Inside Sales Outsourcing for B2B Companies

Outsourcing has long been a solution for companies.

While a common example of outsourcing is software development, increasingly, sales has become another area where companies can gain a lot by outsourcing their efforts.
Especially when it comes to inside sales.

Inside sales outsourcing companies offer specialized expertise and flexibility, enabling businesses to scale their sales efforts efficiently without the high costs associated with training and maintaining an in-house sales team.

Let’s dive into how outsourcing your inside sales can be the right move for your business.

Inside sales outsourcing is a business strategy in which a company contracts an external service provider or a third-party vendor to handle its inside sales activities.

Inside sales refers to the sales process where sales representatives engage and interact with prospects and customers remotely, usually through phone calls, emails, video conferencing, or other digital communication channels, instead of meeting them in person.

There is, therefore, no need for your inside sales team to be at an office. And, if your buyers are not constricted by location, neither should you. It is worth considering looking outside your immediate area. You can hire inside sales outsourcing teams internally and keep everything in-house as on-site or remote jobs.

But you can also outsource your inside sales. Outsourced inside sales is a strategic solution for businesses aiming to enhance their sales processes without the burden of maintaining an internal sales team. It leverages trained professionals specializing in lead generation and closing deals, while utilizing advanced technologies to boost efficiency and productivity in driving revenue growth.

This means hiring an individual outside your company through a specialized sales outsourcing company dedicated to connecting experienced salespeople with businesses that need to grow or test new approaches or products.

But why do this instead of hiring internally?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

Outsourcing your sales team can bring numerous benefits to your business. Here are some of the most significant advantages:

• Cost savings: One of the most compelling reasons to consider outsourcing your sales team is the potential for significant cost savings. By outsourcing, you can avoid the high costs associated with recruiting, training, and providing benefits to an in-house sales team. Additionally, you can eliminate overhead expenses such as office space and equipment.

• Access to specialized expertise: Outsourced sales teams comprise seasoned sales professionals with experience and specialized skills. These experts are adept at navigating complex sales processes and can leverage their knowledge to improve sales performance and drive revenue growth.

• Scalability: Business needs can fluctuate, and scaling your sales efforts up or down is crucial. Outsourced sales teams offer the flexibility to adjust sales operations in response to market changes, seasonal demands, or new business opportunities without the hassle of hiring or firing staff.

• Improved efficiency: Outsourcing your sales team frees internal resources to focus on core business activities. This division of labor can improve efficiency and productivity, as your in-house sales team can concentrate on product development, customer service, and other critical functions while the outsourced team handles sales.

• Risk mitigation: Sales can be a high-risk area with challenges such as turnover, absenteeism, and inconsistent performance. Outsourcing your sales team can help mitigate these risks by providing a stable and reliable sales force. Outsourced sales professionals are dedicated to their roles and backed by their organizations, ensuring consistent and high-quality performance.

Building an in-house sales team can be challenging and time-consuming.

Here are some of the common challenges businesses face:

• Recruitment and training: Finding top sales talent is no easy feat. The recruitment process can be lengthy and costly, and once you have hired the right candidates, you need to invest time and resources into training them. This can be particularly challenging for small businesses with limited HR capabilities.

• High turnover rates: Sales teams often experience high turnover rates, disrupting your sales operations and increasing recruitment and training costs. High turnover can also negatively impact team morale and productivity.

• Limited Resources: Small businesses may not have the resources to maintain a large in-house sales team. Budget constraints can limit your ability to hire and retain top talent, invest in sales tools and technology, and provide ongoing training and development.

• Difficulty scaling: Scaling an in-house sales team to meet changing business needs can be challenging. Rapid growth or market fluctuations may require you to expand or contract your sales force quickly, which can be challenging to manage with an in-house team.

• Limited expertise: In-house sales teams may lack the specialized knowledge and experience that outsourced sales teams can offer. This can limit your ability to implement advanced sales strategies, leverage cutting-edge technology, and achieve optimal sales performance.

As we mentioned initially, outsourcing is not necessarily a new practice. It is an old solution to an old problem with pros and cons.

