Outsourcing is not a new trend, but a business tactic that has become more and more common over the last decade. For many small businesses, it is one of the best ways to expand. As a small business owner, you might be tempted to control all aspects of your business, but that is neither realistic nor sustainable, if you want the company to grow. Outsourcing your sales team can increase the top and bottom line revenue, as well as allow you to monitor ROS, pipeline management and closed deals. Here are some reasons to outsource your sales team.
Workload
As much as you would like to be, you can’t be in two places at once. Spreading yourself thin is also not going to do you or your business any favors. However, a strong sales team can divide the work. All you have to do is delegate appropriately, and time consuming tasks like cold calling will be done by experienced sales people, and free up your time. Another time consuming task, which is also an important one is sales campaigns. A good sales campaign that can also turn a profit is not just time consuming but also time sensitive. Outsourcing your sales team ensures that you have a team that is ready to take on the task, without being pulled from their other day to day work.
Overhead Costs
Outsourcing saves money, dramatically. Expanding offices and growing your business can be costly. For sales alone, why not fill those positions with proven sales experts that already have a work station and equipment setup? An outsourced sales team already has the technology in place that benefits from economies of scale, is familiar with the systems and evolving processes. Outsourcing can eliminate or reduce a wide range of expenses including recruiting, maintaining and supporting systems, while employing other strategies that can reduce costs.
Training
Unless you’re willing to pay the salaries for experienced sales people to work in your small business, chances are that you’ll have greener recruits. A strong sales team includes sales representatives who can not only walk clients through the various stages of the selling cycle, but dig up leads in the interim. That is a tall order for a new-to-sales-person. Outsourcing your sales team means you won’t have to train anyone, because you have access to fully trained and experienced sales people.
Industry Knowledge
An important aspect of sales is comprehensive knowledge about your competitors. If you’re a new business, then it’s unlikely that you’ve been able to reach enough customers to get an in-depth understanding of your target audience. An outsourced sales team will give you eyes and ears in places that would otherwise be impossible to access. The more information your outsourced sales team gathers in regards to strategy and consumer expectations, the better you can tailor your offerings, and keep the valuable information for when you have an in-house sales team in the future.
Target Industry Optimization
In the event that you’re considering expanding into a different industry, sales outsourcing can be a boon. An outsourced sales team can test the profitability of any industries that you may be considering investing in. Time is money. So is information. Having an outsourced sales team can save you the trouble of developing advertising campaigns for industries that will not turn a profit for you.
Process Improvement
If your product isn’t meeting the needs of your target market, an outsourced sales team will pick up on it and relay the findings. Sales experts typically have ideas on improving processes to increase efficiency after they’ve worked through processes, prospects, and sales funnels. This fresh perspective is necessary to quickly accelerate growth.
Finally, while it may feel like you’re giving up control of an important area in your business, the fact is that you gain control when you outsource. Your sales process and close ratio requires experienced sales management to define the entire process, monitoring sales metrics, providing the sales team support, while creating and refining the sales process for maximum results. Most likely, these sales-related functions are not core competencies for your company and you may find that you gain more control over your sales function by outsourcing it.
Read more relevant blog post: Hire Your Outsourced Sales Team