Why outsource B2B sales prospecting?

Outsourcing part or all of its sales development to a specialized third-party company is a complex decision for companies. By outsourcing, a company decides to entrust an external service provider with certain activities it no longer wishes to manage itself, including sales prospecting (the part we're interested in here). 

These are generally areas in which the company does not currently possess sufficient skills or resources. In such cases, outsourcing enables the company to concentrate on its core business, while benefiting from outside help with B2B sales prospectingsales prospecting, thereby boosting the company's growth and sales. 

However, B2B sales outsourcing has a cost, and its profitability is sometimes not obvious. What's more, outsourcing sometimes also means not devoting effort to developing your own in-house sales teams.‍

To fully understand the stakes involved in a sales outsourcing strategy, you need to have a global vision of both the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing. That's what we're going to do in this article, ending with the cases where outsourcing is optimal, and finally with the criteria for selecting an outsourced agency, a key point in the success of your sales outsourcing strategy. 

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In many cases, outsourcing your sales force to a specialist company is a winning bet. If the company/subcontractor is a leader in the outsourcing market, the services rendered will have numerous benefits, of which the following are the main ones: 

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Save time and resources:

Setting up a sales prospecting campaign requires time, resources and skills that many organizations don't have in the short/medium term, hence the need to call on a service provider. A company with limited sales needs may find it too costly to hire a full-time employee, but will find outsourcing a more optimal alternative to meet its needs. 

Competent agencies can handle every stage of a prospecting campaign, from creating a prospect database to generating qualified appointments with your preferred targets. Your prospects are identified and contacted with a more qualitative approach than most call centers, if the agency is indeed a competent one. At some point in its development, almost every company should consider outsourcing its prospecting as part of its sales strategy.

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A better brand image

If the service provided by the agency is of the highest quality, it will directly benefit the brand image of YOUR organization (and indirectly that of your service provider as well). Prospects believe that their business relationship is with you, not someone else. 

‍If the practices of the outsourcing agency/company are transparent, and the relationship is as well, a company that would still have to learn in terms of sales and marketing strategies would grow from its outsourcing project. Working with an expert agency allows you tointegrate their best practices into your own internal practices. 

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Optimizing time and resources:

Outsourced prospecting, if carried out properly, will enable you to concentrate on your core business and on those aspects of your business that you consider to be a priority in due course. B2B sales prospecting requires specific skills that an organization may not have or may not wish to develop in the first instance, hence the value of outsourcing. 

‍Externalizing is also obviously synonymous with flexibility. You can call on an agency for as long as you want and as you both have planned. This makes it easier to adapt to changes in your budgets.

‍Finally, enlisting the services of an external service provider who's an expert in your industry means giving yourself the best chance of attracting new B2B customers. Sales prospecting is a competitive subject, and to enlist the help of an outsourced BDR agency is to give yourself the opportunity to obtain appointments with qualified contacts and, in fine, to increase your sales very quickly. A BDR will also be keen to explore new business avenues for you, as they see fit.

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However, there are a number of risks and disadvantages to commercial outsourcing that make it less attractive, or even unthinkable, in some cases. 

Firstly, the B2B lead generation is a skill which, if outsourced, will not be developed by your in-house teams. As a result, all the sales functions and internal sales processes required for independent business development are at least partially put on hold. Reducing payroll costs in the short term can therefore also mean jeopardizing your independence in the long term.

This is why it's important to choose your service provider on the basis of both performance and transparency. An expert agency can also play an essential role in the commercial advice you receive. 

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The choice of your service provider will obviously be key to the long-term success of this approach. Choosingan efficient, but also (and above all) trustworthy player in your outsourcing process will save you a lot of disappointment. Among the risks you run by outsourcing to the wrong service provider are : 

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Risk of miscommunication

It can be difficult to communicate effectively with a company that lacks transparency in its commercial actions and seeks to achieve the objectives you have set for it without consulting you on how to reach them. Such a service provider runs the risk of sending your prospects sales pitches that are not consistent with those you wish to address, and generating sales leads of little value, with the sole aim of reaching a pre-announced number of appointments, for example. 

