Factors to Consider When Selecting a Sales Outsourcing Firm

The single most important element to the success of an outsourcing evaluation is the selection of the right provider.?The capabilities of that provider, both its track record and future directions, and the ability of the two organizations to blend their operations over time are essential.?This new outside relationship becomes, in fact, a strategic asset of the client抯 business.?Thought of that way, one realizes that this decision ?the selection of the provider ? demands the same care as does any other important investment decision the business makes.?

In this interview, Michael Corbett, president, Michael F. Corbett & Associates, discusses the factors to consider when selecting an outsourcing firm ?in this case, a professional sales outsourcing firm ?with Alan Gonsenhauser, chief marketing officer, Salience.?Salience specializes in the outsourcing of dedicated field sales forces and has mobilized and managed 160 such sales forces for its clients over the past nine years.?The company is known for its ability to deliver a dedicated field sales force to its clients in 45 days or less, providing professional brand representation and doing so using a very results-driven business model.

Michael Corbett: Alan, what do you see as some of the most important factors when selecting an outsourcing provider ?particularly in your area of specialization, field sales forces.

Alan Gonsenhauser: We抳e found that the key factors have to do with the provider抯 experience and client base, a proven ability to deliver against demanding business schedules, and a real sensitivity to the unique requirements of the client and field sales environment.?Essentially, it抯 the ability to become an integrated extension of the client抯 business.

For example, in the professional sales outsourcing space, it抯 important to be able to quickly find the right, highly qualified candidates for a client抯 specific needs.?

Because Salience has been in business since 1993, we抳e been able to build a sales candidate database, organized by industry, of more than 200,000 sales professionals and sales leaders. We hire between 50 ?250 sales professionals each month, so this database is updated hourly by recruiting professionals.?In some cases, these sales professionals have even worked for us on previous sales forces.?This means we know their strengths and weaknesses and can quickly match-up the right professionals to the right field sales assignment.?

A provider also has to continually invest in business processes and technologies ?such as databases and software ?to keep their information current, business processes efficient, and experience relevant. A scalable technology and business infrastructure is critically important to be able to add value and support large sales force requirements.

M.C.: You also mentioned a proven ability to then take that experience and quickly apply it to the needs of a particular client.

A.G.: In looking at any outsourcing service provider, one needs to consider both the provider抯 experience and their ability to quickly leverage that experience to their client抯 specific needs. One without the other doesn抰 really do it.?

Since our business model is completely custom and dedicated to each client, we do not look for people until we first have a thorough understanding of the profile of sales reps & managers and the corresponding sales compensation plan that will maximize success in the field. Our process begins with a thorough understanding of the client抯 culture, products & services, and unique business challenges. After we agree on the specific sales and vertical market experience required, we then start sourcing and building the sales force.

We have fifteen full-time recruiters who then use our proprietary sales database and software to mobilize each client's sales force.牋

If the provider has both the experience and the ability to leverage that experience for its clients, it will be obvious when you examine their customer base.?Ask how long they抳e been in business.牋 Ask who their customers are and actually talk to them. Make sure that they抳e not just won good clients, but kept them over time.

Also, make sure they have experience with your company抯 vertical markets.?It抯 not just experience, but relevant experience that really matters. In our area, dedicated field sales forces, this is critical because it抯 so central to a provider抯 ability to professionally represent a client抯 brand in their specific industry.

M.C.:?Similarly, you mentioned sensitivity to the unique requirements of the field sales environment.?What are some of the considerations here?

A.G.: Field sales is all about people, their ability to build relationships and close business. Some sales reps make good 揾unters?to acquire new customers; others make good 揻armers?to expand existing customers ?generally not both.?This means we need to be able to get to know the people that will be representing our clients in the marketplace.?

To be able to do this quickly, we have access to video teleconference centers across North America with two such facilities in our corporate office.?This really expands our bandwidth in reviewing candidates.? In addition to our recruiters screening candidates over the telephone, our managers can quickly complete video teleconferences to see body language and gauge how candidates will handle themselves in front of the client抯 customers.?We抳e also developed a whole series of interview questions and techniques to surface the relevant sales characteristics from candidates.?

These capabilities promote a fast, high quality and consistent sales candidate acquisition process, which is key to building energized and successful sales forces.

Another example of being sensitive to the unique considerations of field sales is having a management system that maximizes selling time.?We抮e not just mobilizing, we抮e also managing and administering sales forces and working toward very clearly defined and measurable sales goals.牋 Knowing how to manage a sales force to maximize individual representative抯 face time with customers is key.?It抯 awfully easy to lose sight of this and take up too much sales time in internal meetings, activity reporting or order processing.?

Every discipline has its own areas of unique importance and we always encourage client executives to understand what these are for their area and to spend time assuring themselves that a prospective provider has a deep appreciation and clear focus on the key success factors.?They must also know how to translate these success factors into metrics that can be measured, reported and continuously improved.

M.C.:?One thing that I encourage client executives to do as well is to look beyond the specific scope of services currently under consideration and to examine the provider抯 total capabilities.?Often, there are related capabilities that if missing can really undermine the provider抯 ability to deliver.

A.G.: I agree. With professional sales outsourcing, in addition to helping clients quickly mobilize and execute sales forces, it is also important to be able to help them plan sales forces with tools to maximize their effectiveness in the field.

These include developing a coherent sales plan and sales process, sharpening up their marketing plan to ensure demand generation activities are driving qualified leads to the sales force, helping with the development and execution of sales training programs, developing sales compensation plans that drive desired behavior in the field, assisting with the selection of SFA and CRM systems, and developing the right sales metrics and reporting processes to measure successes and gaps after the sales force is deployed, promoting continuous improvement.

It is also important to ensure the provider can properly administer the sales force. This includes payroll and sales compensation administration, tax forms, state and federal tax administration, benefits administration, and hiring and termination. This relieves a tremendous burden from the client.

These are just some examples in the area we deal with.?Parallels exist, I am sure, in every field.?It really does come down to the breadth and depth of the provider抯 capabilities.?It also comes down to their overall strength as a company ?do they have the management systems, leadership, scalable infrastructure, and financial strength to really be a strong partner over a long period of time.?A lot goes into setting up an outsourcing relationship and the provider has to be able to invest and grow in that relationship over time if it抯 to really produce the desired benefits.

M.C.:?What other considerations would you recommend to executives as they examine potential partners?

A.G.: I抎 suggest three others.

First, does the provider have a results orientation ?after all, that抯 what the client is really buying, results. The provider should be willing to have a component of their compensation directly tied to sales results to ensure the client and provider are energized toward common business objectives.牋 This is something we抮e particularly sensitive to because of the inherent nature of the field sales business. But, I think it抯 important in every case.?

The second would be focus. Ensure the sales outsourcing provider will mobilize and execute only a dedicated sales force. A dedicated sales force that is focused 100% on clients goals is the only way to ensure the client maintains the total control and accountability they must have.

And finally, professional brand representation is critical. In essence our sales forces become our clients, as they are completely dedicated to them even though they are on our payroll. It is so important to properly train the sales representatives and leaders to completely understand the client抯 culture, target audiences, brand positioning, products and services, competition, and sales process. Quality initial and continuous sales training has a huge impact on sales force motivation and retention.

M.C.: Alan, thanks.?These criteria, backed by specific field sales examples, should really help clients sharpen their focus in selecting outsourcing providers.?