Eleanor Wyatt

If you’re a business owner, you’re used to wearing many hats: CEO, CFO, HR person… While being a jack-of-all-trades is usually a positive, it can make for a longer workweek if you’re the only one pitching in, and you may not have time to do the legwork necessary to advertise your business and find new clients.

So, what is a business owner to do? The answer is to hire workers outside of your company who will help you reach out to potential new customers. But how do you find the best workers for the job? DigiPanoramic has a few questions for you to answer first!

What Makes a Good Sales and Marketing Professional?

In today’s market, a sales and marketing professional should be adept at SEO and social media marketing, and be eager to drive marketing initiatives to increase your business, product, or brand visibility. They should research and identify your target customers or clients and develop a good rapport with them, so strong communication skills are key.

The ideal candidate should be highly motivated and enjoy working as part of a team. Hiring a sales and marketing professional will free up your time spent looking for clients, and the right one will bring you, new customers, through innovative research strategies.

Do You Need a Freelancer, a Contractor, or an Employee?

If you own a small business, you might not need a sales and marketing professional on a full-time basis, and you might not be ready or equipped to hire full-time employees. If that’s the case, you may look at freelance professionals to work with you on an “on-call” or “per-project” basis.

Hiring freelancers is less cumbersome for a business owner since you won’t need to set up employee payroll, shop for insurance plans to provide employee benefits packages, pay for vacation or sick days, etc. Freelancers pay their own income taxes and don’t receive benefits from the companies they work with; but they determine their own rates, so you’ll have to come up with a mutually agreed-upon compensation amount for their services, which can be either hourly or project-based.

Just like freelancers, contractors are self-employed and responsible for handling their employee benefits and completing their tax returns. But contractors usually work on one project at a time with one client, rather than handling multiple projects simultaneously. If you need more permanent help with your projects, you may choose to hire a professional as an employee. Just remember you’ll be required to withhold taxes (e.g., income, social security, Medicare, etc.) from their paycheck and to provide benefits like health and disability insurance.

What Are the Advantages of Forming an LLC?

For small businesses, starting an LLC, or limited liability company is the most popular choice. Every state has its own set of rules for forming an LLC (see Florida’s here), but the advantages of an LLC is that it limits your own liability from business debts and lawsuits; less paperwork is involved, as an LLC has a less formal structure than a corporation; and last but not least, thanks to its pass-through business structure, you can choose and change the way your LLC is taxed (sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation). Some online tools and websites can help you start an LLC quickly and save you money on lawyer fees.

Where Do You Find Sales and Marketing Experts?

Lastly, you can find specialized sales experts and marketing professionals in your area by reaching out to your local chamber of commerce, or online via job search and employment websites. When perusing résumés, look for an SEM specialist with extensive experience in SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, data analytics, and optimization.

If you’re just starting out as a business owner and you don’t quite have the capital to hire outside professionals to help you with your sales and marketing strategy, you can find many tips and solid advice online and become your own expert. In the digital world, marketing resources are at your fingertips!

Don’t wait to get the ball rolling on your sales and marketing strategy. Think about what type of outside worker to hire, and consider establishing an LLC. Finally, utilize local and online resources to find qualified professionals for your team!

Would you like to read more helpful content or learn about our digital marketing services? Visit DigiPanoramic.com today!