Should I outsource my sales?

Dear Aunty B,

I run a small family-based print publishing business. I was wondering about outsourcing my sales. I find sales people hard to manage and think it would free me up to focus on other issues.

I have heard of other companies that have done it with mixed success. I am looking for long-term ways to reduce my costs.

No more sales staff!
Sydney

Dear No more sales staff,

Are you kidding? Would you outsource your general manager? Would you outsource your PA? Would you outsource your kids? Would you outsource your sex life? Actually you had better not answer any of those questions.

Look, what I am getting at is that your sales are key to the lifeblood of your organisation. I would no more outsource my sales than I would pick my nose in public. It is not just that you want to talk to your sales people every day to sell more stuff. You want to talk to them about how the marketplace is changing, what problems clients are having and what solutions you can sell them. And that is just the beginning!

Don’t see your sales people as a cost. Each sales person should make four to six times their salary in revenue. In fact, I would go the opposite route. How can you build your sales team to bring in more revenue? How can you improve the performance of your sales team? Would hiring a sales director to run the team help?

Look at other areas to cut costs but not at your sales team!

Be smart,
Your Aunty B

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