Can Outsourced Sales Management Work for Your Company?

Outsourcing sales management is a viable option for many companies. Some executives are still hesitant to give it a try, but more and more are seeing that outsourcing sales management can be beneficial to their company.

What exactly is involved with outsourcing sales management? How much does it cost? What do you need to consider before making the switch? Let us take a closer look at these questions and more below!

Outsourced Sales Management As a Growth Strategy

Outsourced sales management is when a company hires a single person or team to manage its sales. The end goal is to get the most out of your sales team. Outsourcing helps ensure that your salespeople follow best practices, stay on top of industry trends, and keep up with competitors.

Outsourced managers act like extensions of your business. They handle everything from lead generation to identifying new growth opportunities.

You can also have outsourced sales reps to help with customer outreach and retention efforts. Depending on the level of expertise you go for, outsourced teams can guide you through pricing strategies and campaigns that churn big profits.

How Does Outsourced Sales Management Differ From Outsourced Marketing?

Outsourced marketing companies are an option for companies that need a full range of marketing services. These services can include:

• Market analysis
• Conversion optimization
• Sales funnel mapping
• Client relations
• Public relations (PR) services

Outsourced firms are more efficient than in-house marketing teams that may be limited to only one or two core functions. They have more resources at their disposal than a single employee could ever hope to have.

Letting your internal salespeople go at it alone without outside direction could mean spending money without seeing results. By contrast, an agency will provide advice and create campaigns based on what works best in similar situations elsewhere.

The Sales Development Needs of Companies Today

There is a huge gap between the current state of sales development efficiency and what it could be. There is a need for businesses to approach marketing in a way that creates value for customers.

Skills

The skills required by today’s sales professionals have evolved significantly over the past decade or two. However, many companies are still recruiting and training employees who lack these skills – even though they are critical components of success! A study showed that only 38% of businesses provided effective training opportunities six months after hiring new employees.

Strategy

Sales leaders are looking for strategies to help them connect with prospective buyers at scale. Better strategies are in demand to engage prospects in meaningful conversations from the first touchpoint to purchase.

Technology

Sales leaders want a single framework for managing every funnel stage, from prospecting through conversion and beyond. They also want to ensure that their teams use data effectively to make informed decisions about which prospects are most likely to convert into customers and which ones are not.

Data & Research

A report by Mckinsey underscores the importance of big data in optimizing marketing results. Organizations must use data analytics tools like AI-powered predictive models and traditional methods like surveys/interviews. These data-led approaches are key to better understanding the drivers affecting demand generation activities across the sales cycle.

Outsourcing Sales To Improve Sales Development

It can be difficult to know where to start when marketing and selling products and services as a new business owner.

An outsourced sales company can help by creating a detailed plan for how your salespeople should go about closing deals. They will develop strategies for how much time should be spent on each prospect and the best approaches to speedy conversions.

Other roles played by third party sales teams include:

• Improving product knowledge in your sales department  
• Teaching your sales team how to prospect
• Helping your sales team understand the market
• Helping your sales team to work through objections
• Increasing closing ratios on sales
• Holding your salespeople accountable

Outsourcing As a Sales Strategy for Your Company

The benefits of outsourcing your sales management are many. Most importantly, you gain access to a team of experts and tools that can help you:

• Reach untapped markets
• Identify opportunities
• Achieve desired growth goals

While outsourcing has been around for decades, companies have only recently begun to realize the full benefits of this strategy.

Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble outsource their sales management needs to SalesforceIQ (acquired by Oracle and later Microsoft).

Other B2B firms like SAP and Capgemini use outside agencies like Accenture or IBM to manage their internal teams. 

Many other executives outsource their sales departments to improve overall efficiency within their organizations.

Which Company Should Choose an Outsourced Sales Force?

An outsourced sales force is an ideal solution for companies that:

• Want to reduce costs and increase productivity
• Want to scale up their business without adding manpower or infrastructure
• Need more flexibility in hiring and retaining talent when many talented sales agents are available on the market today but have a limited budget

B2B Lead Generation Roles of a Full-Time Sales Manager

As the manager of your sales team, an outsourced sales expert will be responsible for executing sales and marketing strategies.

They will also be responsible for managing the sales pipeline and training new hires and employees on your team. The sales manager will ensure that your sales team has what they need to succeed.

The sales manager will also be responsible for setting goals and objectives with each team member so that everyone is working toward something together.

Finally, they will be held accountable for providing support for your team members when needed. Outsourced sales management should manage your team’s performance so that they are meeting their targets consistently.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Sales Operations

If you are looking for sales growth and cost savings, outsourcing your sales operations can help. Though the decision to outsource should not be taken lightly, it is an option that many businesses have found beneficial.

A few of the benefits of outsourcing sales include:

Cost Savings

With outsourcing, there is less money spent on office space, equipment, and utilities which means more profit.

Improved Growth

An experienced team will help you maximize your market potential by providing access to new opportunities and markets.

Access to Market-Leading Expertise

Your outsourced sales partner will use their expertise to provide best-in-class services with measurable results.

More Time To Focus on Core Business Functions

Sales partnerships will allow you to spend time on other areas of interest like research and development to grow your organization.

Efficient Teams

An outsourced sales manager can be an effective mentor to your team. These leaders will help your employees grow and thrive in their careers, allowing them to put their best foot forward when it comes time to meet with clients or customers.

Increased Productivity

When you are trying to improve productivity and cut costs, it is important to do the math. After all, it is a big win for both you and your customers if you can get more done with less effort and expense.

Outsourced sales management is always cheaper (more on the numbers later) than having in-house staff members fill these roles. It works well for your business goals and financial situation. Having someone else manage them can be a great way of getting more bang for your buck.

Competence and Motivation

As a company leader, you have to be aware of the importance of having a competent and motivated sales management team. Your top-performing salespeople are your most valuable assets, and if they are not performing well because they do not have the right support from their managers, then it is time to take action.

Cost-Benefit Analysis: Hiring vs. Outsourcing Sales Operations

Let us look at the cost-value analysis of hiring a full-time sales manager and then compare it to outsourcing sales operations.

The average cost of hiring a full-time sales manager:

• Salary = $89,720 per year
• Benefits = $10,000 per year
• Office space = $25,000 (includes rent, utilities and furniture) annually
• Sales training & development = $10,000 annually (includes costs for new hire orientation training)

Grand total averaging = $134,720 or more annually.

On the other hand, enterprise outsourced sales management has a flat fee of about $2,000 – $8,000 per month or $24,000 – $96,000 annually.

Eventually, you realize that your company can achieve better results and spend less through outsourcing sales.

Final Thoughts

In summary, outsourced sales management can be a great choice for companies looking to streamline their sales operations. Outsourcing sales can help free up time for your internal team members to focus on more important tasks. You will be able to bring in more revenue and make your business more profitable in the long haul.