In the wake of an ugly recession, many companies are looking to grow their sales through many unique channels. One of those channels that companies are starting to heavily rely on is an outsourced inside sales channel. A few reasons for utilizing an outsourced inside sales channel include:
- Increasing the Number of Sales Opportunities – through using an outsourced inside sales channel, companies with outside sales representatives can drastically increase the number of “live” deals that their reps are working on which can even out the typical ebbs and flows of sales.
- Adding Sales Velocity without adding more Management Overhead – Companies can quickly add more sales velocity without adding more management overhead through an outsourced sales partner.
- Attacking Different Verticals – an outsourced sales partner can give companies the ability to go after different verticals without having their internal sales teams change their focus.
Those are just a couple reasons why using an outsourced inside sales partner could make sense. If your company is one that could benefit from this type of partnership don’t hesitate to call Acquirent.
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Contrary to popular belief companies of all sizes can benefit from sales outsourcing. Although outsourced sales for small business may have the greatest impact as these companies are the ones who typically need it the most.
Most small businesses don’t have many critical pieces of a successful sales infrastructure and culture which in turn can lead to poor sales results. Small businesses typically don’t have professional sales recruiting and management on staff and this can lead to hiring the “wrong” sales person. Even if a company hires the “right” sales professional, without proper sales management and culture that individual has a high likely hood of failing.
Through using a full service sales outsourcing force, small business can leverage the sales recruiting, management and culture/environment that many larger organizations are accustomed to having.
Lead Management as a part of sales can be controlled through a number of systems, but is key to developing a sales strategy. The first step in developing a sales strategy is choosing to sell on your own or outsourcing the sales function. Outsourcing can take on the form of a b2b sales consultant; full b2b sales outsourcing or b2b sales lead generation. If you choose to outsource sales team, then choosing a vendor with a transparent system, best practices in hiring, training and management is essential.
One good measure of this type of b2b sales outsourcing company is their ability to develop a sales strategy that takes everything from lead generation through Lead Management and all the way to the close. The use of a central CRM system that allows for transparency and constant feedback in the sales process is key. Outsourced sales services should be experts in this type of reporting, lead tracking and sales process development. Otherwise, you will still find yourself doing the majority of the work and heavy lifting.
Consultative sales or a consultative sales process is also dependant on this central sales process idea. Starting with Lead Management, best practices include developing a comprehensive approach to contacting the lead. Most effective and experienced outsourcing companies will use a combination of touch points to include the phone, physical mail, email and voicemails throughout the sales process. Lead Management depends on tracking these activities in a CRM and trying to automate as many of the connections as possible. However, while technology can help in the efficiency of how we contact a lead or prospect and develop them into an opportunity, it can not replace individual b2b sales experience.
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Many organizations that look to partner with an outsourced sales and marketing partner often feel like they are not good at hiring and retaining great sales people. They feel that they score poorly in the area of sales management. You could have the best sales person in the world, but without the proper sales management structure that individual most likely will produce marginal results at best results.
That said, companies are starting to realize that through outsourced sales management they can obtain optimal sales results with minimal internal effort. Outsourcing sales management allows an organization the ability to concentrate on their core competencies and also allows them to focus on the continual enhancement of their products and/or services.
If you are looking to Outsource your sales management don’t hesitate to contact Acquirent ASAP!
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While there are many reasons that a sales person or sales team may not be selling, one root cause that can be an easy fix is to look at their activity. The road to increased sales is sometimes a factor of looking at statistical sales, meaning to not just call it a numbers game, but look at the numbers and try to find solutions. Many outsourced sales companies are experts in looking at metrics, measuring sales activity and sales mentoring with the end goal of creating results. With one recent outsource sales team under my watch, I looked behind some of the reported numbers and tried to find the root cause of the lagging results. Within two days, we were able to increase sales by monitoring and measuring the right activity. Often in b2b sales, it takes time to develop an active sales pipeline. One sales tip here is to motivate the sales person to interim goals that are sales activity based and reward them for achieving the goals.
Sales Appointment setting is also all about sales activity. In order to increase sales, a company may turn to outsourced sales or a telesales outsourcing company to help them increase their pipeline through sales appointment setting. Again here, the key to sales success is motivating the sales person to the right goals. B2b sales outsourcing is only successful when the right goals and targets are set and there is a real partnership in the outsourcing. You can increase sales through this type of transparent outsourced sales approach.
If you are like many other organizations that are tiring to create sales in tough times, you may be looking for some sales help by fixing some of your current sales problems. Depending on the problem there are many places you can turn to for help.
