While there are many people who are experts in automotive maintenance, most people tend to take their vehicles to car repair shops when an issue arises. Sure, it could be easy to go online and educate yourself on how to fix the problem yourself, but more often than not, people seek help from professionals who know what they’re doing… Why is that?
Well it’s for that reason alone—they know exactly what they’re doing, and they’re experts in their craft.
Many B2B businesses invest in sales outsourcing services because these sales professionals are experts in all things sales and sales development, from building prospect lists to scheduling high-quality sales appointments. Throughout this blog, we’ll cover the following topics regarding sales outsourcing:
What’s the Role of an Outsourced Sales Team?
No matter what sales outsourcing partner you select, the roles of the sales development teams remain similar. Outsourced sales teams are responsible for:
Building Prospect Lists
Many B2B businesses don’t have the resources it takes to strategically prospect and build lists based on their ideal customer profile. Prospecting requires in-depth sales tools and technologies so your sales development representatives (SDRs) can call the right businesses and connect with the best decision-makers.
Outsourced SDR teams don’t only have the tools they need for a reliable prospecting strategy, but they also have the expertise to contact prospects on these lists and convert them into leads. Once a prospect list is built, your sales outsourcing partner is responsible for making calls and sending emails to introduce your company and aim to set a sales appointment.
Making Cold Calls
Outsourced sales teams are tasked with connecting with prospects through various platforms, including making cold calls and sending sales emails. While many companies have the misconception that cold calling is dead, it’s still efficient to have one-on-one conversations with decision-makers and explore how your company could relieve some of their current company pain points. Making cold calls to prospects increases the likelihood of getting an immediate response, qualifying the prospect, and converting them into a lead.
Qualifying Leads
Outsourced sales professionals are responsible for qualifying leads. Lead qualification is the process an SDR follows to verify the decision-maker and determine if the prospective business will likely close a deal with your company.
Every company and industry is different when it comes to lead qualification. Let’s say you’re a commercial roofing company looking to accelerate your sales functions. To be a high-quality lead, a prospect’s roof must be over 10,000 square feet. If you chase leads any lower than 10,000 square feet, you risk generating leads with little to no ROI.
Sending Sales Emails
While making cold calls is a great way to build relationships with decision-makers, it’s not always the most accessible. In addition to making cold calls, outsourced sales teams are also responsible for sending sales emails. Sending sales emails is a great way to connect with potential buyers if they’re not easy to reach over the phone.
Key decision-makers often wear many hats, making them hard to contact because they’re rarely at their desks. Sending sales emails allows decision-makers to respond at their own convenience when they’re ready to take the next step in the sales cycle.
Following Up With Leads
Outsourced sales teams are responsible for following up with leads in the sales pipeline. More often than not, leads aren’t ready to set a sales meeting after the first point of contact. Therefore, it’s vital that SDRs routinely nurture relationships with qualified leads so you don’t miss out on big business opportunities. This includes making follow-up phone calls and sending lead nurturing emails that help guide them to the end of the sales funnel.
Schedule Sales Meetings
Ultimately, the role of an outsourced sales team is to schedule sales meetings between decision-makers and a member of your internal sales team. At these appointments, sales or account executives can provide prospective businesses with a personalized pitch that aligns with their wants, needs, and interests. If the decision-maker sees value in what your company has to offer, they can present a proposal and ideally close business.
Benefits of Sales Process Outsourcing
While many companies prefer to have an in-house team of SDRs, it’s not always feasible for small to medium-sized businesses. When you choose to invest in sales outsourcing:
You Have a Proven Effective Sales Process
Many in-house sales development teams have to go through trial and error to see what works for their business and target market. With sales outsourcing, you can skip this stage because the lead generation company already has a set in stone and proven effective sales process that they use for clients in a wide range of industries. Since this isn’t their first rodeo, they know what works and doesn’t. This allows you to save time and money from trying a sales process that may or may not work in the grand scheme of things.
