Because 2023 is expected to be a particularly difficult year for SMEs, it’s not surprising that businesses are taking precautionary measures. Many are, understandably, focusing on increasing efficiency — whether through mothballing services, cutting back on marketing, or reducing staff levels — but the answer to survival, and indeed success, may not be solely cost-cutting. Outsourcing may be the most effective response in the current environment.

SME engagement with external partners to support key business functions such as finance, marketing, or IT has grown in popularity, with spending in this area expected to reach a staggering $731 billion by 2023. However, one function that businesses are still hesitant to outsource is sales, which is arguably one of, if not the, most important function when looking to grow a business, especially in 2023.

As businesses cut costs, reevaluate current suppliers, and become more selective in selecting new partners, SMEs have a fantastic opportunity to seize new business, particularly in markets where they may not have previously been able to compete. However, in order to do so, SMEs must have a first-rate sales team.

Building a sales team from the ground up is not only time-consuming and difficult, but it is also risky. Many times, it can take at least 8-12 months for any benefits to become apparent, leaving little to no room for pivoting or quickly adapting to changing circumstances, which are unavoidable when working in a SME (opens in new tab). This is why outsourcing, and especially outsourced sales, will be critical to the growth of many SMEs in 2023 and beyond.

SME leveling the playing field

Building a dependable revenue pipeline is a key stress point that many businesses are struggling with as they grapple with the uncertainties that await them in 2023. Sourcing and closing deals is a time-consuming process that necessitates a unique combination of sales and interpersonal skills, tact, and attention to detail. Any executive will tell you that they are inundated with cold-call emails, phone calls, and LinkedIn messages. They’ll also probably tell you that the majority are irrelevant to them and extremely annoying. To cut through the noise and truly connect with prospects, you must be able to identify relevant prospects, speak to them rather than at them, connect on a personal level, and demonstrate how your product or service can help them.

While this formula may appear simple, it is important to note that it is extremely time consuming, which translates to cost, making it nearly impossible for SMEs with small or no sales teams to implement. It’s also the reason I founded 10G in 2017: to level the playing field. Too many great companies with great products failed because they lacked the necessary sales strategy or talent to capitalize on their opportunities.

Why is sales outsourcing the way to go?

While it may seem counterintuitive, more entrepreneurs entered the market in 2020 and 2021 than in the years preceding the Covid pandemic. As advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to accelerate, allowing businesses to reach broader audiences in more targeted ways, the opportunity cost of building an internal sales team rises, making it more appealing for new businesses to turn to outsourced sales.

Businesses that have access to a proprietary AI sales enablement platform can carefully identify, target, and engage with ideal customer(opens in new tab) profiles on a massive scale, with some even generating a more than 300% increase in qualified revenue opportunities for clients. This means that when companies take the time to speak with new prospects, they are making the most of their time by speaking directly to decision-makers at the right time in their buying cycle. This, in turn, can shorten sales cycles for businesses and increase their return on investment.

Delivering this level of prospects would take up to eight months and be extremely labor and cost intensive; however, with an outsourced sales partner, companies can see a predictable sales pipeline in a matter of weeks and at less than half the cost of an in-house team.

A reliable collaborator

When done correctly, sales outsourcing not only gives businesses access to experts in the field, but it also provides new insights and perspectives, allowing companies to test the market and identify new customers on a scale they never thought possible, and at a fraction of the cost.

Finding the right partner is critical to ensuring success through outsourcing. This is critical because the company you partner with is often the first point of contact prospects have with your company, and first impressions are irreversible.

Transparency in their process and pricing is critical when choosing a partner. There is no “secret sauce” to effective sales; outsourcing partners should be happy to share their strategies with you and, more importantly, explain the logic behind them effectively. Nothing is too complicated to explain, and if something isn’t working, you can bet it can’t be explained.

Look for companies that will work with you to develop your ideal customer profile so that they can focus on providing high-quality leads rather than mass-targeting prospects, which not only results in poorly qualified leads but also risks damaging your reputation.

SMEs should outsource their sales functions by 2023. For most businesses, sales headcount is one of the most expensive line items. By offloading up to 80% of the arduous tasks associated with generating a predictable revenue pipeline, you will enable your sales team to truly excel, or even discover that some of your team may be better leveraged in another division of the business. In either case, when you make the decision to outsource sales to the right partner, the business benefits.

Source : techradar

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About Skyhigh.Vip

Skyhigh.Vip is a global institutional investor with a vast interest in Arts / Construction / Education / Business Services / E-Sports and various other growth industries.  

Several of its popular portfolios include GO Chambers which is the world’s largest business chamber listing provider with over 30,000 active chambers as its members.  

Outsource Guru is the global choice for Business Process Outsourcing that offers a full stack of services for all aspects of business process flow and together with Flexgigzz.com as a platform for freelancers aims to provide best services for many businesses.

For growth industries there is Point of Authority for a professional E-sport team and gaming hardware superstore, and there is AtelierAuction which is an investable art auctioneer and being in the art scene for decades.