by Glen Springer | Jan 13, 2017
Benefits of Outsourced Sales
While many smalls businesses and startup companies embrace outsourcing for their IT, financial and human resource needs as standard operating procedure sales outsourcing has still not hit similar adoption levels. However over the next two years this trend may be changing. And according to Dun & Bradstreet research, outsourcing sales and outsourced marketing is now the third most considered area for outsourcing after finance and IT. And according to several reports from Forrester and Dun & Bradstreet, sale outsourcing is expected to increase by 3X to 5X over the next several years.
Many outsourcing sales decisions begin with the goal of getting instant accesses to talent, processes and marketing expertise that is not currently accessible within the company. Outsourcing is generally explored primarily to drive smarter, faster and more efficient topline revenue growth. But outsourcing sales can also provide this topline growth while helping to provide some solid financial and business benefits beyond simply driving more sales. These benefits include:
A reduction of direct costs – Outsourcing will provide the economies of scale. Outsourcing sales and marketing companies offer the equivalent sales and marketing functions at lower direct cost than in-house companies. This is not driven by paying sales reps less than you would need to on your own. It is primarily driven by the direct sales management costs you would incur building a team on your own. In additional outsourcing sales companies will typically be located in more economically favorable employment markets than if you need to employ in more competitive locations like the Bay Area, New York City, Boston and Southern California.
A reduction in indirect costs – The expense of in-house Marketing and Sales support are typically underestimated. Sales reps and marketers need to be recruited, trained and given technology, software and hardware to do their jobs. When you combine these costs with employee churn your indirect costs can be doubled or tripled before getting an effective team in place. A outsourcing company has the experience to resolve the issues as part of the daily course of doing business so you don’t need to. This allows you to focus your internal team’s attention on high value activities which leads to more productivity and a significant reduction of indirect costs.
A reduction of opportunity costs – Focused outsourced programs improve sales coverage. More leads are qualified, geographic regions or channels are covered in greater depth, and more sales can be wrung from secondary sources. In these and other cases, sales are recovered from previously overlooked sources, improving sales performance at low marginal cost.
Turn fixed costs to variable costs – Sales growth is rarely a clean and systematic month over month increase. When a company is going through a growth spurt, sale outsourcing can help a company deal with expansion or contraction by turning a fixed cost into a variable cost. Outsourcing sales allow companies to grow a sales organization or launch a new product without the need for investing in the fixed costs of adding and supporting headcount.
To learn more about Gabriel Sales approach to outsourcing sales we invite you to visit our outsourcing services page.
by Glen Springer | Jan 11, 2017
Outsourcing and cloud computing are still frequently referenced as the two most important business shifts since the turn of the millennium. Both are based on the principal “If it isn’t your business’s core competency, then you need to take that activity, technology or business process and outsource it.”
According to the Outsourcing Institute the Top 7 Reasons a company outsources any function is to:
- Reduce and control operating costs
- Improve company focus
- Gain access to world-class capabilities
- Free internal resources for other purposes
- Resources are not available internally
- Accelerate reengineering benefits
- Limit functions difficult to manage/out of control
And with the addition of marketing automation and CRMs, outsourced sales and marketing are now becoming part of this outsourcing trend. In fact according to Dun & Bradstreet, with the visibility these tools now provide, outsourced sales and marketing is now just behind outsourced financial services and technology services as the third most outsourced function. Below are just some advantages you can now expect with outsourced sales and marketing:
Sales process improvements –An outsourced sales partner will have expertise across multiple products and can typically cross pollinate best practices. In addition executives at an outsourced sales and marketing company live to improve their processes daily and is required to stay current with all the competitive advantages of new approaches and new trends. And probably most importantly a sales outsourcing and marketing company will be able to benchmark your current sales performance, which is necessary for any sales outsourcing program. Your sales outsourcing partner will typically point you in the direction to simple and powerful solutions that quickly remedy any shortfalls you make have. And if you do not have a set of metrics you are constantly trying to improve upon, an outsourced sales and marketing company will help you set them quickly. Bottom line, an outsourced sales and marketing company getting sales processes right is a matter of their businesses ability to thrive, so in turn, you will get an immediate lift to your organization as well.
