Introduction
There are certain activities that ensure business continuity. These form
the very basis of how the company operates, those actions that must be
completed in order for the company to operate successfully. Such
activities are called core activities. Sales and marketing is among the various functions that are outsourced the
most by companies.
After all, pretty much every industry needs to focus on sales to boost their
revenue. But, not every company can spare the resources to set up a sales
department. So, it makes sense for these companies to outsource their sales
functions.
It isn’t easy to oversee the sales function if you’ve outsourced it to another
company. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t work with an outsourced sales team.
Here are some ways in which you can work with an outsourced sales team to make
them more productive.
1. Increase Communication with Outsourced Sales Teams
You would first need to increase communication with your
outsourced sales team. Managing a large team often relies on effective communication. But, that
doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t communicate often when working with a smaller
team. Communicating as often as you can will allow you to operate more
smoothly.
It’s not possible to meet management expectations on projects if you don’t
communicate. Communicating will also allow you to solve problems early on in
the sales process. After all, it can take time to get accustomed to working
with a new sales team. This is true for both in-house and outsourced sales
teams.
You can round up your outsourced sales team often and encourage them to be
more productive. This would allow you to start your sales campaigns on a
positive note. Also, communicating with them will foster a good relationship
with them. This is important if you plan on working with them in the long
run. Literally treat the outsourced sales team as an extension of your
team. T
You can meet up with your sales team at the start of every week. This would
allow you to set the goals and expectations for your sales campaigns. So, all
team members would know what’s expected of them right at the start of the
week. This in turn would allow them to deliver on these expectations.
Sometimes, it may not be practical to host team meetings often if your sales
team is in another part of the world. This is why it’s important to schedule
meetings whenever it’s convenient for everyone to attend. But, make sure the
communication channels are open to them so they contact you when the need
arises.
2. Encourage Transparency
Another way to make your outsourced sales team productive is to encourage
transparency. The working of your company should be easy to understand for
those you outsource work to. A transparent system would make it easy for your
sales team to deliver on your expectations.
You should create a proper system for the sales team to report project
progress to. They should also know whom to approach if they’re facing any
issues with sales. Having a transparent system in place will foster
transparency in your working relationship.
Transparency also involves reporting on the progress of sales efforts. So, you
should encourage the outsourced sales team to send you regular updates on
their work. This will help you hold them accountable for any delays and errors
they may make. It’ll also help you understand what’s holding up your sales
efforts.
Time is of the essence when it comes to sales campaigns. After all, online
advertising trends are ever-changing and you’d need to keep up with them. This
is why it’s important to check with your sales team and see if they’re
following these trends.
If the sales team knows you’re checking on their work often, it’ll push them
to be more productive. This in turn will make sure your sales campaigns are
top-notch. In the long run, this will help your company overtake your
competitors.
3. Simplify Complex Tasks
It can be difficult to execute a sales campaign with so much competition out
there. The introduction of new production technologies has made sales easier
than ever. Anyone can use modern sales techniques to boost their revenue. The
introduction of online marketing too has made sales a more convenient process.
But, it can be difficult to handle large sales operations if you haven’t done
it before. Your outsourced sales team would need to know how to use sales
channels in the right way. The same goes for other promotional methods online
and offline. You can help them to increase their productivity and boost sales
on all platforms.
One way to do this would be to simplify complex tasks for them. Help them to
break up sales projects into smaller goals. This would allow them to focus on
each sales target one at a time. Giving them large projects to work on from
the get-go can be overwhelming. It would be hard for you to define these large
sales tasks for them.
Poorly-defined tasks won’t be easy to execute for even the most experienced
sales teams. So, you may want to take your time breaking these tasks into
smaller fragments. A good way to start would be to break them down into tasks
that can be achieved in a single day. This would allow your outsourced sales
team to tackle them one at a time.
Working on the tasks one by one would give them the space to be more creative.
Fostering their creativity will also help them be more productive. But, make
sure that the sales team knows how to approach each of these tasks the right
way. Also, make sure you’re accessible enough so they can communicate with you
if they have any questions or need to course correct.
Conclusion
These are some of the best ways in which you can make your outsourced sales
team more productive. Increased productivity will help you boost your revenue
and profit margins. This in turn will allow you to sustain your business in
the long run.
Not only that, it’ll also help you stay one step ahead of your competitors.
The beauty of these tips is that they’re applicable to any industry. After
all, every industry needs capable sales teams to help them reach more
customers. Also, it’s important that you should choose the right company to
outsource your operations to.
You’ll find many sales companies out there that claim to deliver impressive
results. But, very few of them can give you the kind of results you’d expect.
Make sure to read about a company as much as you can before you reach an
agreement with it. All the very best!