We know you’re aware of outsourcing. It’s a huge industry with a global value of $92.5 billion, growing at a rate of more than 4% annually. But have you ever stopped to consider how outsourcing became so popular? Or if it’s right for your business?
Outsourcing takes place when a company hires external help to complete core or non-core functions. Companies outsource to gain additional expertise, save time and money, expand in a new direction, or optimize a specific focus. More than 66% of U.S. companies outsource at least one sales force department, and nearly 24% of small businesses outsource to increase efficiency.
Many companies choose to outsource some portion of the sales process (and the smart companies review our Ultimate Guide to Business Process Outsourcing first!). Components previously handled by their internal sales teams such as lead generation and outbound calls could be outsourced. Additionally, companies may outsource common tasks belonging to sales development representatives (SDRs), like initial prospecting efforts, so that those team members can focus on the more profitable sales activities that go into closing deals.
A sales organization may decide to outsource work processes for one or several different reasons. Influencing factors will depend upon the size of the company, its operating goals, and its marketing strategy. For example, a startup might outsource to quickly gain scalability, while a mega corporation may outsource entire departments that sell add-on services, so that the main team can focus on core services.
An outsourced sales team can often manage the additional work more efficiently and less expensively than when a company increases its in-house staffing. A business may also outsource to branch into new markets, saving time and money without first hiring marketing teams, while simultaneously accessing top skills.
Businesses will outsource to enter new sectors and vertical or horizontal markets. An expanding business may need to gain the knowledge to successfully execute the sales cycle required for this new market, even if they are already excelling in their current market. An outsourced sales partner can bring the knowledge and skill required to do just that. Additionally, they can focus exclusively on the new geographic region’s sales opportunities, while your inside sales staff continues to crush its current market.
An outsourcing partner could help launch a new product or service that might otherwise tax the company’s current in-house staff. They could call potential customers about a new product or service before the launch. That feedback could then be incorporated into your final product. Cold calls could next be made to help sell the product. Finally, follow-up could be collected to see how the market is receiving the new product. These efforts by your outsourcing partner will bring in additional revenue and valuable information without pulling your in-house staff away from their existing duties. That saves time and money!
Saving money or time is a significant reason that businesses choose to outsource. Businesses that use manual operations in their sales process will find that outsourcing to a company or utilizing saas saves them a considerable amount of time. The company can use this found resource for other business development activities to increase its revenue further. They could also use this time to improve their product or develop more robust strategic plans.
Advanced industrialized nations often find that while labor costs for sales development metrics like lead generation or cold calling are significantly lower in other countries, they still remain high in quality.
Businesses may not have the budget to hire top skills full-time, or they may be unable to find employees with these skill sets within their region. Companies may also need help from a marketing strategist. As well as require the ability to make cold calls in multiple languages. Outsourcing allows them to access all of these top skills.
Moreover, outsourcing can help companies acquire sales professionals with the expertise needed to quickly enter new specialized vertical markets, such as healthcare or technology. These industry-experienced pros can build your sales funnel for you, so that when your in-house reps are ready to start closing deals, they’ve got well-qualified leads ready to go.
Outsourcing brings many benefits. However, business owners must first consider how outsourcing will fit into their business model. They need to ensure that their company’s current staff will accept the new outsourcing partner. They also need to determine if that their company’s culture is flexible enough for outsourcing to succeed. The size and expertise of their chosen partner are essential factors, as well as, the scope of projects previously handled. A final critical factor is how well the partner manages quality control.
In choosing the right outsourcing partner, company leaders also will want to ask the following questions:
Outsourcing parts of the sales process provides several advantages to businesses. These include saving money and time, lessening risk, and providing a fast track for your business to reach its revenue potential.
A primary reason that companies outsource sales functions is to save money. Indeed 59% of businesses cite cost as the reason they outsource. Outsourcing saves money in several ways. It can save the money a company normally spends on recruiting and hiring a new staff member. It also can save money on employee training and orientation. Furthermore, outsourcing can save the money a company would typically spend on creating workstations for new employees. It can also save the money a company might otherwise spend on new software for the automation of specific sales tasks.