Sales and marketing agility – Outsourced sales and marketing companies design their technologies and processes to scale quickly. This ability to scale and pivot quickly allows you to test new markets and products within months without the need to build, design and deploy new teams, messages, content and solutions on your own from scratch. An outsourced sales and marketing company is an ideal fit for companies that want to test or scale new products or solutions in the market.
Company needs sales and marketing expertise – Many small businesses are launched by engineers, or operations experts. These executives and founders are able to scales their business to a specific level, but in order to achieve their next level of growth, they need to look outside their organization for sales & marketing expertise.
Tactical focus – Sales outsourcing can range from lead generation, to lead qualification, to lead development to closing. Many companies have one or two areas of these covered and an outsourced sales and marketing can help fill in a specific gap to help you grow your sales funnel quickly.
Speed to market – Another reason companies consider outsourced sales and marketing is the need to get to market faster and more effectively. It is much faster to have a well-trained and managed outsourced sales and marketing team, that already knows how to work well together to take you to market than it is to launch or rebuild a team on your own.
To learn more about Gabriel Sales approach to outsourced sales and marketing we invite you to check out our outsourced sales and marketing services page.
by Glen Springer | Jan 10, 2017
When outsourcing sales and marketing we help companies build modern sales and marketing operations. As we help build these integrated marketing and sales automation engines we focus on selling to your buyers the way your buyers want to buy. According to Forrester Research and Marketing Sherpa Surveys in 2016 70% of your buyers now prefer to learn about your product solution by an introductory email followed by additional education content.
This means that Email Marketing to rented opt in lists and email nurturing with a marketing automation tool is now critical to a lead generation and deal development process. What follows below are the two types of email support you should expect when outsourcing sales and marketing. We also share a handful of best practices we use when providing outsourcing sales and marketing services.
Email Blasts to Opt In Lists through a Third Party Provider
The first step to being able to educate buyers with digital content and lead nurturing programs is to build a database to market to on a regular basis.
While buying a list and simply blasting it is an option; as an outsourcing sales and marketing company we highly discourage this approach for several reasons:
- Compared to renting a list it is typically more expensive
- You will quickly run into CAN-SPAM issues and will get your email server blacklisted
- In some cases your delivery will be less than 50%.
Best practices dictate that you identify a vendor that has buyers that fit your target market that have opted in to receive educational content. You can then rent this list and send a series of three emails to that opt in list with educational offers that address a business need or a business problem they are trying to solve. The vendor will be responsible for sending these emails through their white listed and approved servers so you will not be violating any SPAM regulations.
The email themselves should not be flashy. In some cases those email can simply be text only with a link to the content offer. The content offer should be educational. You do not want to try and sell on the first contact. Once the email recipient opens the email you can continue to market to them with additional nurturing emails.
Nurturing Emails
Once a buyer is interested in your area of expertise your next goal should be to build trust and to stay top of mind with your potential buyers until they are ready to buy. This is when a marketing automation platform to deliver the emails and to score the buyers engagement becomes important for the following reasons:
- You can schedule the emails on a regular basis
- You can track opens
- You can score your buyers interest in your solution when they engage with content
As an outsourcing sales and marketing company we typically recommend that companies start nurturing once they have a database of over 1000 targets and that once again you keep the emails simple and educational.
We also recommend that you keep the content easy to digest and informative. Blog posts, short articles and both short and long form webcasts or short videos will all work.
Always end the email with a way for the potential buyer to contact you directly. And if you discover through your automation platforms lead scoring process that a buyer is giving off potential buying signals you should have your outsourcing sales rep call the lead to qualify and set an appointment.
To learn more about how an outsourcing sales and marketing company can help with your email marketing and other lead generation and marketing needs we invite you to visit our outsourcing sales and marketing services page.
by Glen Springer | Jan 9, 2017
For decades the typical sales organization was comprised of sales reps cold calling and working in the field. They set their appointments and then meet face-to-face with potential buyers. And in recent years we have started to see a transition to those outside reps getting support from “inside reps” who assist in setting the appointments. And once again typically a company would build this organization internally.
