Good salespeople in our industry are incredibly hard to come by. Top performers command premium salaries that new agencies often cannot afford.
Rather than accepting this limitation, I adopted an alternative strategy: developing sales capabilities internally.
Training Over Hiring
Experienced professionals, though skilled, may struggle to adapt to rapidly evolving organizations.
My hiring shifted from prioritizing credentials to evaluating willingness to learn. Remarkably, some of my best performers came from industries unrelated to design and development.
Potential matters more than pedigree.
Structured Development Programs
Effective onboarding begins immediately. New employees shouldn’t fail due to inadequate preparation.
Systemized onboarding processes equip hires with necessary tools and knowledge from day one.
My agency established a training academy focusing on each sales process stage:
- Lead generation
- Quote development
- Presentation effectiveness
Team members shadowed the studio, observed presentations, and participated in sales calls to develop comprehensive understanding.
The Common Objection
“What if I train them and they leave?”
My counterpoint: What if you don’t and they stay?
Rather than viewing training as a loss if employees leave, frame it as essential infrastructure for building consistently high-performing teams.
The Bottom Line
You probably can’t afford to hire the best salespeople.
But you can develop them. Build the training program, invest in your people, and create the sales capability your agency needs.
The skills are learnable. You just have to commit to teaching them.