When it comes to creating a growth strategy to scale revenue, many B2B companies go for outsourced inside sales, as it eliminates the need to build an internal team specifically for this purpose. While outsourcing inside sales offers benefits like speed and expertise, you may find it difficult to calculate the ROI.
Measuring ROI isn’t only about how many deals you closed, but also about the overall business value created through pipeline and sales growth. Let’s understand how to measure the ROI of outsourced inside sales.
Understanding the Basics of ROI
Return on investment (ROI) refers to the amount you invested and spent and how much you gained in return. In outsourced inside sales, this gain typically shows up gradually instead of all at once. This is particularly applicable in B2B sales, where the value gets created in the sales journey through conversations, qualified opportunities, and pipeline growth. When ROI is calculated realistically, all these elements are considered instead of just the final revenue.
Defining Business Objectives
To calculate the ROI, you need to first understand the business goals clearly. Some companies may want to have more meetings with decision-makers, while others may want to improve pipeline consistency or expand into new markets. Without having clear objectives, even great results can appear poor. This is why, before starting the ROI calculation, it’s vital to define the business objectives.
Calculating Total Investment
For accurate calculation, you should understand the full cost of outsourcing, which includes the annual fee covering sales talent, management, tools, and reporting. A major advantage of outsourcing is that it doesn’t have any hidden expenses, so it becomes easier to calculate how much you invested and the ROI generated. On the other hand, when hiring an in-house sales team, it can have hidden expenses like recruiting costs, delays in onboarding, employee benefits, and attrition.
Evaluating Pipeline Contribution
In outsourced inside sales, pipeline creation is a vital indicator of ROI, so businesses should see whether the outsourced team is consistently generating qualified opportunities. With a strong pipeline, the pressure on internal teams reduces considerably, and the chances of revenue growth increase. If your pipeline is growing steadily and is aligned with your ideal customer profile, then it indicates a positive ROI.
Assessing Revenue Influence
As the pipeline turns into revenue, the ROI becomes even clearer. Businesses should check how many opportunities were generated by outsourcing inside sales. If those opportunities contributed to closed-won deals, then it means they helped boost revenue and contributed positively. However, you should also see how much they helped with revenue growth and if they enabled you to close more deals than before.
Measuring Sales Efficiency
An outsourced inside sales team can reduce the cost and effort required to generate meetings and opportunities. With them handling this aspect, the internal teams won’t need to spend time on cold outreach and lead qualification. They can instead focus on other aspects, like building customer relationships. This improved efficiency helps lower acquisition costs and, in turn, increases the ROI.
Comparing Performance Trends
A simple method for calculating ROI is comparing the performance before and after outsourcing. Comparison can help you understand how things have changed and whether outsourced inside sales is benefiting your business or not. See if there are more qualified meetings, a stronger pipeline, and smoother sales execution than before. Consistent improvement can indicate that outsourced inside sales is offering a good return on investment.
Viewing Long-Term Value
While calculating ROI, you must also see if outsourced inside sales has built any long-term value for your business. Other than giving immediate results, it can also help refine ideal customer profiles and enable you to establish a more sustainable growth strategy. So, the ROI doesn’t always have to be financial; it can also be operational and strategic.
For B2B inside sales outsourcing, it’s best to go to a well-known company in the industry like DemandZEN. With their experienced team, you can drive consistent pipeline growth and improve sales efficiency. This approach can allow your internal team to focus on closing deals instead of finding qualified leads.