This is a turbulent time for relations between Canada and the US. For many organizations B2B sales to the US is still essential. We recently had a session through the Communitech Sales Leaders P2P and Outposts. Karen Klink from Outposts set-up the session and had we had a panel consisting of Kristina McDougall (Managing Partner at Artemis) and feature Jill Juntzi (VP People and Culture at Miovision), John Beresford (CRO at BrandPilot AI), Kristen Condon (Chief Customer Officer at Sales Talent Agency).
Here are a few of my takeaways from the session. Some of the highlights included general start-up sales ideas, not just focusing on B2B Sales to the US.
The Right Sales Resource
There was a good decision on the right sales resource for your business. You may not need a senior VP of Sales, you may need a BDR focused on sales to the US. There was also talk about where that resource could be located. Many organizations can sell to the US with Canadian resources.There are many factors that could relate to who you are selling to, the complexity of sales, and the amount of face to face meetings that are needed. As an example, selling to the government in the US for them means a local and senior sales resource.
Keys to Recruiting Sale People in the US
Some of the feedback is that US based sales people were quicker to leave than Canadian sales. You need to see where the opportunity falls within the career progression. Part of the key will be finding people that are self motivated. This is important in general for sales people, but even more so when dealing with a new sales person in a remote location. Another part of the hiring process, that we do here at VA Partners, is to give them a task as part of the interview process. Be careful about hiring based on a rolodex. They may get through the rolodex, and then what. You may want to find a candidate that has the ability to handle cold outreach and finding new targets.
Complexities of Hiring in the US
There are many different state regulations as it pertains to employees rights and tax. This can vary widely between places like Texas and California as an example. For single hire you may want to use a service like Outposts. Typically sales people in the US will make more money. There can also be greater benefits cost as things like Healthcare plans are expected and much more expensive than in Canada.
VA Partners is set-up to help organizations sell to the US with our fractional BDR role. We help sell directly to numerous verticals in the US. This could also mean finding US based business partners. If you are looking at selling into the US and would like to understand how VA Partners can help get you started please connect with me.
