Today we are going to take a deep dive into Sales Outsourcing, what it is, current trends, benefits, and we’ll investigate whether you should be considering it for your business…

MentorsOnline.Com Growth Consultants speak to business owners about tailored digital sales outsourcing solutions every day and they have found there are THREE big and compelling reasons why owners of Australian small to medium-sized businesses come to us to outsource their sales function:

1. They are tired of doing the sales themselves
2. They are sick and tired of managing their inside sales team
3. They are over hiring them too and don’t have the time to look at CVs, arrange and conduct interviews, and arrange all the documents that are required to onboard.

Are you looking to build your sales team to increase revenue and profits so you can continue to grow your business?

But are you like so many of our clients before they started working with us, and spending too much of your time, energy, and resources finding, hiring, training, inducting, and managing salespeople instead of focusing on other crucial areas of your business?

If this sounds like you and your business, outsourcing your sales could be the solution you are looking for and the pathway you are missing to predictable and profitable business scale and growth.

Before we investigate exactly what sales outsourcing is let’s take one step back and first get clarity around Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO?

What is Business Process Outsourcing, or BPO?

BPO is the abbreviation for business process outsourcing, which is when companies outsource business processes to a third-party (external) company. The primary goal is to cut costs, free up time, and focus on core aspects of the business.

The types of business processes that are typically outsourced are payroll, human resources, IT services, quality assurance, and accounting. More client-facing processes like customer service, marketing, and sales can also be outsourced but are historically less typical. But as you will see when we examine current trends this is very steadily changing post-COVID and with increasing remote workforces and advances in cloud computing, software, and automation.

So when businesses look to outsource their sales they are outsourcing a business process and approach a BPO company or agency to assist.

What Is Sales Outsourcing?

Now we know about Business Process Outsourcing, what exactly is sales outsourcing?

Sales Outsourcing is the process of hiring a third-party (external) company to take on specific or all tasks related to your sales process, reducing the upfront investment in onboarding and the ongoing cost associated with full-time inside sales reps and teams.

Why Businesses Outsource their Sales

Reducing costs is a major reason why businesses choose to outsource their sales. Sales outsourcing removes both fixed overheads in the business and the hidden costs of employing people, such as human resources administration.

Outsourcing also lowers the cost of sales. Outsourcing the inside sales function enables sales leaders to slash overhead costs while expanding sales coverage.

Sales operations outsourcing brings with it more than just the sales team, as technical infrastructure and expertise, particularly in customer and data analytics, is another key benefit.

It improves conversion rates of qualified leads and shortens protracted sales cycles.

An outsourcing sales business model provides greater accountability, analysis, and dependable performance management because most Sales Outsourcing Companies are paid on a success fee basis.

An outsourced sales team can spur internal teams to ramp up their operations and promote greater performance.

These are the many reasons we have discovered why MentorsOnline.Com clients chose to work with us and outsource their sales. Deloitte has performed several surveys over the years on Outsourcing and their findings closely correlate to what our clients tell us.

In Deloitte Global Outsourcing Survey 2020, the top reason for outsourcing (70% of them) say is cost reduction. The second reason (40%) is flexibility. Followed by speed to market for 20%. Access to tools and processes and agility matter to 15% of businesses surveyed.

In a previous 2016 Deloitte Global Outsourcing Survey cost reduction topped a longer list of reasons for outsourcing:

59% – Reduce or control costs
57% – Focus on core functions
47% – Solve capacity issues
31% – Improve service
28% – Gain access to expert talent and knowledge
17% – Manage business environment
17% – Accelerate organizational transformation

Sales and other Business Process Outsourcing Trends

With so many good reasons to consider sales outsourcing and outsourcing in general it is no wonder it is becoming more and more commonplace.

Business Process Outsourcing is on the Rise

Grand View Research outlined in their April 2022 Market Analysis Report that “the global business process outsourcing market was valued at USD 245.9 billion in 2021 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.1% from 2022 to 2030. The market is driven by factors such as the increasing focus of organizations on improving efficiency and business agility, decreasing operating costs, and emphasizing core competencies to survive the constantly changing business dynamics”.

Businesses of All Sizes Outsource

And Time Doctor reports ‘Larger companies are 66% more likely to outsource than small businesses (merely 29% of them outsource).’ But ‘More than one-third of small businesses outsource a business process, and 52% planned to do so back in 2019’.

There are a number of driving factors post-COVID that are driving the trend of sales and business process outsourcing including:

• Businesses were forced to offer flexible work schedules and remote work conditions during COVID and they discovered the benefits including reduced costs, increased productivity, and higher employee satisfaction. It also made outsourcing a less foreign concept for many business owners.
  
• BPO agencies or companies tend to be early adopters of specialized technologies and tools like cloud collaboration, AI, robotic process automation, and cybersecurity. Businesses are taking advantage of this and quickly and easily adding modern tools to their armory and hiring the best talent to deliver superior performance to their marketplace and client base.
  
• Small to medium-sized businesses and startups are leading the charge with outsourcing. Outsourcing reduces the high startup costs and challenges for these businesses and makes growth less difficult.
  
• Whether you call it the great migration or the great resignation or just the boring name of a global shortage of skilled workers, the pandemic has greatly changed the global workforce and more businesses are looking to outsourcing partners to hire their staff, rebuild their teams and find the best talent when and where it is needed.
  
• Business Continuity is now a priority and partnering with a BPO is one strategy business owners are incorporating to ensure this continuity.

Should you be Considering Sales Outsourcing for Your Business?

When considering if sales outsourcing is the right fit for you and your business here are some things to weigh up:

Do you currently have what you need to achieve your goals?

