| Outsourcing has been around for decades. The | | | | Fixed Costs Become Variable - In fast-changing |
| evolution of the industry actually started as | | | | markets or companies, outsourced solutions' variable |
| time-sharing on mainframes. Over the past decade IT | | | | pricing helps during expansion or contraction. |
| Outsourcing has become prominent. For the past 5 | | | | Outsourced programs grow to meet opportunities or |
| years, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), which | | | | mergers, or shrink when the market turns down. And if |
| includes Sales Outsourcing, has become the most | | | | they outlive their usefulness, they are much easier to |
| effective method to provide the greatest Return on | | | | cancel. |
| Investment. By outsourcing the sales function, you do | | | | Business process improvements - Quantifying current |
| what you do best and that is not running a Sales | | | | performance - necessary for any outsourcing |
| Department. | | | | program - reveals gaps in measurement, and points |
| Define Sales Outsourcing | | | | the way to simple but powerful remedies. If you don't |
| It is the transfer or development of sales resources, | | | | already measure lead qualifications, partner turnover, or |
| including overhead expenses, such as recruiting, payroll, | | | | cost of sales by market and channel, putting metrics in |
| insurance, commissions, equipment, training, coaching | | | | place will improve performance. Focus and Expertise - |
| etc.; along with management responsibilities to an | | | | Sales and Marketing outsourced specialists live in the |
| outside organization. The outside organization, the | | | | market-knowing their surroundings is a matter of |
| sourcing provider, has the responsibility to manage the | | | | business survival. |
| sales team to meet client expeditions which include | | | | Agility - Outsourced specialists design their |
| and are not limited to efficiency, revenue and profit | | | | technologies and processes to scale up quickly, so |
| growth. | | | | they can always say "yes" to new business. Their |
| Benefits from Outsourcing Sales | | | | clients benefit from all this reserve capacity In case of |
| Most outsourcing decisions begin with cost-cutting - but | | | | acquisition or change of direction, a manufacturer can |
| rarely end there. Once the efficiencies of outsourcing | | | | scale up or redeploy its efforts faster through a |
| are in place, companies find ways to use them for a | | | | partner than it could operating alone. Their flexibility and |
| broad range of improvements to processes and | | | | agility also make outsourcing ideal for experimental and |
| performance. | | | | pilot programs. |
| Reduced Direct Costs - As mentioned above, the | | | | Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction - |
| economies of scale experienced by outsourced Sales | | | | Manufacturers are acutely sensitive to customer |
| and Marketing providers allow them to offer equivalent | | | | complaints about service providers, and service |
| services at lower direct costs than in-house | | | | providers know it. They stay in business by |
| approaches. What's more, outsourcing partners are | | | | outperforming comparable in-house programs, and |
| free to use creative cost-cutting approaches | | | | putting measurements in place to prove it Quote. |
| unavailable to companies like yours: locating in more | | | | The data available on service outsourcing - mostly |
| favorable employment markets, assembling full-time | | | | from surveys - reveal a boom. Gartner, Inc. predicts |
| coverage from part-time or seasonal employees, and | | | | business process outsourcing (which includes Sales |
| so on. | | | | and Marketing) will grow from $110 billion in 2002 to |
| Reduced Indirect Costs - The costs of in-house Sales | | | | $173 billion in 2007 - an annual compounded rate of 9.5 |
| and Marketing support are often underestimated. | | | | percent |
| Employees need to be recruited, trained, managed and | | | | The bottom-line, if Sales are not your core |
| equipped - and turnover for sales professionals is | | | | competency, then seriously consider outsourcing so |
| extremely high. | | | | you can focus your time and resources on your core |
| Reduced Opportunity Costs - Focused outsourced | | | | company values and capabilities. Sales outsourcing |
| programs improve sales coverage. More leads are | | | | OPTIONS include Sales Management of your existing |
| qualified, geographic regions or channels are covered in | | | | sales force OR an ENTIRE sales force dedicated to |
| greater depth, and more sales can be wrung from | | | | your company along with years of management |
| secondary sources. In these and other cases, sales | | | | experience, proven processes and industry contacts, |
| are recovered from previously overlooked sources, | | | | at a fixed monthly expense, which allows your |
| improving sales performance at low marginal cost. | | | | company to effectively manage the cost of sales. |