You may have heard a famous song that says, “I get by with a little help from my friends.” That certainly applies to life, and it also applies to business. When you’re working to build a thriving organization, you can certainly benefit from a little help from your friends; that is, from trusted third-party partners who help you expand your reach and visibility, and grow your success.
An outsourced sales and marketing firm may be just the ticket for you and your business, as they can help you build connections and use your resources wisely in your quest to gain clients.
How can an outsourced sales and marketing firm help my business?
An outsourced sales firm is a team you hire to support you in generating prospects, nurturing leads, and moving clients through your sales pipeline.
Outsourced sales teams build relationships for your businesses using a variety of tools, including:
- Outbound calling: ensuring calls are made with purpose and add value. This may include focusing on personalized triggers (like content downloads or chat connections) to ensure you’re connecting with the client precisely when they have the highest propensity to connect.
- Social selling: using platforms like LinkedIn to connect with clients and position your product/company as a problem-solver/pain point alleviator. 77% of potential customers say they won’t consider connecting with a vendor/business until they’ve done their own research. By sharing information and building relationships in a social selling venue, you make it easier for them to see you as a problem-solver and a trusted adviser.
- Sales Chat: prospects shopping for services want to be able to get answers to their questions quickly. By working with an outsourced sales firm to offer a chat option, you give prospects the interaction/immediate gratification they crave. At the same time, you can gauge interest, score them as prospects, and pave the way for additional, more targeted communications in the future.
- Emails: email is still the top option for communication among business professionals, and it’s a great way to nurture relationships as prospects/leads continue to consider your product. Your outsourced sales team can help you manage email outreach, generating prospects and opportunities, then moving them further down the sales pipeline and closer to signing a deal.
Why should I consider hiring an outsourced sales and marketing firm?
Working with an outsourced sales and marketing team gives you a competitive edge, because this team is solely dedicated to producing sales results. They’ll be able to work with laser focus to build your pool of prospects, then convert them into leads and sales.
When you manage sales in-house, your team may often have their focus diverted by competing priorities. An outsourced sales team, on the other hand, is paid to do one thing – make connections that convert.
And, thankfully, they also have the knowledge and expertise to make that happen. A great outsourced team will comprise experienced sales professionals who have a deep understanding of making connections and building relationships.
The outsourced team’s sales staff will, in most cases, have spent years honing their sales skills. Because of this, they’ll be aware and ready to execute sales processes that get results.
Bringing on in-house sales reps can mean spending time on training them to sell, as well as getting them up to speed with your product. An outsourced sales team will already have proven sales techniques and strategies in place; they’ll just need to learn the benefits and solutions your product provides, and they’ll be able to hit the ground running.
Their expertise and resources go toward finding the best prospects, then highlighting benefits you can provide them. For example, outsourced sales and marketing firms will be able to:
- Qualify prospects who reach out to you through avenues like Sales Chat, webinars or downloads.
- Take an account-based strategy, investing in understanding/connecting with prospects who have the highest propensity to convert to clients and use your product.
Is an outsourced sales team expensive?
There is a cost associated with securing an outsourced sales and marketing firm. However, that cost can easily be offset when you consider the expenses of maintaining your own in-house sales team.
As an example, recruiting can be a major drain on funds, time, and energy, as you invest in both adding new team members to your staff and educating them on your products and the sales process.
Research suggests many firms spend more than 1,000 hours annually on the sales recruitment and hiring process. When you convert those hours into salaries, costs mount up quickly – especially considering sales teams’ high turnover rates, sometimes as high as 34% annually.
In addition, the Society for Human Resources Management estimates it will cost the equivalent of six to nine months’ worth of salary to get these salespeople the training they need to get started.
When you compare the costs of outsourcing sales to these expenses, you may be pleasantly surprised at your savings (of both time and money). And, with an outsourced firm, you’ll have knowledgeable, trained sales experts ready to hit the ground running so you can maximize efficiency and generate even greater ROI.
Will my clients notice a difference between an outsourced sales firm and my in-house team?
The addition of an outsourced sales team should be completely invisible to your customers. As far as they are concerned, the outsourced team members are part of your team.
Outsourced firms ensure this cohesion occurs by using a unified voice to connect with clients, regardless of channel. Well-equipped outsourced sales firms employ trainers and content writers to ensure messaging distributed on your behalf is in line with your company’s voice, style, and values.
In fact, with these focused professionals on your side, you may find your messages are clearer and more resonant than ever.
Research shows that 84% of sales training is forgotten within the first 90 days after a sales training program is completed. When you have trainers specifically and continually focused on improving interactions with clients, your preferred message will make it to your prospects loud and clear when your outsourced team is delivering it.
How will an outsourced sales and marketing firm ever really understand my product?
Many companies, especially those offering technical products and services, may feel hesitant about turning over the reins of their communications efforts to an outside group. After all, if you’re selling something with a great deal of complexity or nuance, you may worry about how any outsider can properly pitch it to prospects.
However, being an outsider looking in can actually be a benefit.
Outsourced sales firms employ knowledgeable sales experts on their teams – people who’ve dedicated their careers to getting customers to say yes to products and services. Typically, these people have one thing in common – they know how to look at a problem, then offer a solution that makes sense.
They don’t necessarily have to know every intricate detail of how a product works; you can connect the technical people on both sides to have that discussion. Instead, they need to relate to a client, learn about their pain points, then get them invested in learning about a solution.
5 Best Sales Outsourcing Firms
VisitorQueue
- Easy-to-use dashboard.
- Helpful for both new and existing business development opportunities.
- Automated data verification.
- Client tracking
- Robust list of integrations.
- Free 14-day trial.
CloudTask
- Multilingual sales representatives.
- 24/7 availability through chat, SMS, and social media channels.
- Human-verified leads.
- Complete sales support.
Sales Evolve
- Customizable sales outsourcing option.
- Integrity-based approach.
- Lead generation, appointment setting, and nurturing opportunities.
JumpCrew
- Building brand awareness through tailored marketing efforts.
- Prospecting and appointment setting.
- Highly trained sales reps.
Sales Partnerships
- Strategic targeting.
- Skilled sales representatives.
- Streamlined product launches.
How does an outsourced sales firm work with my marketing team?
If you have an in-house marketing team, you’ll need to meet with your outsourced team’s relationship manager and set clear expectations. Communication is the key to building a partnership that works and generates the kind of results you expect.
When beginning your relationship, consult with your outsourced sales team about their efforts and the larger trends in your specific industry. Together, your teams can outline key performance indicators, build a seamless handoff between external and internal team members, and determine the best way to ensure you’re staying on track.
Great outsourced sales firms will also have analysts who are able to track successes or issues, then create a feedback loop with marketing to adjust messaging or target prospects differently where needed.
When you’re looking for ways to improve your sales processes and generate better results, an outsourced sales team can bring fresh ideas and opportunities to the table, then knowledgeably implement them.
What’s your biggest sales concern? Have you considered working with an outsourced sales and marketing firm to address it? Let us know in the comments:
