Sales reps: in-house or as outsourced staff

Demand for outsourced sales representatives keeps growing because many firms have been forced to lay off staff due to the difficult economic situation – says Ágnes Csiby, client service director of In-Store Kft.

Many companies don’t have the financial resources to use their own sales reps in each and every area: for them the best solution is to use the services of an outsourcing company occasionally. Other companies use outsourced sales teams when there is extra work, e.g. launching a new product, high season, etc., and there are companies which completely rely on outsourced sales reps. According to In-Store’s expert, a sales team can only be effective if sales reps don’t have too many stores to work with and it is also important to train sales reps regularly. She thinks it is best if sales reps to earn a basic fee, which isn’t enough to live off it but is enough to guarantee that the work gets done, and in addition to this they should get motivating bonuses or commission. Sales reps should have the latest information all the time, which is impossible these days without using a tablet PC or a PDA. It is the firms that have to decide whether to work with a permanent sales team or an outsourced one. If a company isn’t sure about being able to employs a sales rep team in the long run, it is best to use outsourcing because outsourced teams can be disbanded in just a couple of weeks; what is more, in most cases outsourced teams are cheaper to operate. Linda Szaladják, marketing manager with iData Kft., a company offering customised GPS solutions, told our magazine that they opted for creating their own sales representative network. As the Budapest-based company was growing, they had to create a new sales rep system. With the guidance of sales director Levente Hajek the country was divided into five sales areas and iData Kft. chose highly qualified sales managers from these regions: they know local conditions well and travel costs are low. According to Ms Szaladják, sales reps have to have a global view of the various sectors, they have to be aware of the challenges transport companies are facing and they have to be familiar with not only iData’s services but also those of its competitors. The company believes that sales reps need regular support, therefore consultations are held every couple of days.