company Reputation
5. Commission Amount
6. Attitude around working with self-employed reps
7. Are samples provided
8. Professionalism
9. How long does it take to get paid
10.Customer service
The Solution
A lot of companies today are underperforming heavily because they can’t find the right salespeople, and
find it too difficult to manage a remote sales team. It’s an enormous problem, because having the right
salespeople with the right product to sell can easily mean the difference between success and failure as a
business. CommissionCrowd instantly connects businesses to self-driven commissioned sales experts
around the world, and provides a convenient platform for managing and communicating with them. It
makes remote sales relationships easier than hiring an in-house staff.
Marketplace
Our challenge was to build tools that
service both companies & self-
employed sales agents
independently.
BUT ALSO
That were even more powerful when
a relationship is created between the
two.
=
TE
CH
NO
LO
GY
CommissionCrowd is being built as a Rich Internet Application with
a client-side JavaScript framework, so that we can leverage the full
power of modern browsers. What this means is that although you’ll
get to our application through your phone’s web browser, you won’t
have to wait around for those frustrating page loads once you’re
logged in, because after that happens the full CommissionCrowd
application will be on your phone’s browser already, and will last for
your entire session.
Of course, you’ll still need a connection if you want to access and
save data, but (a) the screen interface itself will be as quick and
responsive as a native app, and (b) downloading small chunks of
data behind the scenes is orders of magnitude faster than reloading
a web page. And (c) we also have secret plans to make things even
better at a later stage by introducing more complete offline
capabilities and data syncing for those on the
We’re not going for new technologies just because they’re sexy; we
firmly believe they’ll help us ensure that your day-to-day experience
on CommissionCrowd is first-rate.
Two paradigms of design and development that are especially dear to us are
responsive design and Rich Internet Applications.
The Solution
Connect – Attract the best, expand and grow
your business
Manage – Save time, resource & money
Collaborate - Eradicateconfusion, save time &
sanity
Sell More - Better processes,
opportunities & relationships
View All Features Here
Watch Now To Learn More
When choosing an opportunity how important are the following factors in
making your decision to contract with a new Company/Principal? Rating
by Importance
Communication Professionalism
Experience working with self-employed reps Commission Amount
Attitude with working with self-employed reps Company Reputation
Exclusive (protected) Territories Sales Targets
How much other reps are currently making Years in business
The average close % How many customers
How long does it take to get paid Customer retention
Are samples provided Sales process
How long is the average sales cycle Ongoing Sales Support/Training
Is training provided Industry
Quality of the training provided Product/Service: Features & Benefits
Personal investment requirement (samples, training
etc.) Lead generation provided
Management attitude Customer service
Company culture Clear expectations
Honesty/Integrity
Notes:
• None of the answers were deemed un-important and all factor in
somewhat in the decision making process
• We will focus on the Top 10 by order of how agents ranked
importance
#1
1.Honesty/Integrity
What does it mean to act honestly?
• Acting honestly requires us to intend to be truthful, accurate and straightforward in all
communications so that others are not misled or deceived. It prohibits stealing, cheating,
fraud, deception and other forms of dishonesty or trickery to acquire anything including
money, influence, unfair advantage, jobs, competitive information or the approval of others.
What does it mean to act with integrity?
• Acting with integrity requires us to treat our beliefs about right and wrong as ground rules
for our behaviour and decision-making – that is, doing what is right even if no one is
looking and not doing wrong even if you believe you can never be caught. It requires us to
walk our talk and to make decisions that are consistent with our values, especially our
ethical values. It involves the elevation of principle over expediency or self-interest.
1.Honesty/Integrity - Example
CODE OF CONDUCT
“THE POWER OF HONESTY - Integrity is the foundation of all we
do. It is a constant. Those with whom we work, live and serve can
rely on us. We align our actions with our words and deliver what
we promise. We build and strengthen our reputation through trust.
We do not improperly influence others or let them improperly
influence us. We are respectful and behave in an open and
honest manner. In short, the reputation of the enterprise reflects
the ethical performance of the people who work here.”
- Caterpillar
1.Honesty/Integrity – Take Away
• Consider creating or reviewing your own business ‘code of
conduct’
• Where does Honesty & Integrity live within your brand?
• How do you define this in terms of your management,
communication, conflict resolution, competitive conduct etc.
• When drafting your opportunity wording how can you position it
to encourage applications from sales agents who have similar
values around honesty and integrity – thereby showcasing the
importance to you.
#2
2. CommunicationThe ability to communicate, and communicate well, is one of the
biggest factors in business success.
