If you are starting a new business in China, you will need people to help you with your business. You may think that you can just hire any Chinese people to do the work for you, but this is not always the case.
Before you start to rely on Chinese salespeople to help you run your business, you should consider some important factors first. This will help you make sure that you will be able to get the best services from them.
If you know these factors beforehand, you will be able to choose the right Chinese staff for your business and work with them without problems.
In this article, we will show you the 5 aspects to consider before hiring salespeople in China and how to effectively hire and manage them in China.
What Are The Benefits Of Hiring Salespeople In China?
Many people ask: “What are the benefits to hire salespeople in China?”.
Well, there are many, and I will mention just a few of them.
One great advantage is that they are not limited to working for a specific type of business; you can hire them for any type of business. A great perk is that your reputation will be more likely to last longer with a hire who comes with a proven track record.
They will be able to take the time to get to know you, build a relationship, and build trust; two very important things to have in today’s business world.
When you hire a reputable person, you will have that added security in knowing that they will represent you in a professional manner and will do their best to make your business a success.
Another of the major benefits to hire salespeople is that they can give you an edge over your competition. By hiring someone who is knowledgeable in your particular field, you will have a leg upon them.
Especially in a country like China, with cultural and historical differences from western countries, a good salesperson is extremely useful because he or she will know how to deal with all different types of customers; this includes dealing with angry, upset customers, as well as happy, satisfied ones. A good salesperson can put your customer’s interests above their own and understand what motivates them most. By doing this, they will know exactly how to create a win-win situation for you and your business.
One more of the major benefits to salespeople is that they can help you increase your marketability. If you don’t believe you have a large enough market, then you are losing out money because no one will be aware of your product or service. Salespeople understand how to effectively bring awareness to a business, and as a result, they can greatly increase the number of sales that occur each month. This is by far one of the most effective ways for you to grow your company.
One more of the major benefits to salespeople is that they can help you stay competitive. As things change constantly, staying a step ahead of the competition becomes extremely important. By bringing in an expert, you can keep up with the competition and offer your customers more than they are currently offered. By doing so, you will be able to maintain your current level of customer satisfaction.
5 Aspects To Consider Before Hiring Salespeople In China
When it comes to what to look for when hiring salespeople there are a few things that you will want to keep in mind.
Experience
The first thing that you should do when looking for a salesperson is to find someone with experience. You need someone who knows what they are doing and can bring the appropriate results. Some companies have a high turnover rate, so it may take some time to find someone who fits in nicely. If you are going to spend money on an experienced person then you will probably save money in the long run because the turnover rate is much lower.
You have to check their job experience as well as their overall performance. Some Chinese salespeople might have worked in different kinds of companies so they can provide you with various kinds of experiences that will help you assess their work style and performance.
Qualifications
Another aspect to consider is regarding the qualifications of each of the people who will be working for you in your business in China. You need to make sure that their credentials match those of your company. Aside from checking their credentials, you also have to check their English language skills. Since this is a relatively new business practice, most Chinese people are still learning the English language. You can’t afford to lose a lot of money if you are going to let your employees speak very little English.
Training
It is imperative for you to know how to train your staff members. Proper training will help you weed out the people who do not know anything at all about your business. At the same time, you will get better results from your salespeople if they are well trained. Salespeople who do not know how to sell properly will not be able to sell effectively your products or services. Proper training will allow your salespeople to know how to do everything properly.
Professionalism
Another important aspect to consider when hiring salespeople is their professionalism. There are many people who go into business because they would like to make a lot of money quickly. This is something that is very common in this type of industry. But you have to look for a good combination of speed of execution and professionalism.
Labor Law
The Chinese labor law is not the same as the one in western countries. It becomes imperative to know more about this because if you make mistakes in the employment contract structure and content or if you do not take into consideration aspects like annual leave, overtime pay, or salary structure, it will be easy to become non-compliant with the Chinese laws and regulations.
Where To Find Salespeople For Your Business In China
The first thing you need to consider when you’re trying to figure out where to hire salespeople is what type of salespeople you need. Hiring new salespeople takes time. You’ll need to interview potential candidates and see how well they fit into your workplace environment. You also have to make sure that they’re easy to train and will bring in good results.
Some of the platforms where you can find salespeople are:
- WeChat – This is the app used by the majority of Chinese people and expats in China. It is one of the best places where to search for employees. Instead of posting on careers sites or turning to head hunters, more and more employers either advertise job opportunities on News Feeds, posts only seen by friends, or launch public accounts designed to publish recruiting announcements.
- LinkedIn – LinkedIn is one of the western social media used by the majority of companies and users in China since it is not blocked like Facebook or Google. It is a good option for companies interested to hire salespeople in China, because it allows you to directly search for talent on the platform, and see what are the past job experiences and skills.
- Region-based website – There are many websites in China that users use to upload their CVs and that employers can use to find the right employee. The majority of them are in Chinese, but these are the website used by Chinese people to look for job opportunities, so you could think of posting a job offer there for users to see. Some of the websites recommended are 51job, Zhaopin, Boss Zhipin.
- Career events and job fairs – These are events held in the major Chinese cities and that can attract people interested to find job opportunities. They are the best places to find especially recently graduated.
- Recruitment agencies – These recruitment agencies in China are the perfect option if you do not want to actively search for candidates. These agencies can help you to find the right candidate based on your requirements and that can help during the interview process, negotiation of the job offer, and onboarding process.
Finding the right salesperson to hire is only one part of the process to hire employees for your business in China. The complicated part is actually hiring employees in China because the Chinese regulations require you to have a legal entity in China to legally hire employees.
There is another solution though…
How To Hire Salespeople In China Without A Local Company
As said before, the Chinese government has strict rules for foreign companies that want to hire employees in China.
For the Chinese law, only companies based in China can be employers. So, if you have a foreign company and want to hire employees in China, it is illegal to do that without an established entity.
But there is a solution to this problem.
There are companies based in China that can provide employment outsourcing solutions (also called PEO) to foreign companies in need of hiring for specific types of short and long-term projects, tasks, or jobs.
As a registered PEO in China, we can help you to hire employees in China without a local company. In this way, you can outsource all employer liabilities to us; from the signature of a local compliant employment contract to monthly payroll, income taxation, mandatory benefits.
Conclusion
Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll have a better understanding of some of the important considerations when you’re looking to hire salespeople in China. Keep in mind that you need to keep the above-mentioned points in mind, as well as any others that you think are relevant when you’re looking for a good individual to join your organization.
Contact us if you need help to hire the right salesperson for your business in China!
