Sales Force Outsourcing – the Third Most Outsourced Function

A recent study by Dunn & Bradstreet identified sales and marketing outsourcing as the third most frequently outsourced function, only surpassed by IT and Finance outsourcing. The study also found that it is the fastest growing functional area for outsourcing. This is really not surprising considering the market forces that underlie this rapid growth area.

Sales and marketing outsourcing is being driven by three major shifts in the market:

Need to find new revenue sources in a down economy

In the current hyper-competitive marketplace, companies are more willing to try new strategies to reach sales goals. One of the most common approaches is to work with a sales force outsourcing partner to implement innovative growth strategies, enter new markets and expand into new regions.

Buyers are more sophisticated and expect sales expertise

Today, buyers have more bargaining power and higher expectations from their vendors. One area where expectations have increased is the level of field sales representation. The majority of corporate buyers expect professional sales reps and are often not compelled by technical proficiency alone.

Many companies are lead by engineers, technologists or operations professionals. The company executives have expertise in their specific business sector but are unable to sustain the desired level of sales growth. Professional sales and marketing experts often bring a new set of expertise to a company that can accelerate increases in market share even after the initial high-growth start-up phase has ended.

Increased rate of product and service innovation

The pace of new production introduction and innovation is increasing geometrically, and product lifecycles are becoming compressed. This is forcing companies to move more rapidly to introduce new products and to gain market share. One way to increase speed to market is to hire a well-trained and established field sales team rather than starting or retraining an in-house sales team.

Sales force outsourcing is one of the most important management developments of the decade and has initiated a new level of sales and marketing innovation in response to the changing needs of the marketplace.

Have you considered outsourcing your sales?

Photo credit - David Reece

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