REL - Field Marketing & Sales Consulting

Peter Brook discusses whether outsourcing is a viable alternative to costly in-house sales teams.

What does the Echinacea plant and the outsourcing of sales teams have in common? The answer is really quite simple, they are both known for their properties of relieving stress.  

As Diageo Plc chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Walsh commented in the foreword to my book, ‘For me marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin – co-dependent – and if you get the strategies and execution for both to be brilliant then your business will undoubtedly grow’.

As we face economic uncertainties with sporadic consumer confidence, having a business model that provides flexibility while delivering outstanding activity at the point of purchase is critical.

Outsourcing trend

While there are still a number of big FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) businesses in the UK that employ their own sales teams, the trend continues to shift to the outsourcing of sales teams to external organisations. This ensures that businesses are able to compete effectively for the increasing influence of outlet point of purchase over consumer awareness/brand selection and have a business model that provides for maximum flexibility at a time when sales forecasting has become harder.

The sales function in organisations has historically been referred to as being ‘unstrategic’ and ‘easy’, while the prospect of outsourcing this critical function of a business was thought to mean accepting a lower quality of performance. Not any more.

Outstanding credentials

The world of outsourced sales teams has changed dramatically. Organisations like ours now recruit individuals with outstanding credentials, including both blue-chip FMCG experience and major retailer backgrounds. The best outsourced sales teams are supported through their organisations with a number of significant differentiators. They include having different sections of the company that deliver alternative areas of specialism. This includes unlocking the capability of the sales team through outstanding coaching and development and having an insatiable appetite to use point-of-purchase data to provide for a measurable and attractive return on investment (ROI). The ROI for an outsourced sales team is not only about the short term but also the longer term, as it is easier to secure through driving relationships on a daily basis with customers in store.

Resource flexibility

Flexibility of resource plays a significant part in the decision-making process to outsource sales teams and other significant factors make the case even more viable. Not least of these is the cost-effectiveness and transparency of the relationship. The best outsourced partners generally operate on a cost-plus model (having transparency of cost with an agreed margin for the provider). Factoring in the benefits of having access to a tactical field marketing team, which can deliver against specific opportunities, and the learning and experience from across clients’ teams adds not only value but scale and pace as well.

Goals

Outsourcing of sales teams is about connecting a company’s goal with those of the outsourced sales team and individuals. This is a must when creating solutions that will drive performance. So how do you create a common way of working within the sales team of an organisation that minimises investment, can handle geographical and customer complexity as though they do not exist while, at the same time, giving every person the autonomy and accountability for their own learning?

The answer lies in three specific areas:

• a sales organisation where the route of all selling solutions lies in the needs of the customers;
• transitioning the role of our  managers to become the coaches and mentors of their teams; and
• crystalline clarity in fostering an environment where individuals are passionate about their personal learning and development.

Better results, lower costs

Being a member of an outsourced sales team is every bit a vocation as being employed within the blue-chip environment. The results are commonly higher and the costs commonly lower of employed teams and brand owners no longer have to accept second best. In 2008, Red Bull was voted as having the field sales team of the year… not an employed team – an outsourced team.