Do you need an extra person to manage your sales for a short-term project? Or would you like to try having a test-drive sales manager before fully committing? Then hiring a freelancer to manage your sales instead of a full-time employee is a great idea. A freelancer can be as helpful as a regular employee, while the price is much lower. But you need to put in the work to find the right match.
Look out for the Most Important Professional Skills
When looking for the perfect freelancer, ensure you know what qualities they need to boost your sales. When you have the list of relevant skills in mind, the answer to the question of how to hire freelancer like content writers for a sales job is right in front of you.
So here are some of the most important professional qualities you should be looking for:
- Knowledge of your product (or at least willingness to learn about it). If you need a person to help you sell your app, it’s not a good idea to hire someone who has only ever sold “traditional” products akin to cars or furniture. Look for someone with experience in sales in the industry same as or similar to yours.
- Understanding of customer relationship management (CRM). Building and maintaining customer relationships is the most crucial skill a sales manager must have. So ask the freelancer you’re considering about their training and experience with CRM.
- Exceptional communication skills. Active listening, rapport-building, confidence, and other communication skills are the foundation of sales manager success. Check the candidate’s resume for them, and pay attention to their communication competence during the interview.
Decide What You’re Looking For
Unless your business is tiny, one person can’t be in charge of all things sales. Instead, you want a few sales representatives and a manager to oversee and guide their work. So it might be a good idea to create a list of things you expect the freelancer you’ll hire to do. This way, you’ll be able to compare their skills and experience to their job at your company.
Employers who have yet to gain experience in sales themselves are better off getting professional advice first. It can be someone at your company who used to work as a sales manager, a friend with relevant experience, or a career expert. Ask them all the right questions (related to what your goals and expectations are)—and they’ll help you come up with a list of things to prioritize in candidates.
Use Reliable Freelance Platforms to Look for Candidates
There’s no shortage of online freelance platforms where you can find a competent sales manager. But unless you’ve used one of them before and were happy with the result, it’s better to stick to the most well-known and reliable ones. Start with these:
- Upwork needs no introductions—you can find an experienced and skilled freelancer for almost any job there. And they have lists of the best freelancers in each category (including sales managers), so your search gets even easier.
- Fiverr is an excellent alternative to Upwork, but it’s mostly for short-term projects. So if you’re looking for a sales manager for a long partnership, Fiverr isn’t the best choice.
- Skillhub may not be as well-known as Upwork or Fiverr, but you can find a great sales manager here for a fraction of the price you’d pay to one of the top Upwork professionals. And the talent pool is narrower on Skillhub—you can avoid choice overload.
…Or Rely on Networking
If you struggle with trusting strangers, that’s okay. An alternative to using freelance platforms is to ask around. If you have a lot of friends in the business world, one of them might connect you with a perfect freelancer for your needs. Or one of the sales managers you know might be freshly out of a job and will happily take on a freelance project for a change.
By the way, no matter what your industry is, never take networking lightly; LinkedIn can help you stay in touch with everyone who can potentially help your career one day. Just make sure to text them every once in a while to avoid being known as that person. The one who texts their friends and colleagues only when they need something.
Schedule an Interview First
Freelance platforms do a great job checking freelancers, but that’s never enough. If you really want to find someone who’ll do what you ask of them, you need to interview candidates. Make sure that their vision of their job as a sales manager aligns with yours, that they’re driven, and, most importantly, that their communication skills match what their resume promises.
Some employers are reluctant to interview freelancers because the stakes are lower compared to the recruitment of regular employees. But if you trust a candidate without talking to them first, there’s a high risk of hiring someone who has no idea what they’re doing or whose vision is the opposite of yours. And you’ll have no one to blame for the poor outcome but yourself.
Negotiate the Pay
Finally, make sure to discuss how you’re going to pay the freelance sales manager you hire. Sure, the best way is to pay for sales, meaning have them work for the percentage of the revenue they bring your company; however, it’s a great way to motivate a freelancer and maximize their productivity.
But if you’ve been recommended a perfect candidate with stellar reviews and relevant experience, don’t miss out on the chance to hire them just because of the pay. They might request a guaranteed fixed amount of money on top of the percentage from sales. So if you feel their expertise is worth it, take the offer.
An Afterword
Hiring a freelancer to manage your sales is easier than ever, thanks to the abundance of online freelance platforms. Upwork, Fiverr, and Skillhub are all great places to look for candidates and different freelancing tips like how to write content that sells. But to end up with a perfect person, set your expectations, assess their skills, and don’t hire anyone without an interview. Good luck!