In our connected world, it is a great solution for inside sales.

With a job that is done remotely, not widening your talent pool is a mistake. And doing so with a trusted and experienced talent-sourcing company such as SalesPipe is a safe bet. You get access to top talent, experienced worldwide that bring their expertise and tricks to you and your business’s aid.

Outsourcing not only provides access to more talent, but it also helps you keep your employees from experiencing burnout. Outsourcing sales is a strategic decision that offers numerous benefits, such as cost savings and improved efficiency. By outsourcing pipeline-building tasks to specialists, your own team can dedicate themselves to closing deals, perfecting your product, or customer service for retention.
By outsourcing, companies are also reducing the costs of hiring their own Sales Development Representatives (SDRs). There is no long hiring process, followed by an onboarding process and a six-month period before seeing results. Results that may not show up if the SDR leaves before then.

Outsourced SDRs are specialists and devoted to their field. Results and turnover will be much faster, as they can hit the ground running since they are experienced with several sales tools and have access to their tech stack. Plus, because an organization backs them, you can rely on them to provide you with more talent and sales tools.

Additionally, outsourced SDRs are a great way for companies to try out new markets or industries or even a new product or service you offer. You can have the outsourced SDRs focus on a new aspect of your business to experiment with different approaches in a new market.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team can continue to grow your business with the tried and true sales methods you’ve successfully used in the past.

SDR companies provide flexibility in approaches to your prospects that company employees may hesitate to consider.

Here are the most common methods outsourced SDRs use to connect with prospects:

Cold emailing is the bread and butter of any good SDR.

It is getting your company's name out there to millions of prospects daily via the written word.
With a good approach, any SDR can see success thanks to its email strategy.

However, outsourced and experienced SDRs will always have a leg up on their in-house peers. Outsourced SDRs are likelier to try their cold email templates and edit them based on prospect reactions.

In-house SDRs may do so as well, of course, but an outsourced SDR will have more experience and will likely start seeing success quicker. They know what might work for what title and how to best approach them based on research.

Because research and brevity are key when it comes to cold emailing, and without those two prongs, it is easy for cold emailing to fail. Even more so if outbound SDRs do not know how to check for email deliverability.

Outsourced SDRs are experienced in utilizing their research for just the right level of personalization and information to make their email copy interesting and appealing to their prospects, something that in-house SDRs take time to learn.

Time which you may not have. Cold emailing is an effective method to close deals by reaching potential customers and qualifying leads efficiently.

Cold calling is a skill that SDRs learn on the job. They call prospects who have never heard of the company before to see if they are interested in buying or having another call with leadership.
It is as nerve-wracking as it sounds, and there is no quick way to improve than through experience.

Green SDRs will often stick to the cold calling script as much as possible, which can prove detrimental to their goals when the prospect does not react as expected.

An outsourced SDR with more experience is much more likely to be able to score that sale for you. They are comfortable on the phone and think on their feet.

The two ways to approach LinkedIn messaging are InMails, or direct messages with connections.

The success of InMails depends heavily on the particular industry and the writer’s creativity. They are often similar to other attempts at email.

But the lack of connection to the prospect adds another, unwanted barrier.

Instead, direct messages tend to be more successful.

To send a direct message, your prospect has already agreed to connect with you. This means something about your profile, or headline has interested them. SDRs can tailor their profiles to ensure their connection requests are always accepted.

And with direct messages, their email creativity can be taken to the next level. Anything from sales GIFs, to sales memes or video prospecting, can prove successful when messaging prospects directly via social media.

Outsourced SDRs are far more likely to try different approaches based on their experience, whereas in-house SDRs and sales teams are always much more hesitant.

Outsourced SDRs do not shy away from posting on LinkedIn to further connect with prospects.

Outsourced SDRs will naturally connect with prospects in your industry by providing weekly content related to your company. They will then build relationships with prospects by responding to and reacting to prospect posts.

When the time comes to pitch, it is not a pitch slap but a natural continuation of a conversation.

You need only look at the statistics of salespeople actively social selling on LinkedIn compared to those who do not.