Some common problems (and potential solutions) include:
Having the right sales team, but not the right sales process:
- Organizations that suffer from this issue often times can be helped by Sales Consultants. Sales consultants can come into an organization and assess the strengths and weaknesses within their sales process and sales infrastructure. Once assessments are made, they will create game plans on how that organization can improve on those processes.
Having the right sales process, but not the right sales team:
- Companies can be crippled by hanging onto non productive sales people. Often companies benefit from getting rid of sales reps that don’t produce and replacing them with top sales talent. Your chances of hiring top producing sales talent greatly increases when you use professional Sales Recruiting firms (who hire great sales people for a living) who understand and can identify people with “sales DNA”.
Not having the right sales process or sales team:
- When this problem occurs, companies tend to look towards outsourcing their sales to a professional sales outsourcing company. Professional outsourced sales companies are ones that normally have professional sales recruiters on staff who help their clients’ identify top sales talent. Once the talent is identified, that outsourced sales partner will hire, train and manage that sales professional and help create/execute a sales game plan which in turn will allow your organization the ability to focus on its core competencies.
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Often when times were tough and people try boosting sales for their organization, they look to a sales consultant. Today, there are many more options to consider when you are looking for sales in tough times. Sales outsourcing or b2b lead generation can be two options to consider. The best way to fix slumping sales in these tough times is through hard work, persistence and repeatable activity that is easily scaled when the economy or slump turns around.
An outsourced sales force can take many different shapes and sizes depending on the specific b2b sales environment for your product or service. Most providers will tailor your b2b sales experience and strategy based on your input and provide a turnkey solution. Keys to sales success in this type of a cradle to grave outsourced sales force is total accountability and transparency so both the vendor and client can work together to change direction, messaging and integrate marketing support and activities. Recruiting sales professionals is often part of this turnkey type solution.
Another way of boosting sales is to consider b2b sales lead generation in support of your sales force. Often the sales roi for your existing sales infrastructure can be improved with better efficiency and the roi can increase if the sales professionals spend more time where they are productive. In this model, your top sales person can spend more time in front of a qualified prospect and focus on closing sales in tough times. Developing a sales strategy where the two teams or sales professionals can integrate their activity and work as a seamless team is key to sales success. The use of a unified CRM platform is crucial in this blended approach.
In both instances, sales in tough times are possible and can build a foundation that will increase results even more when the economy turns around. Sales methods can be developed and deployed on a smaller scale in this environment and ramped up when needed down the road. IN the end, a b2b sales outsourcing company can be great addition to your sales strategy and a great long term partner if chosen carefully and set up strategically.
There is an old saying; if you are not best in the world at something then outsource it to someone who is. That can be said with many services that a small business may need done day in day out. Many organizations outsource very critical pieces of there business such as their payroll processing to companies like ADP, Paychex, Fidelity and many others. These same companies will outsource accounting and bookkeeping services to individuals or companies that are highly skilled in this arena. Many small to midsized organizations are realizing that they can obtain the same benefits by using outsourced sales services.
There are many companies that have great (and highly needed) products and services, but have a hard time getting them to market. They may find themselves to be subpar in the areas of recruiting, training and managing great sales people. That said, many forward thinking organizations are aligning themselves with outsourced sales and marketing partners who can become their sales department for them. These partnerships allow organizations to concentrate on continually building and enhancing their products and services offerings while they have their outsourced partner concentrate on getting it to market. These partnerships typically prove to be extremely beneficial and can bring new life into an otherwise stagnate sales department.
To see if outsourced sales services are right for your company call Acquirent today!
Happy Selling!
A lot of people get a puzzled look on their face when they hear the term “Sales outsourcing” or “Outsourced sales”. So, for those of you who hear the term and have visions of call centers in India, here is what outsourced sales is. The definition itself comes from the trusty “Wikipedia” with my comments on their points in blue.
According to Wikipedia: Sales Outsourcing is the practice of having an external company become a virtual sales force for you – because we (mostly) focus on an inside sales model – we can work for any company ANYWHERE. It is differentiated from value added resale in the usage of a “shared risk” model—that financing model requires both the client and the sales entity to invest in the actual sales program – it is this “shared” risk that makes sales outsourcing really work. If the client company puts some “skin” in the game, they become a strategic partner and not just a beta test. This is differentiated from telemarketing in that it requires direct recruitment of sales personnel with specific backgrounds for each sales campaign, as opposed to the generalist sales rep (where the sales rep may represent many companies) popularized in telemarketing – this is one area that we cannot stress the importance of enough. B2B sales recruitment is not an easy feat. When you are outsourcing to a sales company, you are also finding a partner in recruitment. Finding and identifying top sales personal is a full time job in and of itself, and many outsourced sales companies have a dedicated sales recruiter whose sole purpose is finding and hiring top sales talent.