However over the past several years both CRM and marketing automation technologies have become technology staples of most modern B2B sales operations. These technologies enable companies to control visibility of each stage of their sales process. These same technologies now allow companies to seamlessly consider sales outsourcing for their inside sales activities. Here are a few of the advantages to evaluate to help you decide if an inside sales outsourcing team is a good fit for your company:
Sales Training – There are multiple benefits that can be realized from shifting to an inside sales outsourcing model. One of the biggest advantages is that your sales training will become more effective with inside sales outsourcing. When a company uses an outside sales model, sales reps do not come into contact with each other on a regular basis. But with an inside sales outsourcing team your reps will be working in the same office space. It’s much easier to quality control sales training for new reps, share “best practice” sales tips, and disseminate new information. For smaller businesses that only have the need for one or two inside reps this advantage can be even more significant because your inside sales outsourcing team will be surrounded by other reps selling other products. You will gain access to a part time sales manager that will keep your team on track and well trained without the expense of staffing a full time sales manager.
Scaling Faster – As an inside sales outsourcing company we believe when a company is just getting off the ground it makes sense to staff a closer on the client side to gain insights into the entire sales process start to finish. An internal sales executive also allow you to more effectively build the personal relationships a company just getting off the ground needs. In many cases this resource is also one of the executives in the company, often the founder. And then as the company understands its sales process an inside sales outsourcing company can craft a repeatable sales process to generate the lead, develop the lead and qualify the lead using content and well trained business development reps. Switching to an inside sales outsourcing model may make sense, since it provides the ability to integrate new staff more effectively and allows for more rapid growth.
Complexity of the Sale Another highly influential factor that determines how to deploy an inside sales outsourcing team is the complexity of the company’s sales cycle – how many buyers and influencers are involved, deal size and value, and the complexity of the product itself.
For example – an enterprise sale is a long cycle involving multiple individuals at various levels of the organization. In these cases, external sales reps are required – again, because selling extremely high-value products over a long period of time is something that relies on the development of more personal business relationships. If this is the type of sale you need we typically recommend using inside sales outsourcing for the initial lead generation and the early stage introduction of your solution to multiple buyers across the target organizations. Once the buyer becomes engaged your outside sales rep should take full ownership of the sale.
On the other hand if you have a short and simple sales cycle this is where an inside sales outsourcing model can take the sale further. Inside sales outsourcing can generate the lead, develop the lead and educate the buyer. In some cases you can simply staff a sales engineer with technical or business domain expertise to answer technical or deep domain questions and your inside sales outsourcing team can manage the final close of the sale.
If outsourcing sales makes sense for your business then choosing the right inside sales outsourcing model is key to ensuring it sales outsourcing will help to grow your business. In many cases a hybrid model may make the most sense. To learn more about how Gabriel Sales approach sales outsourcing and marketing feel free to visit our sales outsourcing services page.
by Glen Springer | Jan 9, 2017
This article should help you decide if an inside sales outsourcing team make sense for your business.
For decades the typical sales organization was comprised of sales reps cold calling and working in the field. They set their appointments and then meet face-to-face with potential buyers. And in recent years we have started to see a transition to those outside reps getting support from “inside reps” who assist in setting the appointments. And once again typically a company would build this organization internally.
However over the past several years both CRM and marketing automation technologies have become technology staples of most modern B2B sales operations. These technologies enable companies to control visibility of each stage of their sales process. These same technologies now allow companies to seamlessly consider sales outsourcing for their inside sales activities. Here are a few of the advantages to evaluate to help you decide if an inside sales outsourcing team is a good fit for your company:
Sales Training – There are multiple benefits that can be realized from shifting to an inside sales outsourcing model. One of the biggest advantages is that your sales training will become more effective with inside sales outsourcing. When a company uses an outside sales model, sales reps do not come into contact with each other on a regular basis. But with an inside sales outsourcing team your reps will be working in the same office space. It’s much easier to quality control sales training for new reps, share “best practice” sales tips, and disseminate new information. For smaller businesses that only have the need for one or two inside reps this advantage can be even more significant because your inside sales outsourcing team will be surrounded by other reps selling other products. You will gain access to a part time sales manager that will keep your team on track and well trained without the expense of staffing a full time sales manager.
