There are huge benefits to outsourcing sales, marketing and demand-generation functions, including turning over the heavy lifting of lead generation and sales development to spend more time driving growth.
When businesses have an internal sales team, they face challenges with cost and turnover as they expand, which presents considerable risk to organisations relying on continuous revenue growth. When they are constantly recruiting and training new employees, this can result in lost sales of more than 200 per cent of the annual cost of each sales rep. When it takes three months to ramp a sales development representative (SDR) to full productivity and the average tenure for that role is only 18 months, according to research by sales consultancy The Bridge Group, outsourcing inevitably starts to look attractive.
Conversely, some companies have tenured sales employees who can make managers wonder if they are realising the full potential of their sales team. Adding an outsourced lead development or sales development layer can increase revenue, shorten the sales cycle, reduce costs and improve relationships.
Televerde works extensively with global companies that benefit from a partnership delivering demonstrable returns. “For firms facing the challenge of how to genuinely personalise business-to-business (B2B) sales, they can significantly improve results by adding an outsourced sales development layer,” says Michelle Cirocco, head of global marketing at Televerde. “Having an SDR who is actually reaching out and having consistent conversations with the right people will develop the trust necessary to build business relationships.”
Within 12 months, by working with Televerde, a large telecoms company amplified its sales pipeline by 30 per cent, closed more than a third more deals and increased its revenues. Meanwhile, in two years, a software company, outsourcing sales development reps to support its entire sales funnel to generate and convert leads, nearly doubled revenue and realised a 51-fold return on investment.
When considering outsourcing, businesses should follow a clear process. Initially, it is important to evaluate all the costs necessary to run an internal sales team, the turnover rate for the different types of team members, the number of touchpoints required to make a sale, the consistency of brand messaging and the level of training required within a team.
For firms challenged with how to genuinely personalise B2B sales, they can significantly improve results by incorporating the human touch
It is essential for firms to define the need they are looking to address. Some 61 per cent of companies say that a lack of staff, in addition to funding and time, is the most fundamental obstacle to improving B2B sales generation, according to research by the technology firm BrightTalk.
Common considerations include resource restraints, the need for rapid growth, a desire to expand into new markets and to focus in-house resources on strategic objectives. Understanding the fundamental strategic reasoning behind outsourcing decisions, whether the focus is on increasing revenues, decreasing costs or improving customer experience, is always required as a basis for articulating the overall business case.
When deciding to outsource, it is important for any business to start with a list of goals they would like to accomplish, challenges they want to solve and concerns they have about outsourcing. If they address each area directly and plan properly, they can anticipate problems more effectively and ensure a smoother experience. A well-built case, with clear stakeholder expectations, will set the foundation for success.
For some companies, a common concern is trusting an outside vendor to represent their company as they would themselves. At a time when companies strive to build trust with customers and prospects, brand perception is built through every interaction. Televerde trains and coaches people to become experts in having sales conversations that are highly personalised and relevant to the individuals they are talking to. “A well-trained SDR can find opportunities, develop them, nurture them, build the pipeline and, ultimately, seal the deal,” says Ms Cirocco.
Defining success at the outset is necessary to gauge whether a business is headed in the right direction. Regardless of the metric, whether it is volume and quality of leads, pipeline value and velocity, total revenue or average deal size, training is a key component of success. Indeed, research by data provider CSO Insights shows a 28 per cent uptick in win rates at companies where dynamic sales coaching takes place.
When outsourcing, businesses need to select and build a relationship with a partner that will align on goals, provide transparency and fit into their culture. It is imperative to find a partner who is uniquely or especially qualified to work with the business. A good partner will make a company feel at ease and can explain clearly why they should be a part of the process. The goal for businesses is to find partners whose success is tied to their own. They should be able to view their partner as someone who brings measurable and tangible value, and serves as an extension of their team, not a replacement.
For any business, outsourcing aspects of its internal sales functions is a major decision. It means bringing others into its inner circle, meshing them with its in-house team, and expecting them to sell its product or service passionately and successfully. Televerde’s industry experts are ready to help drive businesses’ sales and marketing efforts further, serving as a valuable resource.
To find out how to harness outsourcing for reliable and profitable selling relationships please visit televerde.com
or call +44 800 011 9048
