by Glen Springer | Dec 28, 2016
When a company has a product ready to go to market the next step is taking it to market. While there is no right or wrong answer, there are multiple ways you can kick off a sales and marketing effort and for some companies an outsource sales effort may make sense. This article presents some food for thought for startup companies wrestling with that decision.
Building a Team on Your Own
Facing reality, if you can afford it, building your own in-house sales team can be a great way to go to market for a startup and to scale. You can hand pick, recruit and train your team; you can control the pace of their work from your own office and micro manage what they are working on.
However this can be an idealized vision. Most startup executives are being pulled multiple directions and it’s unusual for the founder of a startup to have the bandwidth to build and then manage what is required for success. And many entrepreneurs that have not been through several startups often struggle building the right initial team. And this error can cost the company valuable time and capital.
Outsource Sales and Marketing Services
For a time-crunched or first time entrepreneur, the attractiveness of outsourcing multiple functions and aspects of their business carries at least some appeal. This include engaging consultants to help with sales strategy, HR firms to help with recruiting, outsourced payroll companies and accountants, technology development firms to build their product, or outsource sales and marketing agencies to assist with inbound and outbound sales efforts.
When it comes to outsource sales and marketing we often find that most startup companies lose a great deal of the data, and direct feedback from customer that the sales effort provides. So while it may seem counter intuitive we often recommend that a startup company leverages an outsource sales and marketing company to address the heavy lifting of short terms tasks to build infrastructure. We also recommend that a startup uses outsource sales and marketing to deal with the grinding tasks of filling the funnel. And that the startup company staffs closer on their team to close the pipeline the outsource sales and marketing company is developing.
The Hybrid Outsource Sales and Marketing Model
In this model a startup company would outsource the following tasks:
- The initial research to target the market and acquire the initial databases
- The initial push to create enough content to support lead generation, lead nurturing and initial buyer development content
- The initial CRM and marketing automation systems implementation
- The initial lead generation campaigns
- The initial sales qualifying and appointment setting
This allows the entrepreneur to hire a seasoned high caliber closer to manage the deal flow or in some cases if high volume sales are not required, to manage the initial close themselves. With all the blocking and tackling of building modern sales and marketing operations off their plate they can focus on more mission-critical tasks like core product development, scaling accounts to higher revenue and building the overall operations, support and customer service teams to retain customers.
There is not one approach that is right for every startup. Every startup has a founding team with different skillsets. But if your team lacks the experience and/or bandwidth to get a sales effort off the ground a hybrid model may be right for you.
To learn more about the areas Gabriel Sale can help you launch a go to market sales effort we invite you to learn more about us on our outsource sales and marketing services page.
by Glen Springer | Dec 26, 2016
Startups and small businesses are always stretched for bandwidth. So startup and small businesses outsource multiple functions today like product development, bookkeeping and HR. Eventually most companies will consider what sales and marketing functions can be outsourced. Here are the 8 functions that can be considered for sales outsourcing and outsourced marketing.
Outbound Lead Generation
This is one area where a sales outsourcing and marketing company will help you gain quick traction. They will have the database marketing, email marketing and outbound calling reps you need and will be able to turn them on in a matter of weeks. You will not need to invest in the recruiting, hiring training and management of this team.
Inbound Lead Generation
If you have a large audience to target this is an important part of any strategy. Inbound leads are a combination of SEO, social media andSEM. One of the keys to inbound lead generation is a consistent effort and a constant monitoring of spend. This is where an outside company that specializes in this one particular area can be a huge advantage to keep you on track. It is also an area where the rules are always changing and most startups and small business will benefit from working with a company that lives and breathes inbound marketing all day and every day.
Buyer Development Reps
Buyer development reps are there to manage the leads that have been generated. Not as senior as closers, they will be able to educate the buyer about what you do and qualify the leads for your sales reps and closers. Many sales outsourcing companies can provide this person as a part time resource until there are enough leads in your sales funnel to develop.
