A Recap of BDO Benefits
Previously we discussed some of the benefits of outsourcing your business development process, including:
- Gaining a highly experienced team immediately
- Better leads to fill your funnel
- Save time and money
- Higher Customer Satisfaction and Retention
Tips for Business Development Outsourcing (BDO)
Now that you’ve decided to make this essential investment into the growth of your business, here are some tips to make sure you maximize the return on investment of your outsourced business development team.
Effective and Executable Operation Plan
Simply stated it relates to the Contract and the documented relationship between you and the vendor on ‘who does what.’ Which party (the vendor or you) will provide the raw data to be called on and whose CRM will be used. Will the “opt-in” strategy be used to develop leads, if so, who will develop the various web platforms? At what point will the hot lead be handed off to the company’s sales department? What role will the outsourcing vendor play in preparing the contract for signing up the prospect? Etc. All this naturally will depend on your internal organization strength in sales and how much of the work do you want to outsource.
Effective ROI Measurement Plan
Before launching with your business development partner, have you devised a clear strategy for measuring the ROI on your partnership? If not, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. To ensure the success of your efforts, develop a clear and measurable ROI plan and be sure to communicate this to your chosen partner. Act-On has a great blog on how to measure your ROI, explaining how to develop your CLV (customer lifetime value) number and move that over to CAC (customer acquisition cost.)
Make Sure Your Internal Team Is Prepared
After the initial onboarding process, your outsourcing team will be spending every available hour of their time for you making calls and qualifying leads so that every lead you receive is highly qualified and ready for closing. If your internal sales staff is not prepared to respond to the leads sent over, your ROI will suffer. And the damage can be two-fold, as not only will those leads decide they are no longer interested in your service but will be reluctant to do business with you in the future if you do manage to gain their attention again.
Do Your Homework
Not every outsourcing team is the right fit. Forbes Business Development Council put out these seven things to look for when hiring your team, including a strong ability to learn complex concepts quickly, highly cognitive and, in our opinion, the most important is one with a strong empathy for your customer’s challenges. Additionally, you should look for a partner who believes and communicates to their business development associates that your customer is also their customer and should be treated as such. Be sure to thoroughly evaluate your potential partners and ensure they have the appropriate culture to match your internal teams.
“Our Customer’s customer is Our Customer.”
At Premier LLC, a customer-centric culture is built into our DNA. Every member of our team is carefully screened and vetted to ensure they have the right personality and skills to ensure they are a successful member of not only our team but yours. Regardless of your specialized needs, we can get a team in place that can successfully help you build your business and gain a competitive edge.
