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The Pros And Cons Of Outsourcing Inside Sales

The Pros And Cons Of Outsourcing Inside Sales
  • 4 minutes read
Continuous business growth is of paramount importance for any organization. But not every business can handle growth wisely, as the challenges associated with it can be difficult to handle. As leads pour in, your sales representatives might not have enough expertise to manage the prospects and book of their business properly. That’s why most enterprises consider outsourcing inside sales to cope up with the situation. Driving sales is pivotal for every company’s success, so you might think of outsourcing the sales as an illogical concept. While outsourcing can prove to be a powerful way to boost sales, getting an in-house team of sales development representatives onboard can scale the benefits exponentially, and that too in the long run. 

Why Should You Consider Outsourcing Inside Sales?

Some sales experts argue that sales must be insourced as it is something too complex to outsource. However, a plethora of companies offers the services of handling sales processes. This emerging market niche can soothe the four fundamental business pain points of the organization working in any industry. These points are:
  • Reducing expenses
  • Introducing efficiency
  • Mitigating the risks
  • Driving more revenues

Pros And Cons Of Outsourcing Inside Sales

If you are offering a service or product, then there are chances that you might be racking your brains to decide whether to opt for outsourcing inside sales or not. We have scoured a list of fundamental pros and cons to give you insight into the decision-making of insourcing or outsourcing the sales processes.  

Pro: More Cost-Effective

Hiring full-time sales reps might seem a huge expense to startups or small businesses. This is by far the most important reason why companies want to make use of the talent available in the market. It is a cheaper option than hiring a full-time resource with specialized expertise to handle the complete sales process.  When you avail the option of outsourcing inside sales, you neither have to be worried about the relocation cost nor offer fringe benefits to the workers. You don’t have to invest in bigger office space or arranging the system. In a nutshell, outsourcing the inside sales is a lot cheaper option than onboarding a sales team.

Con: Loss of Control

Some people argue that outsourcing inside sales processes can result in losing control over customer relationships or the sales process as a whole. When you are hiring a team to look after the sales processes, you might find it challenging to track their performance.  Tip: It is always wise to discuss the scope of control with the outsourcing company to ensure that you are choosing the right company. You can garner more control by outlining the sales process properly and ask the team to follow it closely via an established customer relationship management software. 

Pro: An Experienced Team With Proven Experience

The most commonly overlooked aspect of outsourcing inside sales is that you are investing in the sales methodology as well as infrastructure that the outsourcing sales company also has. Developing sales methodology and infrastructure can cost you a lot. Thus, you will get to enjoy the perks of working with experts who do their job exceptionally and know what to do, how to do it, where to store the relevant information, how to create reports, and all other matters. If your current team is amateur or lack the required sales experience, then outsourcing can be the perfect choice for you. 

Con: Loss of Information

The classic concern for not outsourcing the inside sales is the threat of losing confidential information. If you do not completely understand the point of discussion, let us elaborate on it.  It refers to the scenario that the outsourced sales team will not be transparent with the assigned task and are more likely to build up their own network using your resources. In that, the outsourced sales team may not give you direct access to the information being collected about the prospect. It may happen if the organization doesn’t use a properly structured procedure, and it more often happens where you have hired the teams on a commission basis.  Tip: To avoid or cope up with this situation, you should choose outsourcing inside sales firms that will assure you of populating the sales CRM system. The firm should involve you in the meetings, and all pricing needs of the outsourced team should be signed off by you.

Pro: More Time Effective

In addition to being cost-effective, outsourcing inside sales saves you a lot of time. In the business realm, time is money. You need a lot of time and effort to manage the in-house sales team. Contrary to this, the outsourced sales team is expert at what they do. Thus, if you are in a position where you cannot manage to get time daily to wear the sales manager’s hat, it may make sense to scavenge for a third-party to the table.  Besides, if the sales are not your wheelhouse, handing it over to the professionals who have years of experience making sales would make sense. Verily, you will have enough time to direct your focus on business’ growth and success.

Con: Hidden Cost 

People often nix the idea of outsourcing inside sales by proclaiming that there might be hidden costs attached to the option. This is true to some extent. You might be ripped off by the outsourced inside sales team as small businesses or startups are asked to sign lengthy agreements that include fine prints. The chances of getting hit with hidden costs are higher if you skip a section on the agreement or don’t read the conditions carefully.

Pro: Time Efficacy

It takes energy and time to manage the sales team. In businesses where owners have to wear many hats at a time to ensure the operations are going well, taking out time can be more than a headache. Consequently, outsourcing inside sales enables you to manage time more efficiently, taking the burden of instructing sales reps off their shoulders.

Con: Disconnected Team

By outsourcing inside sales, it becomes challenging to recreate the organically connected connection in an in-house sales team. The major concern of opting for an outsourced sales team is that the sales rep will be disconnected from daily activities.  Tip: You can use tools like SharpSpring, Slack, or Salesforce to make sure that the teams are timely sharing the required information whenever needed.

The Final Pick

Whether you should hire an in-house sales team or opt for outsourcing the inside sales to a third-party depends upon the requirements or your business. Every organization operates in a different environment and has different resources available. Thus, we cannot give a general statement about the best choice.  However, the benefits of outsourcing inside sales surpass the disadvantages attached to the decision. Having a full-time resource that is comparable with the cost of outsourcing simply means hiring someone with less experience. In that, you should consider the soft cost of hiring in-house sales reps, including the items such as desk space, computer/system, government burdens, fringe benefits, etc.  If you have the funds, time, and resources to hire an in-house sales team, then you should go for it. Otherwise, outsourcing inside sales is the best choice. 

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Alex Valassidis
Alex Valassidis

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Alex is a Managing Director and Supervisor at Vparagon, a sales consultancy that helps companies expand and accelerate their sales in new markets.

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