Inside Sales Outsourcing: Everything You Need to Know

One thing to keep in mind is the good ol' saying: it's best to hire a professional.

This is usually in the context of dads refusing to hire someone to fix anything from a toilet to a light, causing more of a mess and a higher bill because they thought they could fix it themselves.

It may be a stereotype, but it does teach a valuable lesson.

Why try to fix something you don't have time for when you could outsource it to someone to do it for you and do it well?

This is the logic behind outsourcing your inside sales and what we will cover in this post.

Outsourced inside sales is a business model in which a company outsources its inside sales function to an external service provider rather than handling it in-house. Inside sales refers to the process of selling products or services remotely, usually over the phone, email, or online, as opposed to in-person sales.

In an outsourced inside sales model, the external service provider typically provides a team of sales professionals who work on behalf of the client company. They use various sales techniques and strategies to reach out to potential customers, qualify leads, and close deals.

Outsourced inside sales can be a cost-effective solution for startups that want to expand their sales efforts without investing in additional resources, such as office space, equipment, and personnel. It also allows startups to tap into the expertise of sales professionals with a proven track record of success in generating leads and closing deals.

However, outsourcing inside sales can also have potential drawbacks, such as a lack of control over the sales process and the quality of customer interactions. It is important to carefully evaluate options and choose a reputable service provider that aligns with their business objectives and values.

You can outsource your sales efforts entirely or simply focus on outbound, inbound, market research, or whatever you prefer in your specific situation.

Seeing all the positives that outsourcing your inside sales team can bring, the question becomes, how do you do it?

Firstly, you can hire directly from an offshore supplier, a more expensive option, or a third-party specialized company, like SalesPipe. SalesPipe functions as a bridge between our customers and our SDRs, ensuring needs are met on both ends while supporting both sides of the equation so the partnership is the most fruitful it can be.

You will seek references from the third-party company or offshore supplier you select to work with. You will also run the numbers to compare the potential revenue generation with the costs of outsourcing, versus creating an in-house team.

You must also agree with the outsourced inside sales team about how you want the communication channels to work. Not only between you and your dedicated team but between the team and your potential customers, and between you and your potential customers.

A good strategy is to have a weekly call with your outsourced inside sales team, in which you review weekly goals, what is working or not working and determining why, and confirming that the message being sent out is fresh and accurate to your value proposition.

Any particular changes, such as additional features to your product or service or a switch in the type of customer you are targeting, would be covered in these meetings.

Outsourced inside sales teams can also provide statistical evidence of how they're doing, which helps determine how much revenue is being generated for you. This data usually includes the number of prospects being reached out to, open rates on calls and emails, and the number of leads being generated per week and month.

Providing your outsourced inside sales team with access is part of the process. Not only access to the basics of your company product or service so they can sell it accordingly but access to you and whoever else in your company may need to be in the loop.

For example, you want to ensure you have the right set-up for your sales team to add meetings to your calendar. Give your sales team access to some scheduling system where they can add a meeting with a lead that they have qualified as worth it for you to meet with. Without this access, it is very easy for potential customers to disappear between your fingers.

If all of these instances are followed correctly, it is easy for you and your outsourced inside sales team to generate quality leads in no time. Having a third-party company to support the efforts on both sides of the equation also offers great confidence and solutions whenever you come across something you are unsure about.

When you're looking to outsource, you want to make sure you're looking for the best of the best to help you out.

Just like searching for the right outbound lead generation service, it's a process.

There are a few checklist items to think about, just like when you're looking for the right cereal brand for your morning breakfasts.

You want to know what expertise or experience the outsourcing company has.

Some outsourcing companies focus on Software-as-a-Service (Saas), while others may focus on supply chain or product.

There tends to be particular lingo that certain industries will have, and an outsourced inside sales company with a specific focus will be able to meet your needs best.

But a company focused on SaaS, like SalesPipe, does have some wiggle room.

After all, there are so many different types of SaaS examples, from healthcare to marketing to soccer clubs, that our outsourced SDRs are jacks of all trades.

Give them a basic idea of your product or service, and they can hit the ground running to get you valuable meetings on your calendar.

Tied to this, you want to know more about the individual SDR or SDRs that will work for you.

Ask about their experience and background and why they're being considered for you specifically by the company.

If they have other customers or have had similar customers, they will also tell you a lot about them.

You should also consider asking what the length of time for a first meeting should be and if the company would step in to provide aid in this case.

Answers to these questions would provide good insight into how the third-party company works and whether or not you think they're the right fit for you and your needs.

Another good question to consider is related to re-engagement.

It's been proven that it takes multiple follow-ups to talk to a prospect before they become a client.

Asking what their different tactics are to go from cold to warm with leads and whether re-engagement plays any role is a good indicator of how the company trains and manages their SDRs to be the best they can be.

You should also ask what sales channels they use to sell, such as calling, email, or social selling, and see if it matches what you are currently set up to do.

For example, if you have been focusing on cold emailing, they can pick that up but add a component of social selling or calling after a few emails, which you and your company may not have time for.

Check what tech stacks they are working with as well.

If you are all familiar with Slack, for example, it makes communication easier, or if you want them added to your CRM.

Ask what they use for lead generation, like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, to give you an idea of what they will be working with.

Sales outsourcing companies are generally tech-savvy when it comes to sales enablement tools. You can simply ask what they're using, and if you already have a tech stack, you can ask them to use that one, and they will easily adapt to it.

A good thing to consider when choosing an outsourced sales company is a payment plan.

Is there a tiered or different payment plan that may be better for you, depending on your situation?

Some may have it, and some may not, but getting the full picture is always best.

Some companies will offer additional materials for their clients beyond email copy.

Their SDRs may do some social media promotion to engage with prospects or create marketing materials that the company may add to their LinkedIn.

This is up to you and your needs, but it is good to know that some outsourcing sales companies can offer these services to top sales team members as another way to generate leads for them to manage.

Starting to build your sales pipeline on your own can be daunting, and keeping track and managing on top of everything else can become overwhelming for any small to medium business.

We've adapted to the majority of sales being inside sales, whether outbound or inbound. Your sales team has to be in tip-top shape to keep track of everything, and training them takes time and resources you may not have.

A great way to bypass these issues and still ensure you are generating revenue is to outsource your inside sales to an expert team.

Get in touch with us to see how SalesPipe can help you with your inside sales!