Outsourced Sales Prospecting: Everything You Need to Know

Sales prospecting doesn't have to be performed in house. While in-house sales prospecting is always an option, many B2B companies outsource this common process. Regardless if you're in industrial or office your company can probably benefit from outsourced sales prospecting.

What Is Outsourced Sales Prospecting?

Outsourced sales prospecting is exactly what it sounds like: It's a commercial service in which a lead generation specialist performs sales prospecting on behalf of your company. The sales lead generation specialist will find and nurture prospective buyers for your B2B company. It will then provide your company with the prospective buyers' information so that you or other sales reps can follow up and contact them.

You can partner with a sales lead generation specialist for outsourced sales prospecting. As previously mentioned, outsourced sales prospecting is a service offered by lead generation specialists. The term "outsourced" is used to describe a business-related process that's performed by a third party rather than the business itself. Outsourced sales prospecting involves a third-party sales lead generation specialist performing your B2B company's sales prospecting.

The Basic of Sales Prospecting

Sales prospecting, of course, is typically the first step in a B2B sales process. Before you can sell a product or service, you'll need to find prospective buyers who are potentially interested in it. Different B2B companies have different target audiences. Some B2B companies target property developers, whereas others target manufacturing businesses. Regardless, sales prospecting involves searching for prospective buyers who are aligned with your B2B company's target audience, as well as nurturing them so that they are ready to engage with sales reps.

The goal of sales prospecting is to generate qualified leads. Leads are prospective buyers. A lead is considered "qualified" if he or she has been vetted as a good fit for your B2B company. With sales prospecting, you can generate more qualified leads, resulting in a more efficient and successful sales strategy.

Here's a breakdown of how sales prospecting works:

• Research prospective buyers while identifying their contact information.
• Contact the prospective buyers to determine whether they are a good fit.
• Qualify the prospective buyers to generate qualified leads for sales reps.

It's important to note that sales prospecting typically doesn't involve pitching products or services. It's simply a sales lead generation process. Sales prospecting is designed to identify and nurture leads for sales reps. Sales reps can then contact those leads to pitch a product or service. Nonetheless, sales prospecting is often the precursor to generating actual sales. It will reveal prospective buyers whom you can contact to pitch a product or service.

Outsourced vs In-House Sales Prospecting

Sales prospecting can be categorized as either outsourced or in house, depending on who performs it. Outsourced sales prospecting is performed by a lead generation specialist on behalf of your B2B company. In-house sales prospecting, on the other hand, is performed by your B2B company marketing and sales professionals.

Both outsourced and in-house sales prospecting consist of identifying, contacting and qualifying prospecting buyers. The difference is that outsourced sales prospecting is performed by a third-party lead generation specialist, whereas in-house sales prospecting is performed within your B2B company by its marketing and sales professionals.

In-house sales prospecting can create challenges. If your B2B company struggles to generate premium and qualified sales leads, you may want to outsource this process. Outsourced sales prospecting is a smart investment. Why should you consider outsourced sales prospecting over in-house sales prospecting exactly?

Why Outsourced Sales Prospecting Is a Smart Investment

While sales lead generation specialists don't offer it for free, outsources sales prospecting is a smart investment for several reasons. Outsourced sales prospecting will save you time. Research shows that sales reps spend 18% of their working hours, on average, generating leads. If this sounds familiar, outsourced sales prospecting may be the answer. You won't have to scour LinkedIn and business databases for new leads. Rather, you can obtain them from a sales lead generation specialist. The lead generation specialist will take care of this otherwise time-consuming process so that you can focus on selling your B2B company's products or services rather than generating leads.

Another reason outsources sales prospecting is a smart investment is because it will open the doors to new sales opportunities. Lead generation specialists use a variety of strategies and platforms to find leads. Even if your B2B company is capable of performing sales prospecting in house, it may not use all of the same strategies and platforms. The end result is a fewer total number of leads with in-house sales prospecting. Outsourced sales prospecting allows your B2B company to leverage strategies and platforms of a lead generation specialist.

You can expect higher-quality sales leads when outsourcing your B2B company's sales prospecting efforts. The quality of a lead is determined by his or her likelihood of making a purchase. High-quality leads have a greater chance of making a purchase than their low-quality counterparts. There are different criteria by which lead quality can be measured, such as job title, industry, time of acquisition, etc. Regardless, outsourced sales prospecting can provide your B2B company with high-quality sales leads who are prime targets for sales reps.

With all of these benefits, outsourced sales lead prospecting may actually save your B2B company money. Finding and nurturing prospective buyers takes time. And in the world of business, time is money. If sales reps spend too much time on prospecting, they'll have less time to spend on pitching products or services and, ultimately, closing deals. Fortunately, outsourced sales prospecting can save your B2B company money by freeing up sales reps' schedules. Sales reps will have more time to focus on pitching products or services, which should result in more closed deals. These are just a few reasons why outsourced lead generation is a smart investment.

In Conclusion

There are dozens of business-related tasks that can be outsourced, one of which is sales prospecting. Take a look at SalesLeads' Prospecting Services. It may be exactly the fit you are looking for.