Internal teams often bring tangible results but so does sales outsourcing. However, as smooth as the process seems, sales outsourcing isn’t as easy as it looks. Planning things is the best way to shape the outcome of sales outsourcing. This includes focusing on the budget, the company or individuals to be outsourced, and the action plan involved.
To further streamline your sales outsourcing experience, we have sorted out the top 7 Dos and Don’ts that we think will yield tangible and satisfactory results from the process.
Dos of Sales Outsourcing
Before we walk you through the downsides, we must prioritize what you should be doing during sales outsourcing.
1. Prioritize the Capabilities, Not the Cost
Running after cheaper outsourcing solutions sounds very enticing. After all, it saves you a lot of money for the same work you would have outsourced to someone else with a higher package. But is it the case?
Remember that the “cheaper” price packages don’t always guarantee 100% results, which is what you are outsourcing the work for. When assessing the potential sales outsourcing platforms, you need to prioritize two things:
Define the need for the project
Analyze the capabilities and whether or not they align with the project’s needs
Your primary aim with sales outsourcing is to reduce the burden on your in-house sales or marketing team. So, work on finding a capable individual or company with relevant expertise. Put the cost or charges as secondary.
2. Stay an Active Part throughout the Process
Working with an outsourced team/individual is similar to working with your in-house team. As a sales leader or head of operations, you must steer the ship in the right direction. Your role doesn’t stop after you onboard the outsourced sales provider. Typically, that’s where the main task starts.
You want to fully engage in the partnership, communicating your project’s needs and also keeping a check on the progress throughout. Failing to do so might result in unfavorable outcomes and waste everyone’s time.
If the outsourced sales team or professional needs guidance and training, provide them with the same before assigning the relevant projects. You want to maximize your sales outcome, and active participation in the partnership is the way to go.
3. Align Sales and Marketing
Your outsourced sales team depends on the brief that you provide them with. While communicating every single process isn’t always possible, aligning them with the marketing team can further streamline the process. You want your outsourced sales team to stay connected to the in-house marketing team to align the strategies better.
Not just personal performance, the collaboration between a sales and marketing team also streamlines the individual performance metrics of the company in question.
One of the best ways to enhance the collaboration is by requesting the sales team to report their findings to the marketing team regularly. From lead generation to a successful marketing plan execution, a lot can be streamlined with this.
Don’ts of Sales Outsourcing
Now that you have a better idea of what to do when outsourcing a sales team or professional, here’s a list of what you should avoid doing.
4. Don’t Get Lost During Hiring
When outsourcing for your sales processes, the list of applications might be quite long. However, that’s where you need to reel in your consciousness to hire the best fit for the team.
Excessively dragging out the hiring process will ultimately damage the hiring experience and leave you confused about who you should hire and who you shouldn’t.
However, on the flip side, you don’t want to rush through the hiring process because that can push you to make an incorrect decision.
So, always ask relevant questions, assess the capabilities and experience, and proceed with the hiring if suitable.
5. Avoid Unrealistic Expectations
“But, I thought we would see 100x the revenue generation after hiring you.”
This is an example of unrealistic expectations from an outsourced sales process. Your outsourced sales provider needs to understand your business goals and requirements simultaneously as the internal team does.
The hiring process isn’t turnkey. It will take some time for the team/professional to render relevant and expected results out of the process. So, instead of throwing a fit and thinking that your outsourced hire was a failure, we recommend you give it some time.
6. Don’t Ignore your Internal Team
Always remember that your outsourced sales team is an extension of your in-house team. So, while the outsourced hire can further streamline your company’s processes, you can’t forego your in-house team’s efforts regularly.
Pay close attention to the core workers and align the business processes with their best interests. They are the driving force of your company’s growth, so don’t forget about them once you outsource your projects.
7. Don’t Outsource for Short-time Projects
Hiring an outsourcing sales firm or professional is a highly tedious task. Not only do you have to go through many loopholes in the process, but you also need to pay close attention to the experience, expertise, and credibility.
Nobody wants to do this every few weeks or months. So, when it comes to outsourcing sales processes to a firm or a professional, you should be doing it long-term.
Short-term outsourcing is unnecessary and will take up a lot of a company’s time, money, and efforts. So, embrace the shifts in the business world and inculcate them into your company’s sales and marketing processes as required.
Conclusion
Sales outsourcing is a calculated process wherein you must put external efforts into hiring the best for your core team and the company. Keeping these dos and don’ts in mind will further streamline the hiring process and make it easier for you to augment the outcomes that you have likely envisioned for the company.
