You have a new product or service that you need to push in Europe. Whatever your vertical, a European move is a test of your sales strategy in perhaps unknown territory. That entails either building a sales team there or choosing an outsourced sales agency that will handle the entire sales outsourcing process from B2B lead generation right through to closing deals. So as a first step you may be considering what are the benefits of outsourcing sales. There are various advantages — but all will benefit your organization and drive efficiency, allowing your business to hit the ground running in Europe, where speed to market makes for a smart and streamlined process.
You may even find — as highlighted by Sales Hacker — that your outsourced team outperform your own team, with:
They also should specialize in a niche — we've just been selling tech since 2003 — that allows them to ask the right questions to pair your product or service with the right target customer's needs. And when talking about European expansion, you need to hire a local outsourced sales agency that speaks the language, knows the culture, and take someone out for coffee if needed.
The choice of which outsourced sales and marketing model depends on how far you wish to go. Full-stack sales outsourcing is the preferred choice of tech startups who want to be on the ground fast, with no time wasted searching for permies, ahead of the competition. A full-stack outsourced sales and marketing model with one team and one contract could be the solution for you, as you can move resources and staff from on country to another, depending on market response. Cover your whole evolving, customized sales outsourcing European team and start doing business in the most streamlined and efficient manner.
Perhaps you’re already in Europe, intend to scale up to a new location, and wish to move part of your existing team? By contrast to full-stack, a mixed model will allow you to outsource part of your sales function to a sales agency. For example, you could outsource just your B2B lead generation function, which might be:
Thus forms a functional and efficient lead generation team, in order to funnel through good prospects and sales leads to your existing internal sales team or outside field representatives. Target the right leads faster and your sales agents won’t be wasting valuable time and money cold-calling. You will be on the right road to a continuous supply of high-quality leads that filter through faster to closed sales and maximized profits.
We offer both kinds of models, full-service and as-needed flexibility, all under one contract and attracting excellent client-feedback:
"We wanted lead generation that integrated with our marketing team and Sales Force Europe have done exactly that — I don’t think of them as anything but our team members. We now have five callers supported by research, mentoring and coaching as well as strategic account management. They consistently achieve targets bringing experience of multiple vertical markets and insights across our pan-European target markets.” — Raevyn West, Senior Director of Growth Marketing, ENGIE Impact
Planning expansion starts with your budget and what you can reasonably afford to make the most impact. Cutting costs has always been an important topic, and never more so as in the current less-certain times. An outsourced sales team is an affordable option compared to hiring in-house. Recruitment agency costs are far from cheap, and they take time. How many other clients are on their books, all pushing for fast results? Should you choose to hire internally, tying up your own HR department, then time is still against you. Sourcing suitable candidates, building a pipeline, selecting a shortlist, all before the lengthy process required to set up mutually-convenient interviews, reference-check, offer, draw up legal contracts…It’s not over even then, as the selected candidate may pull out if counter-offered by their existing employer resulting in wasted time on all sides. Expansion to Europe further complicates matters, because if you’re not hiring locals you will also need to be savvy with local employment laws. That can lead to more expense if you fail to comply and land yourself with heavy fines for breaking the law.
Save yourself a headache and keep financial directors happy by using the services of an outsourced sales agency. Explore the possibility of a custom-made plan with sales outsourcing — a repeatable international sales strategy to take on your new European markets just for your business — bringing you a smart go-to-market team and leveraging exceptional sales outsourcing, managed at the local level.
You want to expand but there’s no need to move ‘lock, stock and barrel’. Outsourcing your sales team can cut the cost of a bricks and mortar local office, running everything from your existing headquarters.
You set the KPIs and are entirely in charge of your budget — contracting an outsourced sales team equals full transparency.
The flexibility of outsourcing sales agents delivers several perks for your business. Local oversight by your outsourced sales agency plays another important part. You will have access to a highly-skilled local workforce that is constantly monitored. Should someone appear to be a bad fit they can be easily swapped out with no disruption to you or to your business. Fast reaction by an outsourced sales agency prevents any disruption and it’s business as usual for you. Had you hired them yourself, you have the issue of ending a contract early, and perhaps dealing with a disgruntled ex-employee as well as having to start the hiring process all over again. A bad hire can be costly, might take pipeline business with them, and damage your reputation into the bargain — not something you want to happen in a new market intently monitored by the competition and your customers.
It’s impossible to see into the future. New products and new markets are a step into uncharted territory. Having the option to scale up or scale down is important for peace of mind in response to those new market demands for low-risk and efficiency.
One continent but many countries mean a different approach is required for each one. It’s not a case of one size fits all when it comes to expanding into Europe. How to do business is as important a lesson as any other, and cultural differences can take a while to get used to. But you don’t have the leisure of learning, so the benefits of outsourcing sales can also include instant cultural fit. From knowing which platform your lead generation should use — LinkedIn in the U.K., XING in Germany, Viadeo in France — to decide whether you should seal a deal over a breakfast meeting or over the phone, it all matters. When you outsource local sales representatives they already know. They are highly-skilled reps who know the market inside out and can sell all day long. They already sell tech locally and know the right networks. Moreover, they will understand your particular niche and how to sell your brand, putting you and your product in front of the right buyers fast.
Expansion to new markets can be difficult if you need to construct a sales process from the beginning and time is against you. It’s impossible to arrive in Europe and know everything straightaway. Starting from scratch doesn’t have to contain an element of guesswork. One of the most important benefits of outsourcing sales when entering a new market is availing of tried and tested expertise, avoiding unforeseen cost, risk and any delay.
Most of all you will remain completely in control and know your brand, your product and your expansion is in safe hands.
