There’s a controversial topic of outsourcing for startups. Because of the nature of a business that’s still in diapers, giving authority to someone external doesn’t inspire confidence. On the other hand, startups demand a lot of work in a short time, and having someone reliable to take part in that can be your salvation. That means that sales outsourcing for startups, such as outbound or inbound sales, is a perfect idea. Or is it? Let’s find out.
First, Be Sure You Know the Key to a Successful Startup
The statistics for startups aren’t encouraging – around 90% of them turn out to be a failure. If you decided to launch your own startup despite this fact, then kudos!
However, courage isn’t always the same as cleverness, and you still might face defeat. So, what kind of magic potion do you need to start a successful startup? If you don’t want to turn into a Math Lady Meme when your business fails, you better learn what essential knowledge you need for a profitable startup.
Aside from detailed online market research, you’ll also need several more things to boost your chances for success:
- Knowledge of managing money,
- A vision, plan, and a thorough understanding of how to reach the goal you pictured,
- Up-to-date data on your niche,
- A diverse and competent team.
What Does It Mean to Have Sales Outsourcing?
So, you launched a business, realized how much work there is, and started considering sales outsourcing for startups. If you’re not entirely sure what that means, here’s a short explanation. Basically, B2B sales outsourcing implies that there’s a third party that takes part in your sales process. But how do BPO outsourcing companies do that?
The sales agent is definitely one of the best roles for outsourcing because you get to cut your costs by hiring a motivated, flexible, and stable team that works for you. The benefits of outsourcing sales are visible shortly, not only in the conversion rate but also in fewer sales mistakes and better interaction with customers. The BPO company you hired has the same goal as you – to increase the profit and to keep your clients satisfied.
Also, keep in mind that it’s best if the outsourcing company you’re hiring is someone who can also provide you with high-end customer support. That way, you can use the same team for handling customer complaints.
Is Sales Outsourcing Applicable to Startups?
When thinking about what companies use outsourcing, you might not think of startups since they’re small, with limited resources, and usually have very tight deadlines. But then again, when you think about why companies outsource, you’ll see that the main reasons are cutting costs and saving that already scarce time. Both of these things are something that’s essential for a young business. With the simple deduction, we can come to the conclusion that startups can and should use outsourcing services. And, not only for sales – startups can also outsource software development, and check out the reasons to outsource customer service. Any of these services, when passed to someone trustworthy and reputable, can only bring profits, effectiveness, and lower costs.
For entrepreneurs, outsourcing sales may completely shift the game by boosting earnings and customer happiness with a motivated and skilled crew
How Sales Outsourcing for Startups Works
Once you’ve confirmed that it’s the right time to outsource, the following step is to learn how sales outsourcing for startups works. So, here’s a breakdown:
- Before you even start looking, create a detailed and thorough plan of what you need. What is your focus, what are the goals, what are the milestones, and alike. You must know what you expect to achieve in what time period. And your future third-party provider as well. Write your plan down, and then begin the hunt.
- Naturally, it all begins with finding the right partner. The pool of potential candidates is big, so it’s crucial to choose well. You’ll need someone that has a good reputation, offers the services you’re looking for and is knowledgeable of your industry. Check their testimonials, and contact potential candidates for quotes. Once you compare them, you can narrow down your selection. Also, be aware of the fact that you can be tempted by some parties who offer low costs for their services. Lower prices can certainly be as seductive as Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, but keep in mind that the quality of the offered service is crucial (we’d like to emphasize that by this, we don’t doubt any of Sharon’s qualities).
- Since you’re hiring someone for remote work, it’s important to know that the outsourcing team will be able to assimilate with the existing one. That is done by checking if the third party doesn’t have a bad company culture and passes the vibe check.
- If you’re interested in covering multiple time zones with your business, be sure that the sales time that comes as a partner offers that kind of flexibility. That way, you’ll be safe from dealing with underperforming sales reps and bad customer experiences.
