Outsourcing Sales?

telecaster

I'm considering outsourcing my sales efforts so I can spend more time developing our business and services. Has anybody here got any experience of outsourcing sales or recommendations on a reputable firm to use?

Cheers

leftofcentre

As a general note to all posters, we are good but we are not mind readers. If you want feedback on your business, work etc, you need to give us specifics, what you do, what you need etc etc.

If you post vague enquires then we can't help you.

telecaster

What's vague about asking has anyone tried outsourcing sales? It's a general question.

SlitheryImp

telecaster wrote:

What's vague about asking has anyone tried outsourcing sales? It's a general question.

A general question will only get you a general answer... what exactly do you want to do?

If you want people out their pushing your product an affiliate program might be an idea. Pay affiliates a certain percentage per sale.

If you want the entire sales procedure outsourced you may need a specialised bureau.

Until you say exactly what you need you probably won't get a better answer than that.

mneylon

It depends on what you are selling, so unless you are a bit less vague nobody will be able to give you anything more than vague advice

telecaster

ok, I'm happy to be more specific but in terms of ettiquette I thought a general discussion would be better received but if you prefer more of a case study approach then no problem - doubtless I'll get more from it.

There's an ad on tv at the moment where these businessmen turn up at a company to be greeted by a recetionist, who turns out also be the head of marketing, the sales executive and the MD. This is the state of play in my business and most start ups no doubt.

I am overstretched by developing new products, building relationships with big target clients, planning marketing strategies, managing day to day accounts, buying in equipment and also being a key part of the production process.

We are an audio production business (www.sonicart.com) producing radio adverts, phone on hold messages, promotional audio for websites, original music composition for video games/tv/film, voiceovers and pretty much anything else that can impact your sense of hearing.

My issue at the moment is that not enough time is making our potential clients aware of our services. Our existing advertising campaigns consist of the biggest ad in the golden pages Advertising Media section (p30 in the 01 book for reference), we're also listed in the recording studios section. We have run an unsuccessful 468x60 banner campaign on an industry website www.mandy.com. We are also running a google adword campaign focussed on the phone on hold and voiceover services. This campaign has been discussed elsewhere on the forum where the consesus was to redesign the landing pages for the campaign and include samples - this is currently in development.

Our website is also well optimized for search engines and we achieve reasonable traffic through non pay per click search engine listings.

We have also targetted certain types of businesses by email to advise them of our services. As you can imagine with this type of unsolicited approach, response is small.

Budget does not afford us to hire a full time member of staff dedicated to sales so I am considering using a sales agency to make target clients aware of our services and to build relationships with these potential clients.

A telemarketing campaign is an option but it's a little intrusive. We'd like to get our message out there without being a pain in the arse for anyone.

So the original question being has anyone used a sales agency for their business, if so were the results favourable.

All comments, opinions, criticisms welcome.

mneylon

telecaster wrote:

We have also targetted certain types of businesses by email to advise them of our services. As you can imagine with this type of unsolicited approach, response is small.

That's called spam.

telecaster

Of course it's spam, but isn't every first step to building a relationship with a business or person that doesn't know you spam of some sort - whether that's a surface mailing, a phone call or an email.

What are you to do? Sit at home and hope people contact you because you dont want to be perceived as a spammer?

mneylon

So you freely admit that you are a spammer and then try to justify it ?

You have got to be kidding.

telecaster

That depends on your definition of spam. You're being facetious.

If introducing yourself to a person or business RELEVANT to your industry is considered spam then yes I am a spammer - hang me at dawn and out me as the villain I am.

But my definition of spamming is sending random bulk nuisance mails to all and sundry. That I do not do, would not do and am pretty contemptuous of those who adopt that tactic.

By your logic if you've ever sent an email to anyone who doesn't know you then you are a spammer.

Nice hijacking of the topic by the way.

mneylon

telecaster wrote:

That depends on your definition of spam. You're being facetious.

No I'm not. You said it was unsolicited mail and then referred to it as spam.

telecaster wrote:

If introducing yourself to a person or business RELEVANT to your industry is considered spam then yes I am a spammer - hang me at dawn and out me as the villain I am.

That depends on how you introduce yourself and what constitutes relevance

telecaster wrote:

But my definition of spamming is sending random bulk nuisance mails to all and sundry. That I do not do, would not do and am pretty contemptuous of those who adopt that tactic.

So where do you draw the line? Spam, in many cases, is subjective, however if you are sending bulk email unsolicited then it is spam.

telecaster wrote:

By your logic if you've ever sent an email to anyone who doesn't know you then you are a spammer.

Don't try twisting things around.

telecaster wrote:

Nice hijacking of the topic by the way.

