Overview of Outsourced Sales
You can outsource the whole of your sales process to an external provider or just a part. Revenue Grid looked closely at the different ways a company could outsource sales.
Fully Outsourced Sales
Here, a provider will take over the entire sales process from lead generation to closing the deal. It’s an excellent service for start-ups with no ready-made in-house sales team who need a kickstart to grow their business from scratch.
Partial Outsourced Sales
In this scenario, an external provider takes over a specified part of the sales process.
Vertical – In this structure, an external provider will manage one part while an in-house team works the other. Usually, the first stage of the sales process, known as lead generation, is outsourced. Outsourced lead generation is ideal for rapid growth as it will deliver high-quality leads to a company so they can focus on closing deals.
Horizontal – This structure involves two entire teams operating both internally and externally. They may share a market or concentrate on different markets. It can significantly motivate an internal team and deliver rapid growth.
Geographical Sales – Big multinational companies often have a head office with a sales team that focuses on the domestic market but will outsource sales to external providers with local knowledge across the globe.
What are the benefits of outsourcing sales?
Are you a business considering outsourcing sales? Dave Sutton from Business2Community suggests that it allows businesses to concentrate on activities they are experienced in rather than waste time forcing their staff to carry out duties beyond their abilities. Here are the top 5 benefits of outsourcing sales.
1. Reducing Costs
Obviously, this is the main driver for companies deciding to outsource sales. The current financial crisis has made cutting costs even more crucial. Let’s look at how you can cut costs by outsourcing sales.
Salary – Not only will outsourcing reduce the cost of employing sales staff, but you may also be able to cut down on managerial costs associated with having or establishing a sales team.
Office Costs – Fewer internal staff means you do not need to relocate to a larger office and spend more on rent and equipment.
Recruitment and Training Costs – It takes time and money to recruit a sales team, and you can expect to wait around three months before you see any real return. Not all recruits will prove successful, so you may need to go through the hiring process again and again. Outsourcing gives your business access to a fully trained and experienced team of sales professionals who will have a proven track record in generating leads or appointments. They will also be skilled in using up-to-date technology and strategies.
Technology – an external provider will have invested in the kind of technology your business may not be able to afford. Their sales managing services will be up-to-date and increase efficiency.
2. Expertise
Qualified sales teams are expensive to employ, yet expertise is essential for a positive ROI. An external provider will have built a team with experience and knowledge in generating leads and may have direct experience within your sector. Outsourcing means accessing tried and tested methods of generating leads and working the sales process efficiently and successfully. They may even already have access to a suitable database of clients. A specialist provider will inevitably have experienced managers who can successfully run their team and operations.
3. Speed up your Sales
Creating sales velocity is vital for continuing growth. An internal sales team is subject to holidays and sickness that can bring your sales funnel to a halt. Outsourcing brings guaranteed timings and delivers fast sales responses that will ramp up your sales leads quickly.
4. Scale Up Your Business
The inability to scale up is often where a business fails. There will always come a time when a business needs to push harder on sales to generate growth and build its market share, but it can be hard to grow an internal sales team quickly enough to respond to new requirements.
The great thing about outsourcing lead generation is that you can buy a larger number of leads at any time and scale back when your sales team has enough to work with. This kind of flexibility is a great benefit.
5. Expanding your Markets
Outsourcing gives your business the chance to experiment in a new region or with a new product with a relatively low investment. Since an outsourced team can respond to a request quickly, you can test out a market with relatively low risk.
How to Get The Best From Outsourcing Sales
There are some essential factors you should consider when moving forward with outsourcing sales.
Set out your goals
Are you focusing on growth within an existing market, exploring new markets or do you have a new product or service?
Pick the right model
Do you need to outsource your entire sales process, or are you looking for lead generation? Think about your existing set-up and aim to take advantage of any existing expertise to concentrate on closing deals.
Define your expectations and KPIs You must be clear about what you are looking for and how it will be measured to enable positive results. Remember that a quantity of leads is not enough. Highly qualified leads are needed to generate sales.
Communicate clear qualification data
You are in the best position to know what qualifications your potential clients or customers will need based on your sales data. Use this to help an outsourced team deliver suitable appointments and leads.
Is your business looking for qualified sales appointments? Curral, based in London, is a client-based agency that delivers qualified sales appointments based on your criteria. You only pay our total fees when we provide results.