Sales Reps/Closers
Products and solutions are getting more specialized and more niched. Because of this we believe it’s important for the executive of a start up to steward their business through the early sales efforts. There is critical learning for founders that can help define the solution and improve the product. The executives will also learn more about the key selling points and direct feedback from customers will help them to position the company.
For startups (after those initial sales are closed) and for small businesses it then typically makes sense to hire a full time closer but only after you have a process for filling that closers funnel with deals. We find that it the expense doesn’t make sense for a dedicated closer unless there are deals for them to close (i.e.. you won’t be able to hire top talent without providing a process to fill their sales funnel). This extra sales rep walking into a full funnel will accelerate your revenue and be a huge productivity and time saver for startup executives and small business owners.
Marketing Leadership Outsourcing
Marketing is now a requirement for any company. Creating a marketing strategy that is aligned with sales is one area where sales outsourcing and marketing companies shine. Creating a marketing strategy hand in hand with a sales outsourcing plan will ensure that all your efforts are focused on driving the right deals into your pipeline. A sales outsourcing and marketing company will give you the access you need to marketing strategy when you need it and will be able to scale back those costs once your sales outsourcing efforts are launched. You should expect your sales outsourcing to provide a marketing leader to monitor the effectiveness over time and to optimize that strategy from time to time when necessary.
Marketing Technologist
You may need the part time support of a marketing automation and CRM specialist. A sales outsourcing company will be able to provide this part time support.
Marketing Support
There are many different marketing tactics that will need to be managed; including database management, content marketing support and the day to day management of your marketing automation system. You will also need reporting on all of your efforts on a regular basis. A sales outsourcing and marketing company will be able to provide this support.
Sales Management
For most companies short term and long term success requires sales oversight. An outsourcing sales team will have senior oversight as part of their package. They will keep your sales lead generation and your callers on task on a daily basis and keep them focused on your revenue and marketing goals.
Sales outsourcing does not need to be an all or nothing proposition. Most sales outsourcing companies will be able to provide a hybrid model if you have some of the team, talents and tools in house.
To learn more about how Gabriel Sales can help you craft a custom sales outsourcing and marketing team we invite you to check out our sales outsourcing service page.
by Glen Springer | Dec 23, 2016
This article is a quick overview of the step by step process we go through as an outsource sales team to build an effective and impactful targeting and messaging strategy for companies that leverage us as an outsource sales team and marketing partner, and for marketing automation implementations.
Building this Ideal Customer Profile with an outsource sales and marketing company can help you to accelerate your strategy.
If you have not read what is an Ideal Customer Profile you can find it here. But as a quick recap it is a profile that allows you to determine, based on hard and soft criteria, what type of buyers:
- Have the greatest need for your product
- Will transact the most quickly
- Will help you to drive sustained revenue
An Ideal Customer Profile allows your outsource sale partner to find and target your potential customers based on a number of hard criteria related to both the company and the specific decision maker type.
Step 1
During an outsource sales team and marketing launch our first step is to research the size of the market. This is a critical step because as an outsource sales and marketing company we need to understand if the market is large enough to even merit targeting. We typically share information that details:
- Number of Companies in the vertical segment
- Number of companies that can be reached by direct dial phone calls
- Number of opt in emails we can access
Step 2
We run a Buyer Journey Workshop. During that Buyer Journey Workshop we will walk through each step of 5 to 10 deals that our outsource sales client has closed: We then highlight:
- The decision makers that need to be engaged
- The influencers that need to be engaged
What we typically discover is that there are generally a specific set of decision makers and influencers that consistently have a need for your product and have the ability to drive that decision forward. So we know where to focus our efforts based on:
- Title and Level of Contact
- Functional Area
- Annual Revenue and Number of Employees
- Vertical Market
- Functional Area
Step 3
We combine the information from Part 1 and Part 2 and decide on a finite market to target based on:
- Number of potential buyers
- The needs those buyers have your product
- Your ability to reach that market
And these buyer become the Ideal Customer Profile where we focus your outsource sales and marketing efforts.
