According to statistics, approximately 50 percent of North American companies use some form of outsourced inside sales. Also known as inside sales outsourcing, outsourced inside sales is basically a sales force that works for any company remotely. Most companies who look to outsource inside sales often work with sales consulting services to hire a contract sales force. Moreover, a Harvard Business Review survey has recently reported that 46 of participants in sales and marketing have transitioned to an inside sales model from a field sales model.

Often, a recruiter from the consulting firm spends time searching for top talent in b2b sales and marketing. From there, the outsourced sales force focuses on building a company’s brand, as well as monitoring that company’s sales and other activities that help its brand. The company can then focus on inside productivity, while the outsourced inside sales team can focus on field sales and related outside activities that benefit the company’s brand.

In fact, outside sales representatives have successfully brought in more clients to a company by around 40 percent, compared to just 18 percent recruited by inside sales reps. Other benefits also abound, as the Harvard Business Review has also reported that nearly 80 percent of survey participants felt that outsourced inside sales helped improve calls and sales volume, and nearly 80 percent of respondents felt that outsourced marketing and sales helped shaped their departments for the better.

Cost savings often come into play regarding outsourced inside sales. Generally, U.S. companies spend more than $20 billion annually to train a sales force on skills development, territory management, as well as on the product line. Compared to field sales, outsourced inside sales reduced costs of between 40 and 90 percent. Moreover, outsourced sales companies or consultants can help a company save up to 60 percent for the cost of operations.

B2B sales outsourcing has been recognized as beneficial to a company’s bottom line. However, it seems that some companies are not yet ready to give up one type of sales format over the other. According to research, companies are slowly adopting a hybrid sales format, which can slowly narrow the gap between inside and outside sales.

What strategies have you used to employ outsourced inside sales? Feel free to share in the comments below.