B2B Enterprise Sales Systems - Integrated vs Outsourced vs Hybrid

Being a SaaS or a software development organisation comes with 3 major challenges: R&D for products and services, Operations for execution of contracts, and getting new clients.

While most core teams of such organisations are extremely efficient with either of the first two, it is mostly the third challenge that becomes a friction for growth. About 40% of the failure stems from the marketability of the product[i] which could stem from poor adoption and poor scalability. However, when we separate winners from the losers, we observe that a GTM Strategy is the key component of a successful product launch.[ii]

Integrated (In-house) Model

To solve marketing and sales, start-ups usually deploy several strategies that could range from freemium services (Canva and Notion) to free training programmes (Trailhead by Salesforce). At corporate level, the decision is either to execute these strategies in-house or outsource them via service partners.

In-house seems to be preferred for pre-seed and bootstrapped start-ups where the small team would leverage their idle time to prospect on LinkedIn and X while attempting to create a hopefully active community on Discord. Depending on the funds available, specialised tools like the LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo.io, Intuit Mailchimp, and Lusha to secure email adresses and appointments.

Usually, such emails have links to their Loom, Pitch, or YouTube and are designed using an HTML Email builder like Beefree. The appointments are scheduled using Calendly, now increasingly by Google Workspace Calendar[iii], and conducted using Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams. [Further Statistics][iv]

What comes as a surprise is that some businesses, irrespective of their age and revenue, can still struggle with a defined six-stage sales process[v]. Such was the case of one of my clients with multi-million dollar reported revenue.

Outsourced model

Outsourcing your GTM or parts of marketing can seem as the better option when expertise and volume can be a major factor for your growth. While 80% of the companies are reluctant to outsource any part of sales or marketing, about 59% still outsource to cut costs. And 65% of those that outsourced in the past are planning to increase outsourcing.[vi]

Outsourcing outbound SDR for lead generation is majorly the first step in this course of action, and 79% of the users of such service have experienced faster scaling while saving on operational challenges managing a sales team that reportedly 37% of the time fails to meet their quotas.[vii] Players like the Martal Group, Pipeful, Belkins, CIENCE, and Operatix take the lead in the G2 rankings for providing specialised outbound services.

These services often come at the expense of either a larger term or value contract, creating a barrier to entry for companies with small team sizes, where dedicated marketing and sales are missing and the work is usually divided among core members.

Revenue-sharing-based partnerships, or vendors, like the one employed by almost all the major technology companies, provide a more thorough approach with the least upfront expenditure. Salesforce has 11,000 partners[viii], SAP has 24,000 partners[ix], Google Cloud has 100,000 partners[x], and Microsoft has whopping 400,000 partners[xi]. These companies are investing more towards enabling their partners to capture more clients through incentive and training-driven approaches.

An empirical example of how helping others grow can create growth for yourself.

The Hybrid Bridge

The transition from an integrated SDR team to a vendor model can be accomplished in a hybrid manner. When working on RA Fitness Meals, my second start-up, we tested these models with influencers and several points of contact with small kiosks at strategically placed venues like gyms and sports grounds.

Also known as affiliate marketing, whether through influencers, newsletters, or blogs, this is one the most common ways for this transition or creating a hybrid model. In the US alone, $8.2 Billion has been spent on affiliate marketing with continual growth since 2010[xii]. Affiliates come as a pay-as-you-go while some with higher reach may charge a base pay as well.

Platforms like CommissionCrowd: Connecting B2B Commission-Based Sales Professionals & Companies Globally and Closify can help companies establish vendor-partner-like relations with independent sales consultants. However, it becomes the responsibility of the company to provide the right marketing collaterals, pricing, and endpoints to entice marketers to invest their resources in generating leads and closing deals. In specific cases, companies may benefit from hiring closers, prospectors, or appointment setters separately.

Understanding the of Push – Pull[xiii] effect of the market on your products can give clear insights into your organisation's situation and develop strategies accordingly

Making the transition

A structured B2B sales process flow enables a smooth transition to outsourcing models, and a hybrid structure will require a fair share of foundational work.

For Adiflow Consulting, I have developed a meticulously tested sales transformation strategy on Microsoft 365 Project using Y Combinator’s recommended iterative business development model [Further Reading][xiv]. You can see the Gantt Chart from the project plugged into Microsoft Visio attached below.