You wanted to discuss your marketing methods. If spamming is one of them then it's completely on topic. You may not like it, but you're the one who introduced it - not me.

telecaster

So we're agreed spamming is subjective. I'm not a spammer by standard definition. Let's move on.

ctrl-alt-delete

blacknight wrote:

So you freely admit that you are a spammer and then try to justify it ?

You have got to be kidding.

and it was justified quite well, if you dont have any helpfull advice then stop ruining the thread?

i have to say i dont have any experience with what you intende to do, so i cant help you there, but from the website it looks like what you can do you are doing well,

so keep it up and good luck, and i hope you get a decent response from this

mneylon

ctrl-alt-delete wrote:

and it was justified quite well, if you dont have any helpfull advice then stop ruining the thread?

You can't justify spam

ctrl-alt-delete

blacknight wrote:

You can't justify spam

its just like any direct mail campaign

is_that_so

Decide what you think you want to outsource. My outsourcing aimed to get appointments and naturally enough advertise the business. IMO selling on the phone is far too high pressure and delivers too little.

What you should be after is appointments.

Direct mail is a standard method of targetting businesses, especially for start-ups. Results are in the order of 2-4%.
Telemarketing to follow this up can boost potential sales to 8%. The key of course is to get accurate lists. It is just a numbers game.

A recent test telemarketing campaign I tried generated a number of leads , with some future possibles as well. Ultimately it is a numbers game. [EDITED: to keep Cap'n Midnight's blood pressure down]

mneylon

ctrl-alt-delete wrote:

its just like any direct mail campaign

That depends on how you do it and where you got the email addresses to do it.

Capt'n Midnight

is_that_so wrote:

Ultimately it is a numbers game. As far as email marketing is concerned, sending someone something from a legitimate email address with offers that may interest them is not SPAM.
But anyone who gets an email of this kind MUST be offered an opt-out.

I can't espress my feelings in printable words.

S. I. No. 535 of 2003

(b) A person shall not use or cause to be used any publicly available electronic communications service to send an unsolicited communication for the purpose of direct marketing by means of electronic mail, to a subscriber, who is a natural person, unless the person has been notified by that subscriber that for the time being he or she consents to the receipt of such a communication.
...
"subscriber" means any natural person or legal entity who or which is party to a contract with the provider of publicly available electronic communications services for the supply of such services;

http://www.dcmnr.gov.ie/files/ComsReg_SI_535_of_2003.doc
www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZSI535Y2003.html

So you aren't even allowed to SPAM people who have subscribed to your services never mind people who have not subscribed to your services.

http://taint.org/2003/12/11/233344a.html - an overview in English.

telecaster

Capt'n Midnight, I appreciate the links and info on the legal aspects of the issue.

What are your thoughts on how a start up business can LEGALLY make their TARGETTED clients aware of their existence?

mneylon

Telecaster - do like the rest of us and PAY for advertising and marketing

telecaster

blacknight wrote:

Telecaster - do like the rest of us and PAY for advertising and marketing

Which I'm very happy to do, but I thought I would consult with the members of the forum here to discuss the option of outsourcing the admin of some of these tasks.....I refer you to the earlier posts where I attempted to initiate such a discussion.

leftofcentre

Its impossible to outsource your sales. Lets see if you can guess why, go on think about it...

ctrl-alt-delete

leftofcentre wrote:

Its impossible to outsource your sales. Lets see if you can guess why, go on think about it...

I don't think so

rsynnott

telecaster wrote:

bla

It's spam, and you know very well that it's spam. Stop trying to justify your disgusting business practices.

telecaster

rsynnott wrote:

It's spam, and you know very well that it's spam. Stop trying to justify your disgusting business practices.

Why are you quoting me posting 'bla'? I never posted this, are you having trouble reading the posts from your high horse?

rsynnott

telecaster wrote:

Why are you quoting me posting 'bla'? I never posted this, are you having trouble reading the posts from your high horse?

What you had posted seemed but a lengthy and half-baked justification of spamming. It didn't really need to be reproduced.

Honestly, you come in here saying you do something that most normal people consider reprehensible, and then take offence when people don't say "oh, good spammer" and pat you on the head?

telecaster wrote:

So we're agreed spamming is subjective. I'm not a spammer by standard definition. Let's move on.

Yes you are. What definition is this that you are using? You are sending bulk unsolicited e-mail; that it is targeted makes little difference.

telecaster wrote:

What are your thoughts on how a start up business can LEGALLY make their TARGETTED clients aware of their existence?

You're aware that many businesses pay for advertising, right? It is unlikely that any unsolicited bulk e-mailing is legal; it is certainly not ethical and will not help endear you to people.

is_that_so wrote:

other-worldly wrongness RE what constitutes spam

Er, no.

Capt'n Midnight

rsynnott wrote:

Yes you are. What definition is this that you are using? You are sending bulk unsolicited e-mail; that it is targeted makes little.

