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I have a new services business which will be marketing a product to professional services firms in the UK. Unfortunately, for reasons which are unavoidable and not material to this question, I have to live in the US.

So, I need a sales person to go and close the sales. Unfortunately, advertising on gumtree (the UK's equivalent of craigslist) has not helped. No-one I know is especially keen, either.

I'm looking to recruit someone, preferably with a sales or professional services background, who can do the sales for a generous commission (25% of the profits on each sale to the clients they sign up, in the first year of each such client using our service). As this is such a key role, it is almost equivalent to a partner. I'm not sure if that really impacts recruitment strategy at the candidate-solicitation state.

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Is your business in the UK, and you happen to be in the US? Or is your business in the US? – DJClayworth Aug 15 '12 at 19:07
@DJClayworth I'm in the US, my potential customers are in the UK. – Marcin Aug 15 '12 at 20:43

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25% of the profits means nothing: how much profit per sale and how many projected sales per year? Your recruitment strategy will depend on how much these figures represent in potential income.

If your pricing is low you'll come to realize that selling a low-priced product is a serious marketing challenge. And if your pricing is high, which in turn makes for a long sales cycle, that's also a marketing challenge.

Take a look at this question too: What's a typical sales compensation for professional services firms?

Good luck.

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Thanks, this is very useful. – Marcin Aug 15 '12 at 20:46
BTW, if you could switch to an inside sales distribution strategy then it wouldn't matter where you were: you'd just call people and sell them your service over the phone. For sure, personal direct sales yields a higher closing ratio than a remote inside sales approach but if your target market can be reached over the phone, that could turn out good for you because what you'd give up in closing ratio might be less than what you'd gain in terms of reaching a larger amount of prospects. – frenchie Aug 15 '12 at 22:03
Agreed, but that's very much a backup plan. The issue is that there is an established leader offering the same service, whose value for money is awful, but professional services firms, especially law firms are extremely conservative. As my service is also new, it will be extremely difficult to acquire some initial customers over the phone with no live demonstrations and face-to-face presentations. Also, I don't really know what "an inside sales distribution strategy" is - is there a good book to read to learn such things? – Marcin Aug 15 '12 at 22:22
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Inside sales simply means that salespeople sell "inside", over the phone, as opposed to outside sales where salespeople go out and sell in person. Take a look at amazon.com/How-Close-Every-Sale-Girard/dp/0446389293 It's an old book but very much a classic. As for the demo, you could make it work with Youtube: people want to be entertained, even if they're conservative lawyers! You could even use AdWords and say "Using or considering product XYZ? Then take a look at this video" where XYZ is your competitor. Be creative and you'll find solutions that might work better than outside sales. – frenchie Aug 15 '12 at 22:38
Thanks. This is definitely food for thought. – Marcin Aug 15 '12 at 22:41
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