An Ideal Customer Profile is (in the words of Steven Covey) allows an outsource sales and marketing company to “Start with the end in mind” focusing all of your investment on targeting buyers that will drive the right type of deals for your business so you:
- Find customers that will transact
- Close at a higher volume
- At the right price point
- Eliminate customers that do not scale or take too much time to service
- Increase your profitability
- Create a focus that drives sales and marketing alignment
To learn more about our outsource sales team services we invite you to visit the outsource sales team and marketing services section of our website.
by Glen Springer | Dec 19, 2016
As a sales outsourcing company understanding our clients Ideal Customer Profile is critical to:
- Understanding what story your sales outsourcing and marketing team should be telling
- Understanding how to tell this story
- Understanding where your sales outsourcing and marketing team should focus their efforts
When you have a clear understanding of who you are targeting and why you are targeting them you sales outsourcing team will produce significantly better results on the back end.
What is an Ideal Customer Profile?
An Ideal Customer Profile is a process for you and your sales outsourcing partner to identify the buyers you should focus on for the best return from your outsourcing sales, marketing and lead generation investment. As sales outsourcing company this is the first area focus on when we provide sales consulting during the launch of a client. This area is critical because the leads you put into the funnel will have a downstream impact across the entire sales funnel.
Ultimately, an Ideal Customer Profile enables your sales outsourcing and marketing team to target your potential buyer based on hard criteria directly correlated to the type of company and specific buyer persona, such as:
- Company revenue
- Company employee count
- Level where the decision will be made
- Level where the decision will be influenced
- Technology Adopted – ERP, CRM, Social Media Platforms, Marketing Automation Platform, etc.
Your Ideal Customer profile should also include softer criteria:
- Business Pain/Need
- Psychographics – company culture, leadership style, corporate values
- Education Level of Decision Makers – MBAs, MBAs from Ivy, Under Graduate degrees
It is also important to know who you don’t want to sell to:
- Are there decision makers or influencers who would feel threatened by the solution
The reason you want to start with this level of detail is so your company and your sales outsourcing partner will be fully aligned focused on:
- Telling a powerful sales story to buyers that are most likely to transact
- Creating the content and scripts necessary to tell this story
- Focusing all your demand generation efforts on putting as many of these type of buyers into the sales pipeline in the most efficient and cost effective way possible.
We realize that this can all sound like a difficult task but as a sales outsourcing and marketing company we have the:
- Frameworks to make this process frictionless
- Access to the database subscriptions to make the market research and segmentation cost effective
- And the experience building buyer persona’s to help stimulate insights from our clients they may not have had the time or bandwidth to uncover
To learn more about why we feel this approach to selling is the right solution for many businesses in this new buyer driven landscape we invite you to check out our sales outsourcing services page or our About Us section which details our sales outsourcing philosophy.
by Glen Springer | Dec 16, 2016
Over the past several years, buyers have decreased the effectiveness of cold calling by as much as 50%. Because of this, buyers simply no longer pick up the phone as often and prefer to learn about new products and solutions through digital education first. So, success now requires a team that understands how to build awareness with buyers, engage those buyers and then convert those buyers which requires a combination of:
- eMail Marketing Talent
- Copywriting and Content Management Expertise
- Content Distribution Capabilities
- Lead Scoring Experts
- Phone Talent
Here are 5 Reasons why Start Up Sales Executives consider an outsourcing sales team for prospecting:
Consistent Results – Achieving results with all these moving parts is high risk. If there is a breakdown or lack of consistency on a daily or weekly basis at one stage of the process it will impact the sales funnel downstream. Knowing that sales executives need to stay focused on closest to the dollar activities, An outsourcing sales team will provide you with the consistent daily activities required to keep a steady flow of sales qualified opportunities and well educated buyers entering your sales funnel.