When selecting an inside sales outsourcing partner, look for the following key characteristics:

• Experience and expertise: Choose a partner with extensive experience and knowledge in sales outsourcing. Look for a track record of success in your industry and a deep understanding of sales processes and best practices.

• Proven track record: A successful outsourcing partner should have a proven record of delivering results. Ask for case studies, client testimonials, and performance metrics to evaluate their past performance and ensure they meet your expectations.

• Scalability: Select a partner who can quickly scale its services to match your business needs. Whether you need to ramp up sales efforts for a product launch or scale down during a slow season, your outsourcing partner should be able to adapt accordingly.

• Communication and collaboration: Effective communication and collaboration are essential for a successful outsourcing partnership. Look for a partner that prioritizes transparent communication, provides regular updates, and works closely with your internal team to align on goals and strategies.

• Technology and tools: Advanced technology can simplify sales processes and improve efficiency. Choose a sales outsourcing partner that leverages cutting-edge sales technology, such as CRM systems, sales automation tools, and data analytics, to enhance their performance and deliver better results.

If you are a young startup, chances are you need to grow fast.

You do not have time for a rookie SDR to ramp up and gain experience and confidence.

You need to start building your sales pipeline and increasing your sales funnel now.

That’s when outsourcing comes in to save you. You can start working with an experienced sales professional immediately who knows all the tips and tricks to get your pipeline going and worthy meetings on your calendar.

When You Need a Budget-Friendly Sales TeamTo tie in with the previous point, if you are a young startup, you want a budget-friendly growth option. A high growth rate is always tied to a successful sales team.

But as we’ve seen, hiring internally for a sales team can be a time-consuming process that is not friendly to your wallet. It can also require extensive training and result in a long waiting period to see results.

Instead, by outsourcing, you have a significantly more cost-effective approach to building a sales team of experienced salespeople and SDRs that can get started immediately.

No need for additional training, simply a monthly amount paid to an expert firm to work with a dedicated SDR. And you can stop or add to the service at any time.

You don’t always need to be a startup to outsource your sales team.

If you’ve developed a new product or want to test a new market, looking into outsourcing the responsible sales team is a good idea.

By doing so, your internal employees can continue to focus on the processes and sales for the regular product or market while the outsourced team can begin experimenting.

They can try new messaging related to your current product with information about the new one or begin to test the waters of a new market or industry for you. Sometimes, they can even start to test it in a different language!

And by outsourcing, you do not spend time hiring and building an entirely new team before knowing if it will work. Instead, you can test the waters with an outsourced team and slowly begin to grow and create a pipeline through them.

Measuring the success and ROI of outsourced sales teams is crucial to ensuring that your business is getting the most out of the partnership. Here are some key metrics to track:

• Sales revenue: Track the revenue generated by the outsourced sales team to assess their impact on your bottom line. Compare this revenue to your targets and historical performance to gauge their effectiveness.

• Conversion rates: Monitor the conversion rates of leads to sales to evaluate the efficiency of the outsourced sales team. High conversion rates indicate that the dedicated team effectively nurtures leads and closes deals.

• Cost savings: Calculate the cost savings of outsourcing your sales team compared to maintaining an in-house team. Consider factors such as recruitment, training, salaries, benefits, and overhead costs to determine the financial benefits of outsourcing.

• Customer satisfaction: Track customer satisfaction ratings to ensure that the outsourced sales team meets customer needs and provides a positive experience. High customer satisfaction can lead to repeat business and referrals.

• Return on Investment (ROI): Calculate the ROI of the outsourced sales team to ensure that it generates a positive ROI. Compare the revenue generated and cost savings achieved to the expenses incurred from outsourcing to determine the overall financial impact.

Monitor these metrics to see how your outsourced sales team is doing and make smarter decisions to fine-tune your sales strategy.

Outsourcing inside sales is an easy step for any company and is especially attractive for companies looking to grow fast or try out a new product or market.

While hiring internally is just as important, outsourcing is the best option if you’re looking for specialists to generate leads and deliver your startup’s sales goals.

Interested in working with top-quality SDRs backed by an experienced company?

Say no more!

Simply get started with SalesPipe today!