3 steps to successfully outsource your inside sales · this article was written by ray kemper, cmo...
TRANSCRIPT
This article was written by Ray Kemper, CMO of Televerde and published by Business2Community in September 2016.
Business2Community provides a balanced view of the current business landscape based on industry news and trends.
By Ray Kemper
3 Steps to Successfully Outsource Your Inside Sales
While outsourcing strategies have
transformed the B2B landscape over
the last decade, one of the most
hotly debated areas has been inside
sales and marketing. Many leaders
considered them strictly internal
functions, too central to trust to
ooutside hands. Yet these days more
and more companies are handing
over functions like marketing
automation, lead generation,
telemarketing and inside sales to
expert external partners.
IIf you’re new to outsourcing you
might assume the most obvious
benefit is simply lifting a burden off
your team. That the new partner can
take care of time-consuming
responsibilities while your team
focuses on its core mission. But
ooutsourcing is also an opportunity to
acquire expertise you don’t have.
Maybe it’s taking advantage of a call
mastery program or deep insights
about your company’s buying
personas.
The partner can also bring fresh
eeyes to your business – and
compare that new perspective
with verified industry benchmarks.
There’s no need to hire new
ffull- time staff to get the right talent
bench or retrain your existing team
on a long learning curve. You can
leapfrog over delays and tap
advanced expertise on day one.
What does that lead to? More
rrevenue from experts that specialize
in inside sales excellence and a
bench for minimizing downtime.
Just one caveat: outsourcing isn’t
something to plunge into. Your partner
3 Steps to Successfully Outsource Your Inside Sales1
will act as an extension of your brand,
with your image and messaging in
their hands, which means you want to
pick very capable hands. The other
team might also have different
processes and approaches in a few
areas. To ensure your partner fits
pproductively into your existing
dynamic, you’ll need to work through
three phases: understanding if
outsourcing is right for you, picking
valuable and compatible partners, and
then making the partnership work.
Diagnosing Your Needs
To understand if an outsourced
inside sales partner makes the most
sense for you, see if any of the
following traits fit your business:
You’d like to rapidly increase sales
to boost, meet seasonal demands or
accompany growth but don’t have
the bandwidth, right in-house
technology or other resources.
Your growth involves handling
new geographic regions outside your
wheelhouse – and you need
experienced sales and marketing
pros who understand those areas.
You’d like to focus your resources
oon organizational goals beyond sales
and marketing.
Or maybe you’re grappling with this
ongoing challenge: a high turnover
rate in your inside sales department.
If you’re spending significant sums
on constant recruitment and training,
aand continually sacrificing lost
tionships and sales, outsourcing
could solve that challenge.
Picking the right partner
Your partner will act as your
ambassador, conveying your image
and commitment to your customers.
IIdeally, your prospects and customer
interactions should be seamless and
represented as one team. To attain
that seamless feel, a thorough
selection process is critical. Also,
remember that your partner will
inflinfluence your internal team as well.
Any cultural disconnect will be felt
on every level, creating a fissure that
could derail momentum.
TTo assess whether a prospective
partner’s culture is compatible with
your own, evaluate them on these
measures:
Experience. Have they handled
clients in your industry, or helped
businesses with similar objectives?
Will the learning curve be minimal?
Skill. Do they have the talent
bench you don’t? Can they
supplement the right skill set so your
people can focus on their own
directives?
Audience. Do they understand
your target audience – how to sell to
your buying personas?
Reporting process. Is there a
feedback loop and how does it work?
What metrics will measure success?
What specific data will you get?
Cost and Value. Don’t just factor
in their fees; consider the overall
value of the above areas. Make sure
you anticipate the resources needed
to make the partnership work and
have an understanding of the ROI
goals needed to justify the
ooutsourcing model.
3 Steps to Successfully Outsource Your Inside Sales2
Ideally, your prospects and customer interactions should be seamless and represented as one team.
Turning Synergy into Success
One of the most common – and
ppoisonous – partnership mistakes is
the attempt to micromanage activities.
Successful partnerships are built on
trust. If you’ve done your research
and concluded that this is the best
partner for your goals, at some point
you’ll need to hand over the keys and
wawatch your partner drive off.
Candid communication is key here,
both internally and with your partner.
Map out expectations and agree on
your definition of success. Both
teams are going to be playing off
each other’s strengths – and fostering
open, frequent dialogues will help
everyone feel more connected.
TThat transparency will also help you
earn the necessary buy-in. Schedule
quarterly business reviews with stake-
holders to share partnership progress
details. Give your existing sales team
the information they need to feel
comfortable and confident about the
““new guys.” Let them know this new
the relationship from an investment
perspective? How long is it taking
potential sales to hit the pipeline? Is
your partner offering up actionable data
and providing quality qualitative insight?
Regular check-ins will provide you
with this intelligence, as well as
opopportunities for modification. You
may decide to pull some areas back
in-house or hand over even more
rresponsibilities. Two years down the
road, your partnership may look very
different from what you intended.
That’s a good thing – it means the
program is growing with your needs.
Keep talking, testing and measuring
and you’ll create the map to long-term
susuccess with an outsourced sales
model.
relationship will benefit them so
they’re motivated to collaborate with
the other team instead of competing
with them. Any sense of secrecy,
ininternally or externally, can lead to a
fractured program so outline respon-
sibilities and share successes and
setbacks. Create an environment
where you are both learning and
pushing for the best results. Foster a
safe environment to get better
together on the campaign results.
The Evolving Partnership
Even great relationships change over
time. As the partnership continues,
evaluate its success from a variety of
angles. Do the metrics match
expectations?
RRemember to set realistic expecta-
tions. For example: Tracking
closed/won deals in a six month trial
when you already know your typical
sales cycle is eight months, sets you
up for failure. Focus on the pipeline
vs. the closed/won in this case. What
ROI are you seeing – does it justify
Find out how Televerde can be an
extension of your sales and
marketing team.
televerde.com 888-787-2829
If you’ve done your research and concluded that this is the best partner for your goals, at some point you’ll need to hand over the keys and watch your partner drive off.
3 Steps to Successfully Outsource Your Inside Sales3
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