Speed to Market
Building a team with expertise in outbound marketing and lead generation takes time, and getting that team to work together towards a common goal takes even more time. An outsourcing sales team with marketing support can be turned on and start producing results in a little as 30 days as opposed to months or quarters that may be required to build a team on your own. In addition, you will avoid the 80 to 160 plus hours of bandwidth required to recruit, hire, and train your own internal team.
Daily Management Bandwidth
There are only so many hours in week and it is often more effective to have sales reps focus on those opportunities already in the sales funnel and leave the front-end work to someone else.
An outsourcing sales team is a fast and simple way to get a pipeline-building organization up-and-running to see results. After implementing this team, you can expect to eliminate the daily management requirements, employee headaches and conflicts, HR issues or employee churn.
Flexibility
Using an outsourcing sales team gives you more flexibility when it comes to staffing for specific campaigns. Most salespeople carrying quotas don’t have time to target and penetrate new markets. An outsource sales team makes it easy for you to staff for these campaigns while you focus on closing deals already in the pipeline.
When you are testing a new market you don’t always have the time to conduct market research, test a new message, or determine what customers are saying about your products or services so that you can uncover new opportunities. An outsourcing sales team can help you do all these things at a lower cost for a specific period of time.
Gabriel Sales helps companies transform their sales and marketing programs to generate more leads in this new buyer driven landscape. To learn more about our philosophy and approach to supplying an outsourcing sales team we invite you to read more about us here.
by Glen Springer | Dec 14, 2016
The Right Time to Outsource Sales
When you outsource sales and marketing this strategy can be a significant competitive advantage if the timing is right and your business is prepared for it. However the decision to outsource is not always the right option for every business. Below, we outline several items and issues that should be considered.
In general, the time to outsource sales makes sense when:
Speed to Market is Important – For startups, new businesses or established businesses that are changing their business model or going through new product launches, an sales outsourcing team provides a very quick path to both a fully trained and managed outsource sales team, and an experienced marketing team for one cohesive sales and marketing team that can provide turnkey support across the entire lead generation and buying cycle.
Your Executives Have Grown the Company and Bandwidth is Tapped – Many small businesses generate their first 500K to 2 million in sales on the backs of one or more of their owners or a single rock star senior sale executive. Companies at this stage typically need these resources to continue to focus on closing so the early stage sales funnel starts to suffer. You can start to outsource sales by leveraging an outsourced sales partner to fill your closers sales funnel with increased real sales opportunities. As your outsourced sales team learns more about your business the can continue to take deals deeper into the funnel.
You Are Ready to Implement a Repeatable Process – If you outsource sales, you will get the best production if you can sell your solution through the same staged process in a repeatable way. If you are confident that you are successful selling your solution in a similar way the majority of your time you can then expect your allow your sales outsourcing partner to document and script the process for methodical results.
Lack of Time or Resources to Build a Team– Many small business do not have a full time recruiter or HR professional on staff. A sales outsourcing company will have both the existing talent in place on the sales and marketing side. In many cases you will get access to a blended team of sales, marketing and executive talent for the price of one to two individuals.
You Need a Part Time Experienced Sales Executive – Many small businesses are started by founders with natural sales skills and closing abilities. But these same founders have also never built, managed and led a sale and marketing team. If you outsource sales executive to manage your account is typically part of the package. This will remove the need for founders developing the skills set and learning the systems required to manage a sales team.
You Have Not Invested in Technology or Infrastructure – Early stage lead generation and development now requires a suite of tools to score leads (marketing automation), and manage leads (CRM). If you have not invested in and implemented these tools, a sales outsourcing team will be able to provide these tools and leverage best practices to implement them at a fraction of the cost of launching them on their own.
Gabriel Sales is a full service marketing company that is adept in sales outsourcing. To learn more about our philosophy and approach, we invite you to visit our Outsource Sales Page Services and About us Page.