• Ask the Right Questions
• Be Professional
• Schedule and Prepare Thoroughly
• Speak, Pause, Listen
• Follow Up in Writing
• Ask for Feedback
• Address Problems
• Be Confident
• Prepare an Elevator Pitch
• Be clear and concise in written communication
2. Communication – Take Away
• CommissionCrowd is building communication tools into the
platform to help you stay organised and professional in your
communication
• Manage expectations and follow through
• Your profile is your first impression. If a sales agents value
communication then ensure your opportunity is written in a clear
and concise way to showcase the value you also place on this
#3
3. Management Attitude – Take Away
• How you approach your relationship with self-employed sales
agents Employee vs. Partnership
• How you resolve issues
• How you set and manage expectations
• How you encourage and anticipate their needs
• The respect you show them in terms of their value and time
• How you understand their challenges and how they like doing
business
• How you support them and your clients
• How you give and receive feedback
• How you encourage, train, manage and empower them
#4
4. Company Reputation
• Just like your customers buy from you because of your reputation
; agents decide to work with you for similar reasons
• CommissionCrowd is building in tools to help add trust factors
from other agents so overtime your opportunity will stand out if
you can build successful working partnerships with agents
• It’s not just your company and products and services it’s also
your management, support and any other touch point a rep has
with your business that determines your overall reputation in their
eyes
4. Reputation – Take Away
• Do a reputation analysis on various factors of your business and
position your opportunity to ensure you’re highlighting why
people like buying your products/services
• Include testimonials from other agents and customers/clients
• Audit your online reputation by searching your company name
and know what people are saying about you
• Trust factors like member/industry associations, review sites,
social media presence, years in business all help to give agents
confidence in your opportunity
#5
5. Commission Structure
• The most important thing you must consider is the earning
potential for your opportunity – can an agent actually make a
decent living selling your product/service
• Agents love residual commissions
• Give us much as you can and still make a profit – be fair &
transparent
5. Commission Structure – Take Away
• Show both conservative and advanced earning potential
• Offer added incentives if targets are met
• Consider compensation for:
• New business
• Existing customer upsells
• Retention / win-back
#6 Attitude around working with self-employed reps
Attitude is everything when it comes to working
Successfully with self-employed sales agents
• You must recognise that they are not your employees. They wish
to be seen as partners in a business.
• You must be willing to accept the level of information they want
to share with you
• Share the attitude that your sales agents are looking for long term
partnerships and not short term solutions
• You can never be tempted to let a sales rep go for being
‘too successful’ and earning very high levels of commission
6.
Take everything you knew, or thought you knew and start again.
Openness and transparency is everything to a good sales agent.
Remember, attitude works both ways and not every company will
Be a good fit.
Do not get over excited when the applications start coming in.
Make sure you speak with each sales agent and before
agreeing to go into business together.
6. Attitude Takeaway
# 7 Samples
Are samples and marketing materials provided?7.
• Your sales agents need great samples to show clients
• Your Marketing materials need to be up-to date
• Are you willing to invest in new materials if needed?
• Is your website up-to-date?
• What kind of materials will your team need in order to do business?
#8
8. Professionalism
• Keep your word
• Give your full effort
• Act appropriately
• Be knowledgeable
• Be generous
• Be honest
8. Professionalism – Take Away
• If you’ve done everything else here so far you’re opportunity will
be shining with professionalism
• Ensure this carries through in all your communications
• Ensure you understand and communicate your business strategy
and how sales agents can help you achieve it
#9
9. How long does it take to get paid – Take Away
• Not all agents will look for a short sales cycle and short pay
periods. Some agents like a mix of long and short sales cycles in
their pipeline.
• Agents understand that there is likely a delay in receiving
commissions as you will need to collect payment from customer.
Be open and transparent and clearly set out pay terms. Then
stick to them.
• Communicate any issues or delays immediately
#10
10. Customer Service – Take Away
• Agents need to know that you can service your customers in a
timely and efficient manner
• They need to know what kind of support is available, how you
resolve issues and generally how reliable it is
• Let them know the level of support available to them and to
customers and how happy your existing customers are too.
Other key factors ranked by importance
11 Clear expectations
12 Is training provided
13 Personal investment requirement (samples, training etc.)
14 Product/Service: Features & Benefits
15 Exclusive (protected) Territories
16 Quality of the training provided
17 Sales process
18 Experience working with self-employed reps
19 Ongoing Sales Support/Training
20 Industry
21 Customer retention
22 Company culture
23 How long is the average sales cycle
24 Lead generation provided
25 Sales Targets
26 Years in business
27 How many customers
28 How much other reps are currently making
29 The average close %
Other Webinars
Contact Us
Laura McGregor
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0131 618 2300
Ryan Mattock
Email: [email protected]
Alistair Robinson
Email: [email protected]
www.commissioncrowd.com
We’re developing in the South
of France in a tiny village
called Simorre