• Do you have a sales team that is consistently performing?
• Do you have established targets, goals, metrics, and KPIs to drive sales where you want them to go?
• Do you have a robust, automated, intuitive sales process with all the scripts, presentations, and resources your sales team need to be successful
• Do you have a dialed-in and Best Practice system to ensure you recruit, induct, onboard and retain the best sales talent?

If you currently don’t have what you need to achieve your goals and don’t have the resources, skills, time, and/or expertise internally, sales outsourcing could be the cost and time efficient solution you need.

Are you willing to give up the controlling interest in sales?

If you have always held your sales in-house and managed your own team it can be hard to hand over and trust others to do the work on your behalf. And with an outsourced team, you won’t be able to be across everything that is happening with the sales team.

From our experience, if you are a Business Owner running a successful business it is impossible (or at least very unprofitable) to micromanage your sales team and be involved with every interaction and activity of each salesperson representing your business and brand. Business owners have to put their trust in others and just because they are an inside sales team doesn’t mean that your trust is best placed with them. It is so important to trust and verify to ensure you get the performance out of your internal team and any third-party (external) company you work with.

Low Annual Client Value, Super Short Sales Cycle, or Commodity Product?

If your Annual Client Value (ACV) is on the low side, you have a super short sales cycle, or a commodity product or service that is not designed for a niche market it is unlikely that sales outsourcing will be right for your business. In these instances, it would be best to talk to agencies that specialize in building online sales funnels rather than those offering sales outsourcing.

Need more market agility?

Retooling, retraining, and reshaping your sales team to suit changes in the market can be time-consuming and expensive. Outsourcing your sales provides you with the agility and flexibility you need to make changes to stay ahead of the market and your competition.

Want to Avoid the 5 Biggest Challenges Facing Small Businesses?

An article published by Investopedia in April 2022 titled “5 Biggest Challenges Facing Your Small Business” list these 5 challenges that can all be overcome by sales outsourcing:

Client Dependence: when one or more clients make up the majority of your revenue making diversifying your client base an imperative to safe business growth. Sales outsourcing can assist you to quickly and easily diversify your client base.

Money Management or what’s more commonly referred to as cash flow. Without the cost of a sales team, overheads and cash flow constraints are greatly reduced. Outsourcing saves money, dramatically. Findstack.com tells us that “The number one reason for outsourcing for 70% of companies is cost reduction, as outsourcing lowers the costs associated with hiring in-house staff”.

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“The number one reason for outsourcing for 70% of companies is cost reduction, as outsourcing lowers the costs associated with hiring in-house staff”.

Findstack.com

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Fatigue and Founder Dependance are major challenges for business owners, and sales and other forms of outsourcing can be a great way to relieve these issues, it also provides the opportunity to partner with a business that is laser-focused on the customer experience that adds new capabilities, skill sets, and specialised expertise on how to deliver a buying experience that delights and converts.

Balancing Quality and Growth. Sales outsourcing helps businesses take advantage of existing and untapped opportunities by leveraging additional salespeople and increasing company outreach from its current position to a situation that allows for scale. It quickly and effectively drives revenue transformation and allows for a balance of quality and growth as internal resources, energy and time can be dedicated to client delivery and other strategic areas of the business as they are no longer tied up with the sales function.

What to Look for In A BPO to Find the Best Sales Outsourcing Companies

If you read a few articles offering advice to businesses looking to outsource they will always recommend looking at the track record of a BPO, that they outline timelines, what their plan of attack is, visibility, and how they report. All valid things to look at when looking to work with any business. Here are a few more strategic things to look at when it comes to finding the best sales outsourcing company for you and your business.

Are they interested in learning about your business?

When it comes to outsourcing your sales you don’t want a one size fits all solution. Look for a BPO that whats to learn about you, your business, your market, your ideal client, your offer, and your current sales system before they do anything else. Look for a BPO that will use their knowledge, experience, and expertise to tailor a digital sales solution based on everything they learn about you and your business. If a BPO takes the time to learn these things and provide a tailored solution they are more likely to be able to align their sales outreach with your unique culture, brand, and image.

How do they staff and train their team?

Is the outsourced team internal or will the BPO, in turn, outsource to provide your salespeople or team? Will the salespeople be dedicated solely to you or will they be working for multiple companies at the same time? How do they recruit, train, manage, mentor, and develop the people that will be working for you?

It’s not just about the team, it’s about the process too…

The people that will be representing your business and brand are super important but it is also important to look for a company that will also build a robust, highly automated, intuitive sales process that is so Dialled-IN, that poor fit prospects deselect themselves and ideal clients eagerly anticipate the sales call and create a presentation, script, and slide decks that converts and wins more sales on the call.

How will your relationship be managed?

When it comes to sales outsourcing you are really looking to establish a long-term relationship with your chosen BPO. So fit and rapport is important. Consider finding a company that also offers ongoing business consulting services as these are the ones that tend to be more invested in your success and can assist you with other strategic areas of your business including delivery, lead generation, and sales and marketing alignment.

Outsourcing is an excellent way to save time and money. Outsourcing can also help you find top talent in places you would never have access to if you only hire within your local area. Sales outsourcing can provide a huge return on investment, and quickly and effectively drive revenue and profits.

If you are looking to increase your sales, build a sales team or you’re simply sick of doing the sales yourself or managing your internal sales team, reach out to a Business Process Outsourcing business that specializes in sales outsourcing like MentorsOnline.Com to see if outsourcing your sales is the best solution for your business to do this and the pathway you are currently missing in achieving predictable and profitable business scale and growth.