“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell
Business development is vital to the success of every business, and there are a variety of ways that a business can go about the task. From word of mouth and referral marketing to online strategies such as email and social media, there will be a strategy that fits with any business. In fact, this article on Marketing Wizdom lists 63!
No one would deny the importance of business development in the success of a company. What people do seem to disagree with is the method of business development. Do you focus on more face-to-face strategies such as tradeshows or do you invest in business development associates in-house who spend their days making outbound calls and setting appointments?
Benefits of Outsourcing Your Business Development Efforts
What if you could reduce costs, save time and still fill your funnel from the top? In the current business environment of “do more with less,” businesses are often faced with difficult choices of which goal do they work towards and which one do they put on hold? Do you have your sales team focus on upselling and cross-selling your existing customer base or generating new customers by prospecting and cold calling? It doesn’t need to be an either/or question. You can meet both initiatives by outsourcing your business development efforts.
Gain a Highly Experienced Team Instantly
If you needed heart surgery, you wouldn’t go to a foot doctor. In the same way, you wouldn’t put your top-closing salesman on the phone prospecting. Everyone has their specialty, and when you outsource your business development efforts, you gain years of experience from day 1.
Better Leads to Fill Your Funnel
When you outsource your business development and prospecting efforts, you don’t just receive more leads, but higher quality leads. The business development experts will work hand in hand with your sales team to determine the necessary qualifiers. The end result is that your sales team will only receive those leads that are most likely to close, and increasing the success rates of your teams.
Save Time and Money
Once the decision has been made to begin a prospecting campaign, there is a lot of work to do. You need to get the right people in place and train them on your product and campaign. When you staff these resources internally, you will spend hours training that staff in your procedures and policies, not to mention the overhead costs of salaries, benefits, and hardware the staff needs to perform their duties. With an outsourced business development team, you can save the hassle of recruiting and training, as the outsourcing partner will shoulder that burden. Additionally, the partner will provide all of the necessary equipment and office space needed so your overhead is reduced.
Higher Customer Satisfaction and Retention
A lesser-known benefit of outsourcing your business development efforts is a more satisfied customer base. But how? By freeing up your internal team from the cold calling and prospecting, they can give more attention to your current customers and highly qualified leads, ensuring a higher close rate and that all promises are followed through. A higher close rate means a happier sales team. And a happier sales team is going to provide a higher quality of service to your customers.
Secure Your Success with a Business Development Expert
Regardless of the size of your business, you won’t grow if you don’t have fresh leads in your pipeline. Outsourcing your business development efforts can be just what your business needs. Freeing up your staff to focus on more strategic initiatives can provide a significant advantage. Speak with a member of our team today to learn how you can gain the edge over your competitors.
