Have you set your sights on new horizons? While there’s a certain feeling of contentment and satisfaction once successfully established in your home market, it’s just as important to seek new growth.
Several factors can spur on the decision to make the move to new international markets. Perhaps local sales have slowed a little since the start of the pandemic? Or, the signs are already there that your business is ready for international expansion. Either way, continued new growth is possible with expansion to new markets, and for tech and SaaS, in particular, Europe is a great choice.
But first, you must effectively implement the right sales strategy, and in order to look and sound like a local, partnering with an outsourced sales agency is a smart move. It can provide a smooth transition with less risk, and the confidence of knowing you can avail of sound expertise.
Scaling up a sales team is no mean feat, and there’s a pretty narrow margin for error. Let us guide you through sales outsourcing for scaling up and market expansion.
You can choose to utilize sales outsourcing to grow your team of international sales representatives once you have made the decision to expand to Europe or further afield. It’s a great way to test the water of a new and unknown market, maybe with a new product or service. So, it makes sense. Partner with an outsourced sales agency that is already familiar and successful in those foreign markets. Why?
Nothing about your brand will be lost in translation either — an easy but potentially expensive mistake. Not just the obvious close contact with prospective clients, but right back at the launch of your brand and image.
Always check the translation of your taglines and slogans before you globalize your brand! An epic fail in global branding might result in a return ticket before you have had time to unpack.
Hiring is hard work. It costs both time and money — both in short supply when you are racing to get to market ahead of the competition.
But, let’s say you decide — for whatever reason — against sales outsourcing for scaling up and market expansion. Perhaps you’re wary of bringing in an outside agency, you’re confused by the number of firms and what they can offer you, or you think you cannot afford to make the leap to sales outsourcing at present.
You’ll either have to source the sales team yourself or employ the services of an external recruitment agency. How long will they take and will they deliver good-match candidates on time? Moreover, ask whether you really have the time. You will still have to go through the process of setting up and conducting interviews, reference checks, callbacks, and maybe second or third interviews as you whittle down a list of candidates. All the while the competition is already there, one tab away, selling and making a profit.
Europe is one continent, sure, but there are a total of 44 countries, all with their own employment laws and regulations to learn. Then there’s the headache of GDPR. Break or even bend the law — knowingly or not — and you could face huge fines, or brand and reputation damage. There are no shortcuts to take nor corners to cut when it comes to local legislation.
Worse maybe is what if it’s a bad hire? Say it doesn’t work out, so you not only have the expense of going back over the entire process but also may have to contend with a personal grudge aired and played out on social media. Potentially damaging stuff for your brand, your business's reputation, and for you.
Scaling up and market expansion is a bit of an unknown quantity, and so is knowing where things are going to go. Will you be a roaring success, or — as in the recent pandemic — will things completely out of your control go wrong? None of us have access to crystal ball technology (yet!) but we can all be prepared to a degree.
And one of the best ways to prepare for any eventuality is the ability to scale up or down with outsourced sales teams. Maybe start small and grow your sales team alongside your business and brand abroad. Or start big, arrive in new territory with an impact, and take the opportunity to outsource all areas of sales:
After a time, you might decide to scale this back a bit, say, have your marketing in-house. No problem. Using the expert services of an outsourced sales agency for scaling up and market expansion allows you to do this with just one call. It’s a bespoke package, and has the ability to be flexible, just as you require. Your road to European success doesn’t have to be a bumpy one. First, understand where you are and where you want to be with the initial sales assessment, then you can start moving up one gear at a time, reaching full speed quickly and seamlessly.
A reputable outsourced sales agency will be able to demonstrate both market fit and satisfied customers of their own. There should be a list of both happy clients and partners, so you can easily see they have proven expertise in your area of industry. Testimonials matter, so read them and do your own digging before you commit.
“At Sigma.ai we are planning our next phase of growth, and to support the expansion we engaged Sales Force Europe to undertake a Sales Assessment consultancy exercise. We felt that an independent assessment of our sales strategy and planning, sales processes and proposals for marketing would deliver a positive action plan and validate/improve our approach. The output was in-depth and insightful, giving us a clear set of priorities from which we are better informed on how to engage with SFE on the wider execution of our strategy,” Daniel Tapias, CEO of our client Sigma.ai, told us.
Successful sales outsourcing for scaling up and market expansion means you will lower your risk and get your product to market, fast. You will have access to experienced sales professionals in your chosen new territory, but without the high cost and lost time of hiring in-house. You will be able to fluidly scale and react pragmatically to your chosen new market and potential buyers.
