Tools for Delegating Sales in Small Business
For years, we've seen the same pattern: a talented business owner with a great product or service gets bogged down in operational routine, spending endless hours on calls and emails instead of strategically growing their business. While marketing actively spends the budget, company growth slows down, and the owner remains tied to daily deals. But the solution is often right in front of them: hand over the sales process to professionals using proven techniques.
Why are owners afraid to delegate and miss out on opportunities?
Let’s look at the example of Evgenia from California, who offers premium photo shoots ranging from $3,000 to $5,000, where demand is always high. Her workday is completely consumed by consultations, constant follow-ups, and operational tasks, which prevents her from focusing on growth. Her fears are typical for many: the high cost of acquiring a lead, concerns that a salesperson's commission will make the business less profitable, and the difficulties associated with hiring and onboarding new employees.
These fears are common for small business owners. However, a well-structured delegation process can not only reduce the workload but also increase profit. When you have precise numbers, defined roles, and effective control, delegating sales is painless and without loss. Moreover, in most market niches, it even allows for a significant improvement in financial performance.
5 Proven Tools for Successful Delegation
1. Unit Economics Analysis
Start by calculating the margin of each deal and the budget required to close it. A salesperson's commission is typically 5-10%. For a ticket of $3,000-$5,000, this amounts to $150 to $500. For example, let's take a $4,000 ticket where variable costs are $900, and an 8% commission is another $320. The deal margin will be $2,780. If one salesperson can close 6-8 deals a month, their contribution to the margin will far exceed their commission. Clear numbers will help you get rid of unsubstantiated fears.
2. Task Time-Tracking
Before you hand over sales to someone else, it's crucial to understand exactly which processes are taking up time. For 2 weeks, track the following in a spreadsheet:
- how much time is spent on communicating with clients
- which interaction stages are the most time-consuming
- what actions can be automated or delegated
This analysis will clearly show which tasks can be delegated first. Often, up to 70% of the time is spent on answering repetitive questions and regular follow-ups, which can be easily handed over to another employee.
3. Job Descriptions
Develop a minimal 1-2 page document package that includes:
- primary tasks (consultations, follow-ups, closing deals)
- communication scripts with clients
- key performance indicators (conversion rate, average check, application processing speed)
4. Hiring Remote Employees
If your sales are conducted online, don't limit your search for employees to your city alone. If you have a photo studio in California, you can consider candidates from other countries for a reasonable cost. For example, candidates from Kazakhstan, Armenia, Ukraine, and Belarus usually have experience selling to the Western market. To cover evening slots in the US, you can consider Mexico and Colombia. Excellent communication skills and high discipline distinguish employees from the Philippines. Test candidates on three key criteria: reaction speed, empathy in correspondence, and discipline in the CRM. Give them a small case to complete in 24 hours and analyze not only the text of their answers but also their conversion to the next step of the funnel.
5. Investment in Onboarding
Hiring an employee is an investment, not a one-time expense. Even the perfect candidate won't show high results in the first few days. Be prepared that the first few weeks will be spent on onboarding a new person, and you may have to evaluate several candidates before finding the one who will eventually increase sales and recoup your investment.
My personal experience with delegation
I have had to delegate sales many times. But I always started with developing a "minimal package" for the position, analyzing calls, and holding weekly coordination meetings. The result was always consistently positive: response time was reduced from several hours to minutes, and conversion increased by 4-7 percentage points. As a result, my calendar was freed up by 15-20 hours a week. That is the price of implementing the right technology.
Many people make the mistake of trying to hire a sales "star" and expecting them to figure everything out on their own. This approach rarely brings success. Efficiency is ensured by simple but systematic actions, clear numbers, defined roles, well-developed scripts, regular call analyses, and weekly coordination meetings. The owner remains in the role of a strategist and manager, not a phone operator.
If you are ready to move beyond operational tasks and scale your business, I invite you to an online masterclass "How to Strengthen Your Team, Build a Solid Business Foundation, and Reach a New Level," where you will not only learn about the main factor in increasing profit but also receive ready-to-use instruction templates. Registration is available via the link: https://go.bbooster.online/cdzh