The first iteration has additional tasks due to the fulfilment of gaps in the current go-to-market strategy of the prospect.

From the second iteration, this system acts as a closed-loop self-learning marketing department that can be plugged in with full or partial outsourcing at different stages, or used as the high-level process for the in-house SDR team. For commission-based agents and vendors, tasks from ID 5 to 17 can be assigned to them.

The choice of implementing any model is purely strategic. Statistical analysis of market trends and financial modelling of marketing can help make the right decision for growing firms and early-stage start-ups. Marketing expenditure is unavoidable, be it direct or indirect.

Bibliography

10 Reasons Why Most SaaS Startups Are Doomed to Fail [WWW Document], n.d. URL https://www.onlysaasfounders.com/post/why-startups-fail (accessed 2.13.24).

29 B2B Sales Statistics Shaping Present & Future of B2B Selling in 2024 [WWW Document], n.d. URL https://zixflow.com/blog/b2b-sales-statistics (accessed 2.13.24).

Adibooy, 2023. Calendar Software Market: Current Market Share, CAGR, Growth Projection, and forecast Till 2030. Medium. URL https://medium.com/@adibooy632501/calendar-software-market-current-market-share-cagr-growth-projection-and-forecast-till-2030-55fbfc17f65f (accessed 2.13.24).

Bennett, S., 2024. Outsourced Sales Providers Statistics 2024 - Everything You Need to Know. WebinarCare. URL https://webinarcare.com/best-outsourced-sales-providers/outsourced-sales-providers-statistics/ (accessed 2.13.24).

Bosch, A., 2022. Outsourced SDRs: 10 Best Companies, the Ultimate Guide [2024] [WWW Document]. P2P marketing. URL https://peertopeermarketing.co/outsourced-sdrs/ (accessed 2.13.24).

Clark, R., 2022. Evolving Microsoft Partner Network programs for partner growth and customer success [WWW Document]. The Official Microsoft Blog. URL https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2022/03/16/evolving-microsoft-partner-network-programs-for-partner-growth-and-customer-success/ (accessed 2.13.24).

Company Information | About SAP SE [WWW Document], n.d. . SAP. URL https://www.sap.com/india/about/company.html (accessed 2.13.24).

How to Improve Your Sales Strategy With a B2B Sales Process [WWW Document], 2022. URL https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/b2b-sales-process (accessed 2.13.24).

Iterative Development: The Secret to Great Product Launches — MindK [WWW Document], 2019. . Web and Mobile App Development Company — MindK.com. URL https://www.mindk.com/blog/iterative-development/ (accessed 2.13.24).

Moore, M., 2023. How Salesforce Promotes Equality Across Its Partner Ecosystem [WWW Document]. Salesforce. URL https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/partner-ecosystem-equality-report-2023/ (accessed 2.13.24).

Partner news from Next ‘23 [WWW Document], n.d. . Google Cloud Blog. URL https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/partners/partner-news-from-next-23 (accessed 2.13.24).

Push–pull strategy, 2022. . Wikipedia.

Timar, A., 2022. Product Failure: Why New SaaS Products Fail and How to Avoid it. Thoughts about Product Adoption, User Onboarding and Good UX | Userpilot Blog. URL https://userpilot.com/blog/product-failure/ (accessed 2.13.24).

U.S. affiliate marketing spend 2022 [WWW Document], n.d. . Statista. URL https://www.statista.com/statistics/693438/affiliate-marketing-spending/ (accessed 2.13.24).

[i] (“10 Reasons Why Most SaaS Startups Are Doomed to Fail,” n.d.)

[ii] (Timar, 2022)

[iii] (Adibooy, 2023)

[iv] (“29 B2B Sales Statistics Shaping Present & Future of B2B Selling in 2024,” n.d.)

[v] (“How to Improve Your Sales Strategy With a B2B Sales Process,” 2022)

[vi] (Bennett, 2024)

[vii] (Bosch, 2022)

[viii] (Moore, 2023)

[ix] (“Company Information | About SAP SE,” n.d.)

[x] (“Partner news from Next ‘23,” n.d.)

[xi] (Clark, 2022)

[xii] (“U.S. affiliate marketing spend 2022,” n.d.)

[xiii] (“Push–pull strategy,” 2022)

[xiv] (“Iterative Development,” 2019)