Hi,
Skilled people in S.A. are hard to come by. There is to some degree an expectancy that this is the case and people do make allowances.
I have technical people who sell, I have non technical people who sell. Both do well but in differing environments. One of the keys for me with selling is to focus on who your "target" is. Don't send her into design engineer, it is not fair to both parties unless she is equipped to find the answers quickly, PDA?.
Build her confidence, if you are up to selling to the more demanding / discerning customer then split the customer base accordingly. Product knowledge can be acquired but if the right attitude is not there up front STOP now.
Selling is a skill that many do not appreciate, it is more difficult than many would admit. Service , service , service is the key. The internet can be used to get most information but the thing we all want the most is to be "loved, appreciated, understood and treated like we are the most important" in no matter what relationship we are in.
Remember you hired a "girl friday" not a salesperson. You may be extremely lucky in that you have a diamond in the rough? Who is going to look after the office when she is out? Your costs look set to increase so if she is on the road then she had better start making money to pay for the new girl friday.
If you set up mobile offices you could improve effectiveness.
Remember you can't control what you can't manage. Salespeople need to be highly disciplined, it is all too easy to goof off when nobody is watching. This is why salespersons are incentivised, to ensure that while you are not watching them that their commision is providing a motivator.
Start her on commission right from the get go, you will soon see if she can cut it.
Cheers
Andrew
Are you competing with AP and Mantech?