- There are companies that offer specialized agents in specific fields, so your sales provider can cover the whole sales strategy or some parts of it – that’s up to you.
- When you’re positive that you’ve found the strategic partner you’re looking for that’s highly professional and efficient, it’s time to start doing business. The plan you made at the beginning of your quest should be shared with your new provider so that they can become familiar with what’s expected of them.
- Your new sales team will take on all the responsibilities you gave them, while you have more time to focus on other tasks and duties you have.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Sales Outsourcing for Startups
The good and bad sides of this business practice are both present. It’s always useful to become familiar with both, and it’s up to you to weigh everything down. However, since we’re an outsourcing company and you’re on our website, we certainly won’t talk you out of it. Here are some of the pros:
- Imagine having an extra 20 hours weekly to do whatever you want to. Well, after you hire an outsourcing company, extra free hours won’t be a part of your imagination anymore.
- You can outsource the exact roles that you need help with. For example, your third-party provider can take responsibility for business development and take a big burden off your back that way. They will take the meeting, booking, lead creating, cold calling part, and all other stuff you don’t want to or simply don’t have time for. Find a specialist with experience and enjoy.
- An amazing pro of outsourcing sales is that you’ll save a lot of money (50% or more). That’s the first difference between outsourcing vs. hiring – the latter requires much more resources.
- There are companies that offer not only top-notch sales professionals but also a sales manager for that team. The founder of the startup will have a huge help from that person, meaning that they will not have to waste precious time. Sales managers will identify problems as they occur, work with the team, and solve everything in a timely manner.
- Startups deal with a lot of pressure from every side – the competition, changes in the market, hesitant clients… The list goes on. Burnout is more than likely to happen, and outsourcing is already a well-known answer to how to prevent burnout.
- As someone who’s fresh on the market and is trying to stay and slay there, attracting returning customers is probably on your mind as well. An already established team of sales agents will certainly help you out with that.
- Startup companies usually aren’t looking to hire someone long-term. Luckily, when outsourcing your services, you don’t have to worry about that. You’ll get a solution to your problem without spending all that money on a full-time hire.
- Once the sales team you outsourced your services to starts making revenue, it will boost your morale and your company overall. With that boost of confidence, you’ll beat the odds, and you won’t fall in that 90% of businesses that fail.
Process optimization for startups: understand how sales outsourcing functions and select the ideal match to develop your business
Try to Avoid This When Considering Sales Outsourcing for Startups
There are challenges with this business practice as well. These are some of the pro tips that can lead you to avoid losing money and time:
- Try to avoid outsourcing companies that haven’t worked with startups before. The team you need needs to have a different set of skills than the one that offers outsourcing services to large enterprises.
- Don’t hire someone that doesn’t work well as a team. Sales is a pretty individualistic role, but in the end, the whole company thrives if a sales agent does a terrific job. There are, of course, some tips to boost teamwork, but if the team isn’t willing to work together, all of that falls into the water.
- Be wary of how your team might react to the fact that you want to hire someone external for your business. Be familiar with how outsourcing influences the employee churn rate, and try to stay away from the negative impact. You can solve this issue by communicating and preparing your team for what’s next.
- Don’t hire someone that isn’t familiar with your niche and who your ideal client is. If you wish for a third-party vendor to be successful, they must get all the possible guidance from you. Prepare them just like you prepared yourself and your employees – give them all the data and market research you’ve done, and you’ll get the results you want.
- You might lose control over the process. This is the risk with outsourcing in general, and it happens once the teams start lacking communication.
Hiring a Reliable Partner Is the Holy Grail of a Positive Experience for Sales Outsourcing for Startups
Once you find the right outsourcing company, you’ll find a solution to many of the things that might have been troubling you since you started your business. As a founder, you’re responsible for everything for your baby business, so having someone responsible who knows what they’re doing can mean the world. Contact us and get a quote for the sales team of your dreams. We also offer excellent customer service that can be an amazing competitive advantage and complete the package. Reach out and conquer the lousy statistics.
