Pros and Cons of Sales Outsourcing

In our previous blogs, much has been discussed about sales outsourcing- the factors to consider while outsourcing the sales activity), the benefits of sales outsourcing and when the companies need to opt of sales outsourcing). Further, below are some stats and reports on in-house sales, that supports or works in favor of sales outsourcing:

“67% of sales employees are either not engaged or actively disengaged”- www.gallup.com

“18 months is average sales rep tenure”– www.xactlycorp.com

“The average time to replace an inside sales executive is between 3.6 months and the average time to replace a senior sales executive is between 5.4 months” – www.nutshell.com

“On average, it costs between 150-200% of a rep’s salary to replace them.”- www.hirevelocity.com

“57% of sales reps are expected to MISS quota this year in 2021”- www. narrativescience.com

“The average sales rep turnover rate is 35%, compared to an average turnover rate for all industries of 13%”– www.hubspot.com

As we all know, Outsourcing is the practice of using external specialists to perform tasks that are traditionally done in-house, and organizations of any size are faced with questions on a constant basis around having an in-house team or outsourcing certain activities. Outsourcing started with the idea of focusing on the company’s core competencies and outsourcing (or just getting rid of) things outside core competencies. When it comes to sales outsourcing, some believe that sales should be handled in-house, claiming that the solution is too complicated to outsource. We at VAST Tec, on the other hand as a firm that specializes in providing sales outsourcing services differ with the above claim and believe that any solution can be brought back to 4 key business pain-points:

  1. Increasing Revenue
  2. Reducing Costs & Expenses
  3. Increasing Efficiency and Productivity
  4. Mitigating Risk

And these points don’t require a heavy technical salesperson; unless and until the product or service has one or more things to offer- we have a sales story to tell! To help our audience to better decide if they should opt for an in-house sales team or outsource the sales activity, we have outlined some Pros and Cons of Sales Outsourcing:

Pros and Cons of Sales Outsourcing:

Pro: More cost-effective– needless to say, by far the most important reason companies look to outsource is because of the cost advantage it provides. Hiring in-house full-time sales reps, providing training, investing in the infrastructure and tools, etc., can be a huge expense to any company. When budget is a constraint then outsourcing readily available sales talents can be a smarter approach.

Con: Loss of Control– The biggest issue with outsourcing a sales team is having less control. There are fewer communications, meetings and one fears losing control on how tasks are being monitored and performed.

Pro: Experienced team with proven expertise- The commonly neglected aspect of sales outsourcing is, it is an investment outsourced sales company’s sales methodology as well as the infrastructure. One can enjoy the benefits of working with specialists who are experts at what they do and know exactly what to do, how to do it, where to keep relevant data, how to make reports and everything else associated with the sales activity.

Con: Loss of Information– The threat of losing confidential information is very much a concern in today’s data-driven business world.

Pro: Time Effective– In the business realm time is money. Apart from being cost-effective, outsourcing sales activity saves a lot of time. There is a lot of time and effort that goes into managing the in-house sales team. If wearing a sales manager’s hat isn’t a viable option, then handing it over to external professionals who have years of experience making sales would make sense.

Con: Hidden Cost– This is a concern especially if the hiring company is a small business or a startup as they are generally made to sign lengthy contracts agreements if the outsourcing agency is a large corporation. The lengthy contracts include plenty of fine prints and if terms and conditions are unread, the hiring companies later get charged with unexpected costs.

Thus, be it in-house or outsourced sales the decision really depends on the sales strategy, goals, what the end customers want, and ultimately, the availability of the right sales resources. Either way, the company has to make the choice carefully as it will have an enormous impact on the business. We at VAST Tec, do understand the pros and cons of sales outsourcing and being in the outsourcing industry and having a wide variety of clientele across the globe and across industries, we constantly strive to make the outsourcing process as smooth and transparent as possible and emphasize on the fact that the business is fruitful for both the parties.

Looking for a Sales Outsourcing Partner?