7 Steps to Hiring Sales and Marketing Freelancers for Your Business

7 Steps to Hiring Sales and Marketing Freelancers for Your Business. You’re focused on growing your business, but you’re worried that your sales and marketing strategies are lacking. When it comes to your unique products and services, you’re the expert – yet for effective advertising and driving sales, you feel like you’re out of your depth. 

Hiring freelancers for short projects or ongoing involvement can help you transform your company’s approach to sales and marketing. In fact, working with a digital marketing agency like BluCactus could be the key to dramatically expanding your reach online. If you’re thinking about hiring and onboarding freelance sales and marketing experts for your business team, you can follow these steps to manage the process seamlessly!

Form an LLC

First, it’s a smart idea to establish your business as an LLC if you haven’t tackled this task yet.

Why is this so important before hiring freelancers? Not only does LLC status allow you to protect your personal assets, get beneficial tax breaks, and enjoy flexibility in terms of operations and management, it also lets potential new hires know that you’re running a trustworthy, professional company.

But how do you go about forming an LLC? It’s possible to file the required paperwork by yourself.

However, this can get tricky, so many people fork over high fees for a lawyer. Filing through an online formation service is typically the most affordable solution! Just make sure to check out Texas’ filing requirements before you get started, as the rules can vary by state.

Consider Off-the-Shelf Software

First, it’s important to assess your specific needs and determine if you definitely need a freelancer to manage the project, or if you can handle the workload with off-the-shelf software.

Off-the-shelf software programs are convenient platforms that allow you to manage many aspects of business operations easily. Any business owner can purchase them, and you do not need to pay for customization.

You can save time and money by investing in off-the-shelf software for spreadsheet creation, database management, word processing, anti-virus protection, and more. And it never hurts to consider other free or low-cost applications you can leverage to improve your sales and marketing efforts.

Define the Role

You might have a vague idea of what projects and tasks you need freelancers for, but it’s best to define the role clearly before you seek anyone to fill the position.

For instance, do you want someone to overhaul your search engine optimization strategy, manage email marketing, handle promotions on your social media accounts, oversee your content marketing efforts, or design your new website? These responsibilities require distinct skill sets, and a freelancer who specializes in content marketing might not offer web design services.

In addition, you’ll need to figure out if you’ll only need freelancers for short projects, or if you’d like to bring a few on board for the long haul. 

Set Your Budget

Next, it’s time to outline how much you can pay freelancers. Remember, working with freelancers should represent an investment for your company -paying for their services should ensure a sizable return for you through new leads, time saved, increased sales, or better efficiency.

Go over your budget and consider the value that freelancers can bring to your business to decide on fair rates.

Keep in mind that freelancers will often have their own range of rates for different projects, so you may need to negotiate a price that is fair to both of you during the hiring process. 

Share the Job Listing

Once you know what kind of freelancer you’re working for and what you can afford to pay them, you’re ready to create a job listing! You’ll need to include a clear title, a thorough job description that includes the freelancer’s responsibilities, and the skills they’ll need to bring to the table. Include a potential payment range as well.

And don’t forget to let applicants know what materials they should send you, such as a resume, work samples, or references. You might also want to incorporate information about your company’s background and internal culture.

You can post your listing on freelance job websites, social media platforms, and your company website. In addition, feel free to tell your professional network that you’re looking for a freelancer – they might send you referrals for qualified candidates. 

Conduct Interviews

After weeding out applicants who don’t meet your expectations, you can begin scheduling interviews with freelancers who have piqued your interest. During interviews, FreeUp recommends asking about their experiences with similar projects, their current availability, their general workflow and turnaround times, and what kinds of results they have achieved for other clients through their work.

For instance, did they improve another client’s SEO rankings? Did they drive a significant increase in sales through a new strategy they implemented? Did they boost a client’s social media following? After all, if you’re hiring freelancers specifically for the sake of sales and marketing, you want to ensure that they can deliver the results you want. 

Even if you requested that freelancers send in examples of their work when they applied, in some cases, you might want to have promising applicants submit a small sample project similar to the work you would have them do if they get hired. You can make a final decision based on the quality of these samples. 

Navigate the Onboarding Process

You’ve found a few freelancers who you want to hire, and you’re ready to put them to work on new projects. But first, you need to make sure you have a proper contract that will protect both of your interests. Some freelancers have their own templates for contracts, so you may also need to engage in some negotiations during this phase. To write a solid freelance contract, Stoke recommends including contact information, project scope, expected deliverables, rates, and a payment schedule, ownership and copyright details, a process for early termination, and a clause for dispute reconciliation. You may want to talk to a business lawyer about other necessary legal terms. 

Once the freelancers have filled out the necessary paperwork, it’s time to introduce them to your business and get them plugged into your systems! For example, you may need to get them set up on the communication platforms that your business uses or give them access to a content management system. Although the freelancers you hire should already possess the skills they’ll need to complete your projects, it doesn’t hurt to walk them through the specific software that your company uses and show the ins and outs of your workflows. Remember, you’ll want to give them the opportunity to ask any pressing questions so that they’ll feel confident as they take on their first projects. 

If you’ve never hired freelancers before, you might be nervous about going through the process. But independent sales and marketing specialists can bring new perspectives and skills to your business, all without the extensive obligations that come with hiring new full-time employees.

By following these steps, you’ll be able to promote freelance project opportunities, screen candidates for their key qualifications, and choose freelancers who are prepared to help move your company forward. 

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Author bio for this guest post

Lisa Walker is the proud mom of two adorable (but feisty) sons. She created Neighborhood Sprout as a passion project to share her love of homeownership with others, and she enjoys writing home- and community-related articles in her spare time. When they’re not tackling their latest DIY home project, she and her husband, Jake, love taking their boys trail hiking and beach combing.