Learn the ins and outs of sales team outsourcing, from the definition and process to the benefits and how it can help your business grow.
March 20, 2023
Sales teams are a vital part of any business. They are the ones who make contact with potential customers and convince them to buy what your company is selling. This is why it's so important to have a solid and- effective sales team. But what happens when your business grows too big for your current sales team to handle? Or what if you just don't have the time or resources to manage a sales team yourself? This is where outsourcing comes in.
This blog post will discuss what it means to outsource your sales team and how it can benefit your business.
Sales outsourcing is hiring a third party to handle certain aspects of the sales process, such as data entry, customer calls, order processing, or even direct sales. Companies often use sales force outsourcing to reduce overhead costs and increase efficiency.
Companies that lack the resources to bring an entire sales team in-house can benefit greatly from outsourcing the process. It can also give entrepreneurs access to a more extensive network of customers and allow them to focus on other business operations.
Businesses typically outsource their sales for two primary reasons: either the company does not have the resources or expertise needed to manage its sales, or it needs additional support to meet increasing demand.
When evaluating whether or not to outsource sales, businesses should consider what tasks they need help with. How much time and money are you willing to invest in the process? What type of results are you looking to achieve?
Businesses looking for short-term solutions can get away with hiring a small freelance team or virtual assistant. The demands are low, and the smaller team can often handle the workload. Those needing a more permanent solution may partner with established sales outsourcing services like The Sales Connection. With this service, you'll get immediate access to an experienced team of sales professionals that can step into your company and start making sales.
While sales outsourcing company services can scale your company without the time and effort of hiring a team in-house, not every scenario requires it.
You shouldn't consider outsourcing sales if you barely have enough resources to currently run the company. Many businesses make the mistake of thinking an outsourced sales rep will immediately bring in more money and help with their limited resources. While this is possible, aligning the outsourced sales team and your company's goals will take time.
Businesses in the midst of restructuring or changing their strategy may want to wait before making decisions on outsourcing sales. You want a clear plan and vision to give your outsourcing team the best possible results. Giving them a plan this week only to change it next week will end up wasting time and money for your company.
Now that you're familiar with when you should and should not outsource your sales, it helps to understand precisely how outsourcing allows your company.
Below are all the advantages you can expect when outsourcing your sales.
One of the significant benefits of outsourcing sales is the ability to speed up your sales process. By working with a third-party provider, your company benefits from your partner's infrastructure and resources. A sales team like The Sales Connection already has a process for researching, contacting prospects, managing customer relationships, and tracking progress.
This lets your businesses focus on closing deals faster and increase sales efficiency. Your current employees can concentrate on what they do best instead of being tied down with sales processes.
When outsourcing sales, businesses can take advantage of specialized sales reps with the expertise and experience to ensure effective sales performance. Outsourced service providers like The Sales Connection have a team of experienced, knowledgeable professionals who are well-versed in various industries.
This means that your business can find expert help in areas such as market analysis, customer relations management, lead generation, and more. Furthermore, these professionals can often provide better insight into potential customers and markets than a business could do.
Outsourcing sales from sales outsourcing companies help your business scale faster and reach new markets more quickly. Your company doesn't have to take time to hire new sales employees, onboard them, and train them. Instead, you get immediate access to highly-qualified salespeople who only need to learn your current process to start making an impact.
While your outsourced sales team can focus on bringing more revenue for the company, you can focus on where the revue needs to be invested for company growth. Your capacity to grow your business will be significantly extended by outsourcing sales.
Your businesses can reduce costs by eliminating the need to build and maintain an internal team. Money on overhead costs related to salaries, benefits, training, and other expenses associated with running a sales team internally are all prevented by outsourcing your team. Outsourced services like The Sales Connection providers offer lower rates than what in-house teams require. According to Team Stage, 59% of businesses outsource their work to cut costs.
As a result, businesses can focus their budget on other business areas
while still getting the same results they would have achieved with an internal team. The extra cash flow can be reinvested into marketing once a successful sales team reaches high conversions.
By leveraging the resources of an external provider, businesses can prevent their internal teams from getting overwhelmed by the workload associated with sales operations. This allows them to focus on developing and refining their products and services instead of dealing with day-to-day sales operations.
In many startups and smaller companies, employees end up wearing multiple hats for the company. Your marketer is also your salesperson, who is also your customer service representative. Outsourcing allows the employees to focus on the job they were hired for, and, as a result, your company gets more productive work from each employee.
Businesses that only look at the upside of outsourcing their sales team will inevitably get hit by something they were not anticipating. Before outsourcing your sales team, consider these disadvantages so you can ultimately choose the right team for your company.
Outsourced sales companies are unfamiliar with your business because they don't have the same knowledge about your unique needs and objectives. They may also lack familiarity with your desired customer base and the industry in which you operate. This can result in inefficient use of resources and inaccurate interpretation of data or market trends.
When you hire a few salespeople at one time, there is a significant chance you won't establish a good connection with any one person in particular. Instead, you'll be working through an agency or a third party who might be more difficult to communicate with than someone inside your company.
Without frequent and effective communication, misunderstandings or misinterpretations could result in inefficient operations or missed opportunities. It is, therefore, important to find a company like The Sales Connection that communicates with your team consistently to ensure a successful outcome.
Lack of quality control within the sales process should always be a concern when outsourcing sales. Without being able to monitor the team closely, it is difficult for business owners to guarantee that quality standards are being met. This lack of direct oversight can lead to a breakdown in communication between the outsourced team and the business and a lack of understanding about customer needs or desired outcomes.
Outsourcing sales can directly affect team morale when the sales and marketing teams are successful and when they are unsuccessful. When the outsourced team achieves success, and the business enjoys an increase in revenue, this can cause resentment from employees who were not involved with or benefited from that success. On the other hand, if the outsourced sales team experiences failure, this could lead to a lack of motivation among internal staff, who may feel their efforts are inadequate. To combat these issues, businesses should ensure that recognition and rewards are given out equitably amongst all team members to boost morale regardless of external results.
Any team that you end up outsourcing to will never be a part of your actual company. They won't be exposed to team meetings or be privy to the long-term strategies and goals of the business. Their first goal is to make sales, which is what they focus on.
This lack of an integrated strategy could mean missed opportunities for a deeper connection with customers or a lack of insight into customer needs. The disconnected approach can also reduce efficiency in processes and make it difficult to track which marketing tactics resonate with different audiences.
Your business stands to benefit greatly from an outsourced skilled and professional sales team. Services like The Sales Connection offer teams of salespeople who are highly trained and ready to make an impact in your company. As long as you know the risks and prepare accordingly, outsourcing sales can be a potent tool for success.
Kayvon Kay
Kayvon has over two decades of experience working with high-level closers and perfecting his sales methodologies. He has earned the title of Canada’s #1 pharmaceutical sales representative and continues to share his expertise as a keynote speaker and through his multi-million-dollar coaching program.