If the agency hasn't fully understood your needs, it can generate unqualified appointments of no real value to you. You'll be wasting the time of your sales team, who will have to recover leads of little or no interest to you.

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Risk of data leakage and loss of control over business activities

Outsourcing can increase the risk of sensitive data leakage. When you outsource, you share a whole host of information with your service provider, such as your current customers, the prospects you want to reach... All this information is precious, and an ill-intentioned actor could resell it. 

What's more, by entrusting your sales activities to an outside company, you lose a certain degree of control over how they are carried out. Here too, an agency that is not transparent in its approach may carry out ineffective actions and increase the expenses associated with them, without increasing their effectiveness. ‍

Lack of flexibility

It can be difficult for an outside company to adapt quickly to changes in the market or to your company's specific needs. Your structure has its own specific features and processes, which an inflexible agency may find difficult to take into account and integrate into its approach. 

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This is where outsourced prospecting comes into its own: 

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Implementing an outsourcing strategy is not the optimal solution for all structures. Smaller companies may wish to prioritize their business development over the long term, and therefore not resort to outsourcing processes, while larger ones may choose to bring everything in-house to avoid the risks associated with the transparency of certain outsourced agencies, or the risks of information leaks. 

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Nevertheless, there are a number of situations in which sales outsourcing can be an optimal solution for a company's commercial development. Here are the cases we consider most appropriate:

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In a situation of hypergrowth :

a start-up or any other type of fast-growing structure may need to rapidly reinforce its sales activities to keep pace with its evolving structure and sales needs. Sales outsourcing can lighten the load of in-house lead management by shifting part of the burden to the outsourcing agency's qualified SDRs. 

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Temporary business needs, such as the launch of a new product:

When company news and new product launches require a temporary prospecting campaign, outsourcing makes perfect sense. Hiring a full-time person is out of place because of the temporary aspect of the approach, and the flexibility of outsourcing makes it immediately more attractive. 

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Outsource for specific business needs:

a company may needspecific sales skills for a given market or product. In addition to the resources provided, it is the experience and market knowledge that an outsourced BDR/SDR agency will bring to the client company. An agency can thus play the dual role of sales prospecting and advising on the processes and skills to be adopted. 

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Small structures with limited commercial needs :

Here, as for structures with temporary needs, using an outsourced agency avoids the need to hire one or more full-time sales representatives where financial resources and sales needs are still too low. An agency can quickly and effectively support the commercial development of such a structure at lower cost.  

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An agency with expertise in commercial prospecting

Before choosing a sales outsourcing agency, it's important to consider several key criteria: First, check that the agency has significant experience in your business sector , and that it has already carried out successful sales prospecting campaigns for companies similar to yours. 

Examine the quality and experience of the agency's team, especially the project managers and sales people in charge of your campaign. To do this, don't just listen to what you're told (the speeches will inevitably be at least a little embellished), but look at the opinions left by previous customers and the agency's reputation.

Make sure, too, that the agency uses a proven methodology for sales prospecting, including quality targets, call scripts and tools for tracking results, so you can be sure that your outsourcing is heading in the right direction. 

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‍Transparency and contractual commitment

It's also very important to demand transparent and regular communication from the agency, so that you know how the sales prospecting campaign is progressing and can make decisions in real time. 

Finally, ask for either a results guarantee or a commitment to resources, i.e. the number of qualified leads and prospects that the agency undertakes to supply and process as part of a prospecting approach. Naturally, the rates quoted should be clear and reasonable, and in line with your budgetary forecasts, since outsourcing should above all be a profitable undertaking. 

In short, it's essential to choose an agency with experience and a qualified team, a proven methodology, transparent communication and a guarantee of results and/or means to succeed in your sales prospecting.

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