Inside sales outsourcing happens for a number of reasons. It adds capacity for startups and growing businesses. It lets in-house teams focus on growing relationships and closing deals. It provides specialized resources to accelerate results.
Whatever the reason, before your company outsources any or all of its inside sales or lead generation function, be sure to get buy-in from internal team members. Strong collaboration and communication between your organization and your sales outsourcing company are critical to success.
How inside sales outsourcing works
Sales prospecting, lead generation and appointment-setting are the most common inside sales activities to outsource. That’s because keeping the sales pipeline filled takes consistent effort. Cold calling, list building and identifying new prospects should occur on an ongoing basis. Yet far too often, when inside sales professionals get busy working later stage opportunities, these critical early stage basics get the cold shoulder.
With inside sales outsourcing, a team of trained business development representative handles some or all aspects of lead generation and lead nurturing for you.
- You help develop the ideal prospect profile, contact list and key talk points.
- Then, your outsourced inside sales team starts calling to identify new prospects, generate leads, qualify inquiries and set appointments on your behalf.
- Every day, you receive updates on progress, along with a hand-off of completed contacts.
How to improve results when outsourcing inside sales and lead generation
Support from your internal team is critical. Without buy-in, your valuable leads can languish in the CRM system or someone’s in-box, or receive only a cursory follow-up. Timely hand-offs are essential, and they only happen with a clear process and active support from the internal team.
Here are five best practices to maximize your ROI when you outsource.
Include your sales reps in the development process
Every outsourcing project is a partnership. The value and ROI you receive directly correlates to how well you equip both your outsourced lead generation firm and your internal team. One of the critical steps for the internal team will be conducting timely follow up with any contacts who express immediate interest in your solution.
Typically, this is the job of your field sales reps, account managers or distributor network. As you develop your outsourced lead generation campaign, make sure to get firsthand input from these individuals. The more your current reps can share their valuable knowledge of your product and the market, the stronger your results. This information transfer works well at the onset of your outsourcing, as well as when you expand or adapt your program.
Understand how sales defines a qualified lead
Experienced sales reps have clear opinions about what works and what doesn’t in the market. Work with them to identify the criteria that denote a qualified lead. Then, document it clearly and share it with the outsourced lead generation firm.
This transparency helps both sides work effectively. You can monitor your outsourced inside sales team’s progress, and your internal team will know exactly what to expect when they receive leads and appointments marked for their attention.
Meet your outsourced inside sales team
The in-house team should meet the outsourced callers working on your program. This simple connection helps everyone alleviate concerns and move forward with confidence. Host a kick-off meeting via videoconference (or even a live phone call) to establish trust and rapport between both sides.
Once lead generation or appointment-setting gets underway, make sure there are regular opportunities for updates and open communication. After all, everyone involved is working toward the same goals.
Ask for (and implement) feedback
One of the biggest advantages of an outsourced inside sales or lead generation effort is the ability to measure and refine your approach. That’s why creating a feedback loop with the internal team matters. Both sides interact with your target audience; every connection with your prospects and potential customers provides valuable insights.
Make sure you have easy ways to document ideas and identify areas of concern. Assign an account manager or point person on both sides who will help use this information constructively to shape an even stronger outbound calling campaign. Feedback on lost leads and “dead” opportunities is especially critical to adjust overall strategy and improve ROI.
Provide clear next steps and track advancement
Every day, your outsourced inside sales team will identify decision-makers and generate leads. It’s important to think of that information as the start of a process—not the end result. Tracking how your leads advance is critical. Before your outsourced firm starts calling, make sure you’ve identified clear next steps for follow-up on leads and to measure progress.
Ideally, you’ll be able to monitor a lead from your outsourced inside sales team all the way through opportunity, demo, proposal and final closed sale. This level of information enables you to calculate ROI and understand which efforts work best.
Teaming up with an outsourced sales resource can accelerate your business development efforts. If you need to add capacity or strengthen lead generation with medtech or B2B decision-makers, Volkart May can help! Contact us to learn more about our experience and approach.