As the global economy steers clear of the pandemic, new obstacles are looming ahead for B2B companies in the manufacturing and technology sectors.
From input-cost inflation and supply chain volatility to a talent shortage of epic proportions, 2022 is going to be a challenging year. If you’re looking to grow revenue while managing costs, the benefits of outsourcing sales are even more compelling in uncertain times.
We’ve highlighted five ways that outsourcing sales can help B2B companies navigate choppy waters in 2022.
Sales outsourcing services are defined as the transfer of specific sales functions or processes to an outsourced sales partner. The goal is to improve your sales efforts by leveraging the expertise, tools, and resources of a professional agency.
Many sales professionals utilise outsourcing in at least one part of their sales process, whether that be research, telemarketing & B2B lead generation, appointment scheduling, or closing deals.
When done correctly, outsourcing sales can be a powerful growth strategy for B2B companies, supporting internal sales teams with their sales growth, marketing strategy, and business development efforts.
If you're looking for support to meet your sales goals, here are five reasons why you should be utilising outsourced sales professionals in your business.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, then you will be aware of the ‘The Great Resignation’. As a result of changing life priorities during the pandemic, millions of workers have left their jobs since 2022. In the US alone, four million people quit their jobs in April 2021. And many are choosing not to come back.
This means that talent is in short supply across the board, from recent graduates, to seasoned professionals. In addition, a large proportion of veteran sales talent is moving out of the job market. The latest ONS Study reports that the number of UK workers over 55 moving into retirement, redundancy and voluntary redundancy nearly doubled in 2021 compared to the previous year.
One of the key benefits of outsourcing sales operations is that it gives you instant access to a fully-qualified team with both the experience and the youthful ambition every successful sales department needs. Another benefit of sales outsourcing is that it allows you to scale resources up and down to fit your needs and budget.
As we all know B2B sales have changed dramatically over the last few years. To succeed in a post-pandemic world, sales operations need a strategy for social selling, a technology platform to optimise sales effort and new processes for a hybrid sales environment. In addition sales reps need to add digital engagement to their communication skills.
In a survey of over 400 sales leaders by McKinsey, 55% of respondents said that only around half of their sales force has the capabilities needed for the modern sales environment. McKinsey also reports that average B2B buyers now use ten or more channels as they move through the sales cycle, opting for digital self-serve for some aspects, and video or face-to-face for others.
A B2B sales outsourcing partner who has already built these capabilities can help you develop your sales pipeline faster and close more deals. McKinsey also states that top-quartile teams can deliver four to five times sales revenue growth compared to bottom-quartile players.
At Pace, our sales processes are based on global best practices, helping us to optimise your sales strategy, from customer profiling, to prospect identification to connecting with C level executives and nurturing the relationship until they are ready to buy.
By identifying and focusing effort on the prospects that match your ideal customers, an expert B2B sales outsourcing partner will ensure your sales reps have a steady pipeline of deals to close.
Building an internal team with this capability is challenging, time-consuming and costly. Recruiting an expert in-house sales manager is not easy and not cheap either. One of the key benefits of outsourced partners is that you are tapping into an accomplished team at a fraction of the cost of creating it from scratch – enabling you to generate significantly higher profits.
Let’s face it, it is not easy to deliver a year of record sales. Not only do you and your internal sales team have to raise your game, but you have to maintain this level consistently throughout the year. If you lose a top performer, have a piece of bad luck, or a big deal falls through, your targets are put in jeopardy.
Your B2B sales outsourcing partner can be your secret weapon in this respect – the right outsourcing partner will not only help you identify a realistic revenue target, they will also develop a strategy that will ensure you reach it, or even smash it! This is an area where Pace excels and our track record shows that we do it time and time again for our clients.
Have you quantified the revenue opportunity for your business in 2022? Do you have ideal customer profiles, key target accounts and a strategy to identify and build relationships with the companies that will move the needle for your business? And have you identified the individuals within an organisation that will help you to unlock budgets?
One of the biggest benefits of working with an outsourcing partner is that they will challenge you to consider these questions – and will invest time in helping you come up with the answers.
In times of volatility, it is not easy to secure a budget for expanding your sales and marketing efforts. Yet you need to be agile enough to respond to market opportunities as they arise – and ideally before your competitors.
One of the many benefits of sales outsourcing is that it allows you to enter new markets more quickly. You may want to launch a new product that addresses changing market dynamics or break into a new region. Your B2B sales outsourcing partner will give your strategy the kickstart you need.
In times of economic uncertainty, there are typically more companies chasing fewer prospects. Sales outsourcing companies can give you an advantage here, making you faster to respond to opportunities than your competitors.
The beauty of outsourcing your sales is that you can scale activity up or down as required to respond to market dynamics.
One of the most compelling benefits of outsourcing sales, particularly in times of volatility, is cost management. Your outsourcing partner pays for infrastructure, technology, hiring and training costs, so you don’t have to. They should also be accountable for meeting revenue targets – so make sure you choose a sales outsourcing partner who is willing to do this.
It is too easy for a sales outsourcer to promise to deliver a number of appointments or meetings. In fact, the worst case scenario is that this will result in poor-quality meetings, with prospects who are not properly qualified. At Pace, we prefer to work with you to identify a revenue target and to be accountable for helping you meet this.
We like to build strong, transparent relationships with our clients, based on a deep understanding of your business and the markets in which it operates. From our first engagement, we will challenge your thinking if necessary, in order to identify a sales strategy that will give you the best value in return for your investment in us.
There are many benefits of outsourcing sales, but these five should give you food for thought if you are considering this route for your business.
At Pace, we have a track record of helping businesses to generate new leads, increase revenue, enter new markets and manage costs effectively, and our expert sales team is on hand to support you in meeting your business goals.
Whether you are wanting to outsource sales operations or the entire sales process, our outsourced sales agency offers a full suite of B2B development services to help you scale your sales, quickly and efficiently.
