Hire Estimators Who Have Social Media Experience
Posted by David Chism | Thu, Sep 29, 2016
If you are looking to hire a salesperson (estimator) for your home improvement business, may I suggest that you strongly consider this prerequisite: Make sure the prospective estimator has some experience with social media and is not afraid to do a little bit of social media work when he/she comes to work for you. Over the years I have worked with many quality painting companies around the U.S. and have had the privilege to interview potential salespeople for some of them. I have also interacted with many estimators who were hired by my clients. In most cases, the estimators are not very tech savvy or do not have much social media experience. Many of these folks also did not seem to have the desire to learn and embrace some of the latest innovations in technology and online social media.
Why Is It Important for a Salesperson to Embrace Social Media?
It is really quite simple. If you can hire a salesperson who has a good understanding of social media, whether it be Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter, chances are that he or she can put that knowledge to work for you. They should be able to help build your company’s’ brand and sell more work over time. Social media done right is really not very different from marketing with traditional forms of social events: tradeshows, networking events, mixers and so forth. Social media is also a way to educate one’s audience and build a reputation of trust with consumers. If a salesperson can do this on their own and/or assist the marketing department, you’ll definitely see results. There’s not much more to add at this time. I just wanted to put a bug in your ear about adding social media experience as a “nice to have” when looking for salespeople. Obviously, you can provide training if someone does not know all that much about online marketing or social media outlets, but it sure doesn’t hurt to find someone who already has that form of education under their belt. It might even be far more important than a college degree!
About David Chism
David Chism started his business out of a passion for helping small contracting businesses grow, be more profitable and become better known to their target clients. One lifelong hobby of David is using techie gadgets. So this blog is a place where he writes about technology, marketing ideas, just for fun (humor), personal thoughts on small business and more.