Your Sales Reps Can Spend More Time Selling
Sales outsourcing empowers your internal sales reps and account executives to spend more time selling instead of building prospect lists, qualifying leads, and nurturing relationships that may or may not convert into a sale. Your internal sales professionals are master closers, and it’s hard for them to do that when they have a bunch of other responsibilities to take care of. Outsourcing your sales process helps your internal team spend more time crafting the perfect pitch deck and less time finding the best leads for your business.
You Have Access to Costly Sales Assets
When companies consider internalizing their sales efforts, they often only think of the cost of the sales team itself. However, there’s so much more than the cost of the sales team to consider.
With sales process outsourcing, you have access to high-performing SDRs and the costly sales tools and technologies it takes to run a predictable and sustainable sales pipeline. For instance, it’s essential to ask yourself the following questions:
- How am I going to manage each lead in the sales pipeline?
- How will I know what leads to follow up with at what time?
- Where am I going to find prospects?
By asking yourself these questions, you can see what kind of sales tools and technologies you need for a streamlined sales process. A CRM is essential for managing leads and knowing which leads to follow up with at what time. Additionally, sales emails can be automated through CRM software, allowing SDRs to spend more time building relationships and less time crafting sales emails.
Many businesses rely on referrals for new business opportunities. However, this is inefficient if you want a steady stream of leads rolling in. To find new prospects for your sales pipeline, it’s essential to use sales prospecting tools like ZoomInfo, D&B Hoovers, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find prospects that meet your ideal customer criteria.
As mentioned previously, these sales tools can be costly and negatively impact your company’s bottom line. When you invest in sales outsourcing, you have access to both these tools and SDRs that know how to use them to their advantage. This ensures that the tools are used to their full capabilities, saving time from training your team on how to use them.
How To Outsource Sales and Marketing Services
Choosing an outsourced sales and marketing firm isn’t an easy decision, and there’s a lot that should be considered before signing on the dotted line. When outsourcing sales and marketing services, it’s vital that you:
Consider What You Want From an Outsourced Sales Partner
First thing’s first, what do you want to achieve by hiring an outsourced sales partner? Do you want a predictable sales pipeline? Better leads? More sales appointments? Asking these questions is essential so you collaborate with a lead generation provider that can help you meet these goals.
Think About How Involved You Want To Be With the Outsourced Partner
Some outsourced partners require more involvement than others, so you must consider how involved you want to be with your program. Based on experience, the more engaged a company is with an outsourced partner, the better the program will be in the long run. This is because companies can speak one-on-one with everyone on their outsourced sales team, from success managers to SDRs. By keeping communication intact, you can get the leads you want and request adjustments made to an SDRs pitch for higher-quality sales meetings.
Research Different Lead Gen Outsourcing Companies
As you’re looking into sales outsourcing, it’s essential to research and consider different lead generation companies. For instance, some companies may focus primarily on outbound sales development, and others may introduce inbound lead generation. Depending on what type of lead generation strategy you’re looking into, it’s essential to consider their service offerings.
Sales and marketing alignment is vital for a successful business growth strategy. Partnering with a lead generation company that does both is essential because it increases the likelihood of a streamlined solution where nothing gets lost in translation.
Schedule a Demo With an Outbound Sales Development Company
Once you find a lead generation company that seems like they fit your needs, schedule a demo of their services to see how their processes work specifically with your business needs. Observing a demo of their sales development and inbound marketing service allows you to see how they work for your business. You can view it from your perspective, not just how they’ve worked for other businesses. This gives you first-hand insight into how they can benefit your company’s business growth efforts.
Key Takeaways
While you could handle sales development internally, many successful businesses choose to invest in sales outsourcing. Sales outsourcing empowers companies to:
- Have a proven effective sales process
- Spend more time selling qualified business opportunities
- Avoid costly sales tool and technology fees
At Abstrakt Marketing Group, we help B2B companies build predictable and sustainable sales pipelines through outbound sales development and inbound marketing services. If you want to see how we can help your business generate long-term growth, schedule a demo of our sales outsourcing services today!
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