Hi all, I'd love to get any/all thoughts on this.

Sales is no my greatest strength. I'm good at making contacts but not great at closing the deal. I'm also not great at marketing campaigns. I think this is really starting to stand in the way of business growth for me so I've been toying with the idea of hiring someone on a PT basis to do sales and marketing. My big problem is that I don't have the budget for a salary so I was thinking PT with an hourly wage + a % of the business they bring in. Maybe 10% or so. The person I'm thinking of for this position is probably someone with a full time job who is just looking to make a little bit of extra cash on the side in the evenings. Someone who is probably already into marketing/sales in some capacity or perhaps a student who wants to put their education to practical use.

So...I guess I'm just looking for some feedback. I've hired dozens of people but never to be my personal employee and never for a job like this. Anyone have any experience/insight they'd like to share? What do you think a fair rate would be for a job like this? In looking on Craigslist I'm seeing rates from $10-20/hour. I think a student would actually be perfect for this position since, with their help, I could use university meeting space and get into university functions and those folks are a prime target for me. I could throw in a bonus for when they find space for me to use that I don't have to pay for or something...

*sigh* So complicated.

Anyway, as you can see, this was kind of stream of consciousness so I'd appreciate your feedback.

Have you considered hiring a business coach, someone who specializes in sales and marketing? They require much less paperwork, you don’t have to train them, and they are easier to fire.

It's something I've thought of but I think it's out of my price range at this point. I also don't know that they'd do the leg-work I'm thinking about but would be more about planning. Maybe I'm wrong... Whoever I hire would be 1099 not W2 and as an independent consultant they would be pretty easy to fire if it wasn't going well...

Thanks for the idea. I think I'll send out a few feelers in my network to see their thoughts.

If you want someone to do marketing, you're not going to get anyone decent to do it for a base rate plus commission. Performance-based pay for marketing is flawed. I don't know anyone who will do it...even at the entry-level...unless they're desperate. You might be able to get someone to do sales, but, again, I'm not sure that's very likely. Many sales pipelines take months to fill. In the full-time paid workforce, sales positions are actually topped up for up to a year, since it takes time to build a pipeline. You're looking at part-time work, so you're going to have to go with a good hourly rate. Most contractors expect 2-3 times what they would make in an hourly job. When I was in university 15 years ago, $10 an hour was a decent rate for something like this. With inflation, you're looking at a minimum of $15.

For $15-20 an hour, you *might* be able to get someone in second or third year of college. The job market is booming and my last ad for a $10 an hour position went unfilled -- and I was looking for someone in first year, with absolutely no experience and an offer to mentor them.

For someone who has graduated and wants to do this part-time after work, you're looking at $35-40 an hour for an entry-level person.

Have you looked into the PR Store for some of the marketing that you need?

I have no experience with them, but I see them advertised on TV, and their website is decent. Of course, this won't fill your sales needs, but there's a chance that it's a start.

Also, if you're thinking of a college student, IMO the best way to target them is to post on campus on bulletin boards and kiosks, with lots of rip-off tabs at the bottom of the ad. That way there's not as many distractions grabbing their attention (like on Craigslist, which has so many competing listings.)

Find a good one and hire them on a piecework basis, in other words the more they sale the more they make