Sales Outsourcing vs. Handling Sales Internally This Christmas

If you are thinking about how best to market your business' products in the run up to Christmas, one of the most important decisions to make is whether you will handle sales internally or outsource sales functions to a third party organisation.

Each approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. If you are handling sales internally, you will benefit from the fact that your employees know your products and their customers better than most independent organisations will. This may in turn help sales pitches seem more natural than if they had been carried out by a third party. Your internal sales team may also tend to sell products more softly as they are less likely to be paid substantially on commission.

On the other hand, an internal sales team will continuously cost your business money. Whilst this is unlikely to be a problem during periods of success and financial gain, the constant costs associated with retaining an internal sales team may seem less worthwhile when they fail to deliver results. Likewise it is more difficult to part ways with members of an internal sales team who do not perform to the standard required, whilst individuals working for an agency and even entire agency contracts are likely to be more flexible.

Although sales functions are important throughout the year, increased competition for consumers as well as increased potential revenues for businesses mean that Christmas is the most important event in the sales calendar. Particularly in the run up to Christmas, it is worthwhile for many businesses that have internal sales teams to supplement these with external teams. This means that your business will stand the best chance of achieving a healthy mixture of selling approaches, whilst benefitting from an element of variable cost depending on the overall level of sales performance.

Nevertheless, total sales outsourcing can bring further benefits to many businesses. If sales functions are outsourced to the same agency on a regular contract, the sales team attached by the agency to your business will develop a good level of familiarity with your products. Although calculating a cost comparison between outsourced and internal sales over time is difficult, in many cases outsourcing sales may be the cheaper option. Perhaps more importantly, it is easier for your business to access industry leading sales talent from an agency. Recruiting expert salespeople is costly and will represent a significant drain on your human resources, whilst contracting the work will be simple and time efficient for your existing members of staff.

Ultimately it is for you to decide which approach to sales will work best in the context of your business and industry. With Christmas on the horizon, it is worthwhile discussing your options with senior members of staff and possibly an independent marketing consultancy firm.