Scaling Faster – As an inside sales outsourcing company we believe when a company is just getting off the ground it makes sense to staff a closer on the client side to gain insights into the entire sales process start to finish. An internal sales executive also allow you to more effectively build the personal relationships a company just getting off the ground needs. In many cases this resource is also one of the executives in the company, often the founder. And then as the company understands its sales process an inside sales outsourcing company can craft a repeatable sales process to generate the lead, develop the lead and qualify the lead using content and well trained business development reps. Switching to an inside sales outsourcing model may make sense, since it provides the ability to integrate new staff more effectively and allows for more rapid growth.
Complexity of the Sale Another highly influential factor that determines how to deploy an inside sales outsourcing team is the complexity of the company’s sales cycle – how many buyers and influencers are involved, deal size and value, and the complexity of the product itself.
For example – an enterprise sale is a long cycle involving multiple individuals at various levels of the organization. In these cases, external sales reps are required – again, because selling extremely high-value products over a long period of time is something that relies on the development of more personal business relationships. If this is the type of sale you need we typically recommend using inside sales outsourcing for the initial lead generation and the early stage introduction of your solution to multiple buyers across the target organizations. Once the buyer becomes engaged your outside sales rep should take full ownership of the sale.
On the other hand if you have a short and simple sales cycle this is where an inside sales outsourcing model can take the sale further. Inside sales outsourcing can generate the lead, develop the lead and educate the buyer. In some cases you can simply staff a sales engineer with technical or business domain expertise to answer technical or deep domain questions and your inside sales outsourcing team can manage the final close of the sale.
If outsourcing sales makes sense for your business then choosing the right inside sales outsourcing model is key to ensuring it sales outsourcing will help to grow your business. In many cases a hybrid model may make the most sense. To learn more about how Gabriel Sales approach sales outsourcing and marketing feel free to visit our sales outsourcing services page.
by Glen Springer | Jan 6, 2017
Today’s buyer is overwhelmed. The buyer is being pitched nonstop by countless vendors selling countless products and solutions. And buyers have less time than they did to make a decision than even three years ago.
So in many cases buyers don’t even have the time to figure out what products they need. So calling a buyer and pitching your features and benefits or making the claim that you have an “award winning” or “number one rated” product or service is a waste of your time and your buyers time.
In the face of the ever-changing B2B technology and services landscape, many sellers overwhelm customers with useless information about products that buyers don’t even know they want or need. This is especially true when you are pitching a busy executive or manager.
So here are five ways an outsourced sales and marketing company can help you stand out from your competition:
An outsourced sales and marketing company can help you do your research:
An outsourced sales and marketing company can work with you to understand your Ideal Customer Profile. They can then help you acquire the databases, phone numbers and email addresses of these buyers and load your CRM with buyers to target that have the need for your product or solution so you are focused on selling to the right buyer.
An outsourced sales and marketing company can help you create compelling content that addresses the buyers needs
An outsourced sales and marketing company will have a team of content production experts that can help you create blog articles, videos and webcasts that provide valuable education for buyers about the problems you solve for customer and how you solve them for the customer.
An outsourced sale and marketing company can help you share that content.
An outsourced sales and marketing company can supply the team and the inbound and outbound marketing efforts to share your educational message with companies in a non-threatening and educational way. This approach builds trust with the buyer without requiring the time of your closers who should be focusing on closing and not educating early stage buyers.
An outsourced sales and marketing company can help you automate your marketing
Technology now makes it possible to share content with buyers through email marketing, your website and across social media. An outsourced sales and marketing company will have the technologists and the marketing automation best practices and expertise to help you build trust with buyers not ready to buy digitally. And these tools will allow you to track a buyer’s digital footprint so when they are ready to buy your closers will be notified so they will never miss a deal.
As technologies evolve and the noise continues to grow you need to shift your sales and marketing efforts to making it easy to build trust and drive value for your buyers digitally before you “sell”. An outsourced sales and marketing team can make this shift to modern sales and marketing operation fast, easy and effective.
Instead of being the irritant that bugs the buyer with information about why they are so fantastic you can shift your organization to one that help the buyer and builds trust first with effective outsourced resources and automated tools.
To learn more about how an outsourced sales and marketing team can help you stand out from your competition and build modern sales and marketing operations we invite you to check out our About Us page.