AFAIK it makes NO difference.

RE OP
Email lists are Opt-In only.
Posters,
Snail mail
Web site with an Opt-In to sign up to stuff
TBH if you intend emailing people then you should have a decent web site, lack of it is another way to categorise SPAM

Paid for advertising

Dressing up as a chicken etc.

You could try cold calling, but that is loved as much as spam.

If your products/services are good then word of mouth will work. If you are another "me-too" why should anyone care.

Mad Mike

My own experience is selling technology products to business customers but for what its worth here is my two cents:

First off of course you can outsource sales. Most successful businesses do at some point. If you sell through a shop or an agent or a distributor you are outsourcing sales. If you export via an agent then you have outsourced sales.

Advantages: Outsourcing sales allows you to focus on your core business. Outsourcing sales allows you to reach a much wider market - export markets for example. If you chose the right partners they are likely to be a lot better at selling than you are. Chances are you can't afford a full time salesman but if you can get someone to add your business to a line of other products then you are sharing the cost of having a sales force.

Disadvantages: You lose contact with and control of your customers. It can be hard to get the right sales partner. Often the easy ones to get are the ones you don't want. If you choose wrong you could end up with an exclusive agreement with someone who doesn't work on your behalf or worse who gives you a bad name. Even if you choose right it will cost a lot - expect to pay between 10% and 30% of end user price depending on the nature of the product and the amount of effort required to make the sale. In fact don't be surprised if your sales agent is making more money than you are! Also the sales agent only sees you as a source of income - they have no inherent loyalty to your business. If your product is hard to sell then they will concentrate on selling something else.

NB Remember if you get a good sales agent working on your case they could easily double or triple your business very quickly. You only spend a small part of your time selling. They will be selling full time. Are you prepared for this? Have you enough working capital and manpower available to support this?

Also be prepared for the salesperson who sells product you haven't got or can't deliver. They will hapilly book the order but you need to come up with the goods.

The relationship between you and your sales agent is probably the most important strategic business relationship you will ever make. It is vital to work hard to get it right. Be very careful about what rights and obligations you sign away in any agency contract. My own experience has included supremely successful sales relationships resulting in hugely increased business and also disastrous ones which effectively locked our company out of certain territories for years.

telecaster

rsynnott wrote:

Yes you are. What definition is this that you are using? You are sending bulk unsolicited e-mail; that it is targeted makes little difference.

Well Mr Synnott all my contact details are fully published online. Report me as a spammer to whoever you believe should know. To stand idly by while I 'reprehensibly' attempt to help other businesses improve themselves by using my services makes you an accessory to my acts.

Why on earth do some people on this forum get so worked up that someone might receive an email that they are not interested in?

Receiving a cold call is far more intrusive and time consuming than receiving an email, but that's ok isn't it? You people are so hung up on pointing the finger and saying 'spam' that you've lost all common sense.

Why do companies publish their email addresses if they don't want to receive email?

Madmike, thanks for your post, it was very informative and actually answered the question I asked.

rsynnott

telecaster wrote:

Well Mr Synnott all my contact details are fully published online. Report me as a spammer to whoever you believe should know. To stand idly by while I 'reprehensibly' attempt to help other businesses improve themselves by using my services makes you an accessory to my acts.

Why on earth do some people on this forum get so worked up that someone might receive an email that they are not interested in?

Because it's not just you spamming, it's thousands like you. I routinely receive semi-targetted spam of this variety, as I run a medium-sized website; I am asked to sell advertising space and buy SEO and so forth. Clearly form-mail, "send it to every website about this size" stuff. It annoys me. I consider it spam. Legally it is spam. It doesn't annoy me quite enough to go to the US or to China to sue the perpetrators. But be careful, others are not so lazy. Spamming is a foolish road to walk down, and really, it will not help your image.

Oh, and don't even bother with the flimsy justifications of how spam is wonderful and will help the recipients. We're not that stupid.

mneylon

telecaster wrote:

Why on earth do some people on this forum get so worked up that someone might receive an email that they are not interested in?

Because some of us have to deal with millions of spams per day.

telecaster wrote:

Receiving a cold call is far more intrusive and time consuming than receiving an email, but that's ok isn't it?

A cold call is very different. You have to pay to call me. If I don't want your message I can simply hangup. If you spam me or spam a role account you are wasting my network resources and my time and that of other members of my staff

telecaster wrote:

You people are so hung up on pointing the finger and saying 'spam' that you've lost all common sense.

Read the law. Read your provider's AUP.

telecaster wrote:

Why do companies publish their email addresses if they don't want to receive email?

If I put up an email address on a website I expect to receive email requesting our services not selling me sewage cleaning services in Nebraska.

drdre

thats spam, and it cannot be justified, you should be banned.;)