You’ve finally reached that exciting point in your business where you’re ready to hand off sales to someone else.
This is a big deal. You’ve worked hard to get here.
You posted on job boards, did your due diligence, interviewed a few candidates, and checked references.
One person stood out….they were likable, charismatic, and had industry experience. You hit it off right away.
So you hire them.
A week goes by… then a month… then three.
Little to no results.
Six months in… still practically nothing.
You’re wondering, What happened?! They showed so much promise.
If this sounds familiar, don’t beat yourself up. I’ve been there. And it sucks.
You spend time, money, and energy recruiting, training, onboarding… only to get no return.
It’s worse than bad takeout when you’re starving.
In fact, I think hiring salespeople in our industry has become an epidemic because so many owners are getting it wrong.
And here’s the kicker: it’s not your fault.
You were never given a proven roadmap for how to do this right.
The Hard Truth About Sales Hires in Home Care
When I was growing my agency, I hired five to seven sales reps over a few years and burned through over $200,000 before finally figuring it out.
Most of them didn’t work out. Not because I wasn’t trying but because I was missing three critical keys.
I wanted to quit, but I knew I couldn’t scale my business and become the TRUE CEO of my company if I didn’t get this part right.
So I went out…and got some training to learn how to do this because what I was doing clearly wasn’t working….
And the sad part…in my prior life I was a sales manager that hired a lot of people!
But for some reason in home care…I was missing some key elements and I didn’t even know it!
Here’s what I realized:
We’re not in this just to “get our name out there.”
We hire people to grow our business. Every single employee should produce a return on investment.
If they don’t, they’re just an expense, and a sales role should be one of the easiest places to measure ROI.
The problem is that most home care owners either:
- Are afraid to make the investment, or
- Tried it once (or twice..or even more like me), didn’t get results, and swore off hiring again.
Some even start believing “Salespeople just aren’t worth it.”
But the truth is, they’re only missing three things.
Fix these, and your odds of success skyrocket.
Let’s break it down.
Key #1: Hire the Right Person (No, Really.)
I know what you’re thinking: “Obviously I need the right person.”
But here’s where most home care owners go wrong…
They hire:
- Someone with industry experience (which doesn’t always mean they were good at it)
- Listen….I’m not against industry experience…There’s a shorter learning curve…but typically if they were somewhere and producing..in most cases they’re not looking. This is not 100% true …100% of the time. But approach “industry hires” with caution and make sure they meet some other important qualifiers.
- Or they hire Someone outgoing and energetic (which helps — but isn’t enough)
Yes, likability matters. But it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
The real key? Hire for traits, and personality profile, not just experience.
You can teach someone a process. But you can’t teach traits like:
- Assertiveness
- Persistence
- Resilience
- Natural follow-through
- Emotional toughness
These are critical qualities in sales, and if your rep doesn’t have them, no amount of training will save you.
A leopard doesn’t typically change it’s spots.
Would you rather have someone naturally passive in a role where follow-up, confidence, and assertiveness are required? Of course not.
I put together a free training video on how to hire the right salesperson.
But even if you hire the almost perfect person, you’re only one-third of the way there.
Key #2: Plug Them Into a Proven Sales System
Ever wonder why McDonald’s succeeds even when the food is… well, let’s just say “debatable”?
It’s the system.
McDonald’s has a bulletproof, repeatable operational and sales system.
And systems are what scale success.
I’ve worked in sales for both large corporations and small agencies for over 25 years.
The one thing all successful companies have in common?
A clear, proven, repeatable sales process.
So here’s the winning formula:
Right person + right system = performance.
This includes:
- What to say when prospecting
- How to prequalify effectively
- Key strategies such as a solid value proposition and a sales plan driven by your avatar
- An effective “pitch”
- How to build real trust and stay top of mind
- How to convert activity into actual referrals
If you’re missing this piece, even the best rep will flounder. A smart hire needs a smart structure.
But we’re not done yet. Because without the next Key, you’re leaving money on the table.
Key #3: Effective Sales Management Systems
This is where most home care owners drop the ball — even after hiring a great rep and giving them the tools.
They think:
“I hired them. They should just go do their job.”
So they check in once a week.
“How’s it going?”
“Got any leads coming in?”
Maybe they review the calendar. That’s it.
I used to do this too.
And that’s why those first five to seven hires failed.
If you’re not willing to spend 90 minutes a week managing this role — don’t hire at all. I tell my clients this all the time.
Here’s what proper sales management looks like:
- Weekly KPI tracking (both lead and lag measures)
- Structured check-ins — not casual conversations
- Clear pipeline reviews and accountability
- PUSH meetings to move high-potential accounts forward
- A strategy to identify and prioritize their top 15 referral accounts
- Occasional ride-alongs to ensure the sales system is being followed
They should be spending more time with A-accounts than C and D accounts. Simple logic, right?
But it doesn’t happen without structure.
Even your best rep will be much more effective with the right management rhythm in place.
Your Takeaway
If you’ve hired before and it didn’t work — it’s not because “salespeople don’t work.”
It’s because you didn’t have the full three-part system:
The right person (traits and profile> résumé)
The right sales process (system > improvisation)
The right management structure (accountability > hope)
When I finally got this right, the next three hires in my agency all succeeded.
And that changed everything.
If you’re considering hiring a salesperson (or trying again after a failed attempt), I recorded a free video training that walks through my full approach — including how to find, vet, and manage a high-performing home care sales rep.
Final Thought
If you’ve struggled with hiring in the past, you’re not alone.
But don’t let one (or even three) bad hires keep you stuck.
Get back on the wagon.
Sales is the lifeblood of your business.
And when you get this right, it unlocks growth in every direction.
And positions you to be able to operate with confidence as the CEO of a growing agency, and eventually building your business to run without you.
Stop hoping they’ll figure it out. Hire effectively, build the system, lead the system, and watch it scale.
You’ve got this…I believe in you!
Article by: Gregg Mazza
President, Home Care Breakthrough Solutions
