Sales force | A conversation with Shay Bellas, co-founder, Custom Sales Team Inc.
Photo/Carol Coultas
Shay Bellas
Custom Sales Team Inc.
Founded: June 2010
Employees: 4; 32 independent contractors
Startup costs: None
Projected revenue, year one: $90,000
Projected revenue, year two: $144,000
Contact: 632-8471
795 Congress St., Portland, 04102
www.customsalesteam.com
What is Custom Sales Team?
Custom Sales Team specializes in providing sales support to companies that are in need of experienced sales staff, strategic sales consulting or trade show support. We can help businesses look at everything from filling immediate positions to assessing the effectiveness of their entire sales process and helping them takes steps to improve performance and meet their goals. In some situations, we perform a staffing agency service, matching sales people with client openings. In other situations, we perform a service such as offering to train a sales force or to staff a trade show.
How did you come up with this model?
Custom Sales Team grew out of our sister company, 19 Oaks, a marketing firm that also focuses on helping local businesses. Through 19 Oaks, we had been working with clients who asked us for someone to do sales around a specific project, or train people in sales, or staff a trade show. Those requests kept coming up repeatedly. We saw that this was a real need and began thinking about how we could help them take the next step. Nearly every company benefits from an experienced sales professional, some just don’t realize it.
I came to this when I realized that one of the things that burst my bubble in law school was it didn’t really matter how well you prepared, although of course you had to prepare and understand the law and the case, but the person who got the judge or jury to agree with them won. That’s sales. It’s really about connecting with people.
I based the business on understanding that a sales professional who matches a business’s brand creates a win-win situation for them both.
Can you give an example of how it works?
We have a sales professional in northern Maine who is doing a lot of market research. We also have a client who is thinking of expanding their business in northern Maine. We matched the two. When the project is complete, the client will have market research and a potential group of collaborators in the region.
How do you market the company?
We believe that the Custom Sales Team brand is best represented by our stable of sales professionals. We have an enormously talented and diverse team, including the 32 independent contractors who work with us. The best way to show that to potential clients is to have our sales professionals join us at trade shows and local events. We also have strategic alliances with organizations that support New England businesses. Attending events and getting our name seen by business decision makers has been invaluable.
How do you finance the company?
We were in the enviable position of being able to self-finance the company through our success with 19 Oaks, until Custom Sales Team was able to stand on its own.
What has been your biggest challenge?
There actually have been three challenges that run neck and neck. One is helping businesses understand that it’s not that they can’t afford a salesperson, it’s that they can’t afford not to have a salesperson. One is helping Maine businesses understand that they have to reach out to the national market and that staying isolated up here in Maine selling only to locals isn’t usually a sustainable strategy. The final one is breaking the stereotype that salespeople aren’t “one size fits all” and that having a salesperson that matches their brand is essential to success.
What has been successful about your business strategy?
Businesses are hearing about what we are doing and opening their doors to us based on the successes we have had so far. It’s exciting to be helping the Maine economy by helping businesses make more money and by placing professionals in rewarding jobs.
What are your goals for your company?
To have every business in Maine know that we are here to help them grow and to provide a valuable service to those who ask.
Interview by Carol Coultas
New Ventures profiles young companies, 6-18 months old. Send suggestions and contact information to editorial@mainebiz.biz.
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