Until recently, growing businesses that needed sales management would assign this role to the CEO or another high-level person, or spend a great amount of effort hiring their own manager without fully understanding what to look for—then ending up with a bad fit.
Now, many companies look to outsourcing sales management. Not only does it save time, money, and resources, but it also gives your team access to someone who knows how to support your growing business through effective sales practices and management.
If you’re ready to scale your business but you’re not sure if outsourcing is right for you, consider these 5 signs it’s time to outsource and the top three benefits of doing so.
5 Signs You Should Outsource Sales Management
Outsourcing is a practical solution for many growing companies. In fact, 66% of U.S. companies outsource at least one sales force department. But is it the right solution for your company? Here are 5 signs that your business could benefit from an outsourced sales manager:
- Your company is growing fast.
- You are branching out into new markets.
- Sales are stagnant and you don’t know why.
- It’s not cost-effective to hire a full-time sales manager.
- You are being bogged down with sales strategy and tasks that are not core business functions.
An outsourced sales manager provides leadership for your sales team by building and managing the sales team, developing a growth plan, increasing sales pipeline visibility, developing a lead gen approach, and tracking progress against your company’s goals.
Outsourcing sales management frees up your senior salespeople to focus on what they do best and allows you to focus on growing the business.
3 Outsourcing Benefits
1. Proven Experience and Success
One of the most predominant reasons for hiring a Fractional VP of Sales is the opportunity to leverage industry expertise. When you outsource, your business gains instant access to experts who have years of experience getting their work down to a science. You’re hiring experts who know sales strategy, management, and infrastructure inside and out.
Fractional sales managers also bring an outside perspective to your team’s sales challenges. They bring a range of experiences and a fresh set of eyes which enables them to offer innovative solutions.
From day one, they have a blueprint and understanding of what needs to be done.
2. Build a Strong Foundation
Did you know that most sales reps spend only 30% of their time selling? This inefficiency is the result of lacking a strong foundation, sales processes, and infrastructure.
An outsourced sales manager will design, implement, and manage your company’s sales blueprint, including the roles and responsibilities that these processes require. In addition to laying the foundation, they also help to set growth goals including developing and implementing a growth plan.
Many outsourced managers are temporary. They are part of the immediate growth plan and set a solid foundation for future managers to build on.
2. Save Money and Reduce Risk
Think of the time that hiring, training, and managing new employees takes. When you outsource, the sales manager knows what to do and gets to work faster, ultimately generating faster – and lasting – results.
Not only does this save you time, it also saves money. It is less wasted time and it is one less full-time salary.
The total cost of hiring a full-time sales manager averages approximately $134,720 or more annually. This includes salary, benefits, training, and development. Whereas, the cost of an outsourced sales manager can range from $2,000 to $8,000 per month without the added cost of benefits and onboarding.
Ultimately, with an outsourced sales manager, you get more experience, resources, and results for less money. Outsourcing sales management is an affordable way for a scaling company to get the resources it needs at a cost it can afford.