Outsourcing can save company expenses on costs of labor, especially if the tasks are outsourced offshore to a low-labor-cost country. For example, many countries in Asia have significantly lower labor costs than those found in Western nations, yet the populations are well-trained, hardworking, and fluent in English. Companies can invest these cost savings in product improvements, advertising, and other business development tasks. Or they can simply use the savings to improve their bottom line.
Outsourcing also saves time and can free up the in-house sales team for other tasks that involve face-time (or phone time) with potential customers and decision-makers. This is a particularly important benefit for small businesses with limited staff.
Just think about it. When you go on LinkedIn to search for your next handful of prospects, how much time do you spend? 30 minutes? An hour? Longer?
Properly handled sales prospecting can take much longer than you’d imagine. It involves matching individuals with your company’s target personas, skimming through their profiles to add relevant notes, and checking out their close contacts for more potential leads. It’s not hard, and it’s actually a very simple process. And that’s why it’s the perfect task to outsource.
And as an added benefit, allowing your in-house team to undertake the sales tasks that they’re truly passionate about can improve job satisfaction. This subsequently, improves retention.
Companies that do most of their sales in-house often find that they have silos. In-house sales teams don’t always collaborate with marketing; in fact, they tend to be their own marketing departments. Sales reps will spend their own time on sales prospecting activities, finding new prospects and coaxing them into becoming qualified leads. Similarly, depending on the size of your organization, reps may find themselves acting as a customer success manager after closing the deal, since they have the most long-standing relationship with the customer. While none of this is bad, per se, it’s certainly not helpful for your sales funnel and overall sales strategy.
Outsourcing lead generation and customer success tasks allows your sales reps to focus on what they do best: Sales. A good outsourced partner will help you put processes in place that will enable your reps to communicate with outsourced workers, keeping prospects, leads, and customers all moving along in their journeys.
Outsourcing also can be less risky than hiring salespeople internally. Hiring an employee, whether seasonal, part-time, or full-time, requires a large block of time spent finding the qualified worker, negotiating pay and benefits, training this person, and setting them up with a workstation and the equipment required to do their job.
If this person fails to work out, you have to go through the legal process of documenting performance and ultimately dismissing the employee. Seeing peers leave the business can cause morale to drop among the rest of the sales team, which can result in a less productive sales effort all around. Indeed, the average cost of losing an employee is several thousand dollars.
Meanwhile, if your outsourcing partner loses an employee, you, your internal team, and your bottom line will never know the difference.
Outsourcing to the right third-party partner can help a business reach its potential quickly. A firm with the proper knowledge and expertise can improve your outreach, business development, lead generation, and follow-up efforts. This will optimize your sales pipeline.
When outsourcing sales to a third party, especially for the first time, it is normal to wonder how it will all work. Here are some tips on what to expect when outsourcing.
Sales development takes time. Generating quality leads, moving them through the sales pipeline, and closing deals doesn’t happen overnight. Begin your relationship with your outsourcing partner by determining goals, establishing sales metrics, and explaining your expectations.
Although cost savings is a significant reason for outsourcing, price should not be the deciding factor when choosing a sales outsourcing company. Expertise and track records are also very important. Look for partners that possess what your team lacks. So, if you want to branch out into B2B sales, find a partner already established in this market. To increase qualified leads, choose a partner with a proven marketing team successful at cold calling and generating leads.
Also, research how well their sales managers performed sales activities for other companies. Finally, determine the company’s flexibility. Will it be able to scale up, or adapt, as conditions change?
The outsourced sales team is an extension of your in-house sales force. For maximum success, maintain close communication with the outsourced sales reps. You’ll want to work with them when developing your sales strategy and check on their progress frequently. If some aspect of the relationship isn’t working as smoothly as it should, correct it immediately.
Finding the right outsourcing partner is critical to your organization’s success, and the search to find them can require a significant time commitment.
This is where we come in. TDSGS has been helping companies grow strategically for many years and has developed strong relationships with outsourcing partners in all areas, especially sales development.
If you are thinking about outsourcing sales, consider scheduling a call with TDS Global Solutions. We know how to ask the right questions that will get down to the core of what you need in an ideal partner. Contact us today to find out how your business can reach its full potential through outsourcing.