Sales outsourcing firms provide accountability regarding all sales results and activities while representing the brand of the client – our inside sales representatives are held to daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals based on both ACTIVITY and PRODUCTIVITY. All of this information is meticulously kept up-to-date in our CRM system which is then used to report to our clients with whatever frequency our clients see fit. For the end-customer, it usually appears as if the client sold the product themselves rather than the sales outsourcing firm – most sales outsourcing firms who are performing sales channel development act as a transparent. Meaning, the outsourced sales team will carry the business cards, email, and persona of the client company. The B2B sales outsourcing company is the recruitment, management and execution team. The outsourcing firm is, in essence, an extension of the client but is responsible for all operations associated with direct sales activities (often receiving sales engineering and initial product/service training support from the client.) – We are what we like to call “Strategic Partners” – because you are the “experts” on our product, you will train our representatives (along with one of our managers) and we will give you valuable market research and, best of all, increase sales.
The key reasons many companies look to outsource sales are:
- Speed to market; – we recruit great sales people FAST and have all the necessary tools to get a sales team up and running
- Improved ROI as opposed to building or extending an internal force; – building a sales force is expensive, utilizing the tools of an outsourced sales firm is almost turn-key
- Ability to access markets unavailable to client; – we have vast sales experience in numerous industries and verticals and can leverage those relationships for you!
- Improved systems and process to better capture a marketplace; – we stay on top of sales trends and software for you and utilize the latest sales tools
- Providing a litmus test to compare internal sales resources – our inside sales team will be on the front lines and will report valuable market research back to you
- Test a new product/service without distracting current in-house sales team - leave your people to what they do best, and let us test out a new product or market so that you don’t loose ground.
Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion that surrounds outsourced sales. Outsourcing sale is a fantastic way to grow your business. Contact us today for more information!
Many people believe that sales outsourcing is applicable only to very small businesses or start up companies looking to bring a new product to market. While outsourced sales and marketing certainly can help small businesses grow more quickly and more efficiently – outsourcing sales can also be very beneficial to large companies as well. Our clients range in size from tiny start ups with remote management teams to fortune 125 companies with a world wide presence. How we work with them both is completely tailored and specific to that client’s needs and desired sales outcomes.
Outsourced sales and marketing has its place in companies both large and small. The reasons to outsource for companies on either end of this spectrum, of course, are different. For a small startup looking to increase sales – we usually act as the entire sales force. We will build a complete B2B sales process; whether that is sales appointment setting or taking a sale from cold call to close. For those clients we often provide sales mentoring, where we will, in turn, teach the client how to effectively build and execute a successful inside sales team. Many small companies have no idea how to recruit stellar sales people or how to effectively execute b2b sales. We will remove the risk from these companies completely and build an outsourced sales force that will act as an extension of them – all the while being managed by our expert sales management team to increase sales.
Sales outsourcing – as I mentioned earlier – also has its place amongst the “big dogs” of business. Many large companies are not sales machines – they are experts at marketing their products and getting their brands recognized. However, some of our very large clients discover (as they research outsourced sales companies) that they really have not been effective at forging and outbound sales campaign. Some of our larger clients focus primarily on selling b2c – but are trying to break into the b2b market and simply do not know how. They need sales help. That is where we are a tremendous asset to increasing sales. We understand how to build a sales process that can break into new markets and territories. We have relationships and experience in selling into a plethora of industries and verticals. Large companies find our “market research” invaluable to getting the ball rolling for them.
Similarly – every industry has “run off”. The accounts that go dead are too small for the big sales people to focus on, or have just been forgotten about or neglected. For some of our largest companies – our outsourced sales team will sweep up what they have let fall through the grates. The increase in sales that we have provided for our clients focusing on this type of sale is significant. It is the same type of theory behind the bird that raises the water level by dropping hundreds of tiny pebbles into the jar. The pebbles themselves are not large, but all together – they have a huge impact. This is yet another way outsourcing sales can help your business.
Outsourcing sales can be applied to any business – large or small. We can build a sales team – act as an arm of an existing sales team – or focus on a particular product or geographic area. Whether you are a tiny startup or a fortune 500 company, outsourced sales might just have a place in your business.
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