If you see the benefits of outsourcing and would consider doing it in the early stages of a business expansion, here’s the next hurdle: what questions do you need to ask your potential sales outsourcing partner?
I’d start with these:
- What’s your background?
- How long has your team been in this market?
- What services can you provide?
- Do you have examples of other companies you’ve helped?
- Do you have your own process/method or will you work within ours?
- What experience do you have assessing product-market fit?
- What are your ideas around lead generation?
- What’s the term of the contract?
- What’s the cost?
- Why you and not someone else?
- What do you see as the main benefit you can provide?
Of these questions, most people think “What’s the cost?” is the most important one. That is important, but I think the first bullet and the last bullet are more important. You want to make sure the background is vetted -- remember, a lot of people are full of crap -- and you want to make sure they understand their potential value to you within the context of your business model or go-to-market strategy. If they just generically discuss their value, all they’re doing is chasing you as a client. You want someone who understands what they can do specifically for you.
What other questions might you ask of an outsourcing partner?