When you choose to outsource your inside sales, you make the decision to allow another entity to represent your brand. They become an extension of your company. Your image and your message are placed firmly in their hands. With this in mind, when considering which outsource vendor to choose, view each vendor as a potential partner with whom you will establish a long-term business relationship.

Consider including the following five questions in your Request for Proposal (RFP) to ensure you make the right choice.

1. What Value Will You Bring to the Relationship?

If your decision to outsource is going to work, you need a partner you can trust, communicate with, and who shares your values. You will need regular contact and you need to be sure you will be able to discuss your business’s changing requirements as often as necessary. Can you be certain the vendor will be open to the level of contact your business needs to establish and develop a long term relationship?

2. How Do You Differ from Your Competitors?

This goes far beyond their fees. As your strategy and business model evolves and new products come to market, you will need a sales team who is flexible. Can your vendor adapt to changing market conditions and customer buying trends?

Ask your potential vendor if they have a strategic selling point and what additional benefit they can bring to the partnership.

3. Do You Have the Right Resources?

Does your vendor specialize in lead generation, lead qualification, telemarketing, initial sales, direct or face-to-face/online selling, virtual or remote sales, account management, or continuing sales? Don’t assume you need to outsource the entire sales process to your vendor. It might make more sense to retain certain functions or aspects in-house.

4. Do You Have Industry Experience?

Find out what experience your potential vendor has in your specific industry. This will enable you to evaluate whether they are familiar with your target audience and the nuances of your product or services. When choosing the most effective sales model, you will want a trained sales team that can act as your business ambassadors and offer the very best approach when introducing your products or services to your clients.

5. How Will You Measure Success?

When creating your RFP, it’s a good idea to be completely open about your expectations, your requirements, and your goals in order to avoid complications later on. Set clear benchmarks and be absolutely sure how you will measure your vendor’s success right from the outset. Define what qualitative insights you require and have monitoring and reporting mechanisms in place.

Establish when progress reports should be submitted according to your business needs. Ask yourself: do you want weekly, monthly, or quarterly status reports? Do you need a full accounting of resources and sales figures, or just total revenue sales over each period?

Outsourcing inside sales can bring considerable benefits if you approach and manage it correctly. With no need to recruit, train and manage your own sales team, you free up valuable resources to invest elsewhere in your business. Choose correctly and the time-consuming responsibilities associated with inside sales are left to a team of experts with inside sales knowledge and experience in your industry. Your customers receive a positive experience – and your business benefits from higher conversion rates.