Should you outsource sales management – the key considerations
Should you outsource sales management – the key considerations
* Would you know the characteristics of a good sales person?
* Can you easily spot when someone is telling you a lie?
* If a sale was dragging on, would you know what questions to ask to find out why?
* Have you ever been paid commission, do you think sales people are overpaid?
* If a sales person was not performing, would you fire them and get a new sales person?
* How would you define not performing, in the previous question?
* Have you ever used and do you understand the value of a sales process?
The answers to questions like these come as second nature to an experienced Sales Director or Manager. Over 90% of the most successful companies in the world have experienced sales directors on their management board.
But what if you don't have global ambitions, or just can't afford to hire a full time sales manager? And even if you did want to hire one, how could you be sure that the person you hired would be worth the money?
How do you make the case for sales management outsourcing?
Like any purchasing decision, you need to ensure that you get value for money. If you bear in mind that the reason you would even consider investing in sales or marketing in the first place, is to increase revenue and profit, then do these calculations first.
How much additional revenue do you wish to generate, and by when. What is your margin on that? How much profit does that put in your pocket?
Now how much of that are you willing to spend? One of the issues apart from the loss of time and cash flow in making a mistake in hiring is the actual cost of hiring fees and monthly base salary. This is a cost even before a single additional sales is generated.
If you could get the sales execution focus of a sales director for a fraction of the monthly cost of a full time hire, paid them on performance and have the ability to part company on a month's notice, without any employer liability – would that not be attractive.
If you said yes – than that is the beauty of outsourcing your sales management function.
Low risk – low cost – high return!
What do you get when you outsource sales management?
On a weekly basis, the sales manager will speak with the sales team, to determine the status of your sales opportunities. Everything in that meeting will be focused on closing sales, or ensuring opportunities are moving along the pipeline. The key advantages of this are as follows:
* Identification of strengths and weaknesses amongst your sales team, whatever the size, ensuring you are maximising return for your spend
* Shorten sales cycles, thus increasing revenue and cash flow
* Optimise the time your sales team spend on given opportunities, so that they can spend more time closing profitable opportunities
* Accurate information, based on sales both won and lost, which can be used by product planning and service teams.
* Ongoing coaching and training based on your real opportunities, which makes your team the envy of the industry, and thus enables you to attract the best.
* Identification of a team member who can take over the role of sales manager, so that you promote from within, which is fantastic for morale and motivation.
Should you outsource sales management the key considerations - To learn more about this author, visit Peter Lawless's Website.
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So why is it important to have someone with sales management experience in a company? Those of you with sales experience will know the answers, however, if you do not have experience in sales, let me ask you the following questions; Low risk – low cost – high return!
* Would you know the characteristics of a good sales person?
* Can you easily spot when someone is telling you a lie?
* If a sale was dragging on, would you know what questions to ask to find out why?
* Have you ever been paid commission, do you think sales people are overpaid?
* If a sales person was not performing, would you fire them and get a new sales person?
* How would you define not performing, in the previous question?
* Have you ever used and do you understand the value of a sales process?
The answers to questions like these come as second nature to an experienced Sales Director or Manager. Over 90% of the most successful companies in the world have experienced sales directors on their management board.
But what if you don't have global ambitions, or just can't afford to hire a full time sales manager? And even if you did want to hire one, how could you be sure that the person you hired would be worth the money?
How do you make the case for sales management outsourcing?
Like any purchasing decision, you need to ensure that you get value for money. If you bear in mind that the reason you would even consider investing in sales or marketing in the first place, is to increase revenue and profit, then do these calculations first.
How much additional revenue do you wish to generate, and by when. What is your margin on that? How much profit does that put in your pocket?
Now how much of that are you willing to spend? One of the issues apart from the loss of time and cash flow in making a mistake in hiring is the actual cost of hiring fees and monthly base salary. This is a cost even before a single additional sales is generated.
If you could get the sales execution focus of a sales director for a fraction of the monthly cost of a full time hire, paid them on performance and have the ability to part company on a month's notice, without any employer liability – would that not be attractive.
If you said yes – than that is the beauty of outsourcing your sales management function.
Low risk – low cost – high return!
What do you get when you outsource sales management?
On a weekly basis, the sales manager will speak with the sales team, to determine the status of your sales opportunities. Everything in that meeting will be focused on closing sales, or ensuring opportunities are moving along the pipeline. The key advantages of this are as follows:
* Identification of strengths and weaknesses amongst your sales team, whatever the size, ensuring you are maximising return for your spend
* Shorten sales cycles, thus increasing revenue and cash flow
* Optimise the time your sales team spend on given opportunities, so that they can spend more time closing profitable opportunities
* Accurate information, based on sales both won and lost, which can be used by product planning and service teams.
* Ongoing coaching and training based on your real opportunities, which makes your team the envy of the industry, and thus enables you to attract the best.
* Identification of a team member who can take over the role of sales manager, so that you promote from within, which is fantastic for morale and motivation.
Should you outsource sales management the key considerations - To learn more about this author, visit Peter Lawless's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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