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Four Questions to Ask When Outsourcing Inside Sales

Inside Sales Lead Management Featured Article

Four Questions to Ask When Outsourcing Inside Sales
 
August 01, 2014

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  By Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor
 


If your business is anything like mine, you have more leads than you have time to prospect. When this happens, it might be time to consider outsourcing your inside sales.

Outsourcing can be a great way to maximize leads and supply cost-effective sales staff, which is why many businesses employ outside staff for inside sales. But not all outsources sales teams are created equal. It pays to research outsourcing options before making a commitment.


There are four key questions that every business needs to ask when evaluating sales outsourcing operations: what kind of clients does the firm serve, how will leads be qualified and transferred, what’s the feedback process, and which metrics will be used to gauge the sales staff’s progress.

The first question is one of the most important: What kind of clients does the inside sales firm service? There are generalist outsourcing firms, and there are specialist sales firms. Definitely go with the latter.

That’s because while many generalist sales firms will have a conversion rate between 20 and 30 percent, specialist firms typically convert 60 to 70 percent. This is common sense, since specialist firms know the industry they are selling.

Second, a qualification conversation is very important to understand before going with a partner. Know the partner’s criteria to qualify leads, and make sure that criteria matches your business. Also understand if the quality leads passed over express a business pain that can be solved by your product or service, and define the next step. This understanding will help you know your outsourced sales staff much better.

A third thing to consider is the feedback process. What kind of feedback process will your outsourced partner provide? Closed-loop feedback allows for communication between everyone involved, including the outsourced team and your own team, on each opportunity, so look for it. This information keeps both teams on track with their metrics and allows for better communication on what’s working and what’s not, as well as more insightful conversations on how to serve your sales numbers.

Finally, review what kind of reporting the outsourcing firm offers. Does it offer a customized reporting dashboard? What metrics show the success of failure of its reps?

While outsourcing inside sales often makes sense, a sales job done poorly is worse than no job done at all. So makes sure to ask these four questions when considering sales partners. 


Edited by Rory J. Thompson

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