Q&A with David Dulany of Tenbound

Outsourcing Inside Sales Q&A With David Dulany of Tenbound

I had the pleasure of sitting down with David Dulany of Tenbound, an absolute expert in everything inside sales. The main topic we covered was outsourced inside sales and the critical questions companies need to ask when considering outsourcing their SDR function. 

1. When Does Outsourcing Inside Sales Make Sense?

There are a lot of factors to consider when outsourcing inside sales. It can be very beneficial for a number of reasons including increased efficiency, flexibility, and a more streamlined process. But when should you actually consider outsourcing inside sales

David talks about three buckets.

Bucket One: Trying to figure out product/market fit and understanding your ideal customer

Bucket Two: More established inside sales teams that are trying to improve process or explore new markets.

Bucket Three: Ready to scale, very established, and has their playbooks and processes down. They need people to execute a proven strategy.

Continuation on Company Phases to Consider Outsourcing

More conversation on the different buckets companies fall into when considering outsourcing inside sales.

2. What's the Most Critical Component to Success in Inside Sales?

It doesn’t matter whether you are outsourcing or not, if you haven’t built an inside sales playbook, your team is going to have trouble succeeding. Many of the people who want to outsource just assume they are off the hook, and don’t need to actually build the processes to be successful.

David makes a great point, start with the inside sales playbook and go from there!

3. One of the Biggest Failure Points in Inside Sales - A Lack of Investment

One of the biggest failure points of inside sales teams is a lack of investment. Companies will invest in salaries, but they don’t give the inside sales team the processes, tools, data, and technology to be effective. 

Managers and CEOs don’t truly understand how expensive it is to have a fully functioning inside sales team.

If you aren’t going to invest internally, outsourcing inside sales can be a good second option.

4. How Do You Categorize & Differentiate Outsourced SDR Vendors

There are so many different outsourced appointment setting vendors. Some are more focused on calling, others direct all their attention to email, and still others deal mainly with social media.  

One of the critical components to dive into with the outsourced vendor is exactly what the vendor specializes in.

Most vendors will be very honest and say things like “we don’t touch LinkedIn” or “our team books 80% of all meetings on the phones”. 

The outsourced vendor’s employees should also be a differentiator. There are two key roles, the caller (inside salesperson) and the project manager. Most people think the caller is the most important role, but the project manager will many times make or break the success of campaigns.

The project manager is responsible for making adjustments, building lists, and coaching your rep to success. Wasted time is what kills inside sales teams, and a bad project manager will waste a lot of time on your account.

5. Project Management, Communication, & Training

David dives into a bunch of the key factors to look at including project management, training for their team, online reviews, how established the company is, and industry experience.

6. What Type of SLAs and Communication Do You See?

Ongoing communication is critical between you and the outsourced sales development vendor. David dives into your ongoing cadence and SLAs you need to consider when working with outsourced appointment setting vendors.

How Do Outsourced Sales Development Companies Price Their Solution?

David dives into how he sees most outsourced sales development companies pricing their offering, and how critical it is to make adjustments.

What Should You Ask Vendors About Data Cleansing?

David dives into how you should think about data cleansing and what he sees across all the different outsourced sales development providers. 

Who Owns the Data?

How do you understand the exact processes an outsourced sales development company has for data cleansing? David dives into a few key questions to ask regarding data cleaning, as well as data ownership during an outsourced sales development engagement.

Summary

In conclusion, there are so many different considerations when you are trying to vet outsourced sales development providers. People, processes, data, and technology are a couple of the big buckets you have to dive into.

A huge thank you to David Dulany of Tenbound for providing his insights.

If you have any questions about outsourced sales development don’t hesitate to contact us to learn more.

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