The Different Types of Sales Support for Small Business

Sales is arguably one of the most critical functions inside your business - right up there with exceptional service and delivery. Without the two, you don’t really have much of a business.

Some people are excellent at sales. Others are excellent at what they do. It can be hard to excel at both, which is why so many entrepreneurs seek outside support once they’ve reached a certain level of success and want to continue to grow their revenues.

Because sales functions will differ business to business and because there is no one size fits all approach to growth, it’s critical to understand the different types of sales support that exist and how to identify which one you need.

Social Setters

Social setters are people that fill your calendar with appointments. Depending on the setter they may need to work from a script or they may be adept enough to work within a high converting framework. If the former - make sure you’re using a proven script or framework. IE something you’ve used and had success with in the past. Don’t pass off a garbage, unproven script with the expectation of appointments. Setters are not miracle workers nor should they be.

This position is best deployed when leveraging warm prospects inside your network. AKA people you have an existing relationship with where there’s a high chance they’ll be happy to hear from you and hop on a call.

Once the call has been made the social setter’s job is done - and now it’s your turn to move the prospect through the rest of the sales process.

Social Sellers

Social sellers are people who have a background in sales and can effectively forge relationships online. Their job is two fold: expand your network by seeking out ideal clients on social platforms and leverage existing marketing assets and efforts to then invite those people into your sales process. They’ll be able to discern between implicit and explicit buying signals and will know when someone needs some warming up (aka social selling) and when they are ready to be invited to a call. A social seller will possess all the same skills as a social setter, will likely not need to work off of scripts and will be able to move people to a call without much management.

This position is best deployed if you are already leveraging the low hanging sales fruit inside your business, have consistent inbound sales inquiries and have the budget and appetite to hire a more seasoned sales specialist that can engage with colder leads.

Sales Manager

Sales Managers are people who have a proven track record in closing sales and moving people through a sales process. They’ll be able to perform the functions of both a social setter, and a social seller and in some cases will be able to conduct the sales conversations themselves.

These individuals will come at a higher price tag given their expertise but as is the case with most sales positions - they’ll pay for themselves.

This position is best deployed if you already have a proven sales process and want to hire an experienced sales professional to move your prospects through it.

Sales Consultant

Sales consultants are experienced sales professionals with a proven track record in growing revenues. They’ll have experience performing all 3 of the aforementioned roles and will be able to identify and improve upon gaps in your sales process and/or create a new sales process for you. They’ll help you understand what sales metrics to track, which sales activities move the needle for your particular business and can help identify how to best leverage your social seller or social setter. They would perform a fractional VP Sales or Chief Revenue Officer Role, having experience with sales and revenue planning, revenue forecasting, sales training.

This position is best deployed if you are uncertain which role would be most beneficial inside your company, if you aren’t confident in your existing sales process and if your average conversion rate is below 50%. A sales consultant can creating the sales infrastructure necessary to be able to hire social setters, sellers and managers.

Still unsure of what kind of sales support you need? I have 20 years experience selling services both B2B and B2C, and have performed all 4 functions through my career. Send me a message to set up a no pressure conversation about what type of sales support would best suit your business needs.