Trying to generate sales growth when you have a small and busy sales team can almost feel like a chicken and egg situation. Do you expand the sales team in the hope that new recruits will generate increased revenue, even though that will put a greater burden on budget before you see any increased results? Or do you try to grow sales first, using your current resources, and then use the revenue from that to increase headcount?

Growing the sales team to increase lead generation

Growing a sales team does sound like the logical solution if you want to bring in more leads and convert these to sales to generate more business. However, recruiting salespeople brings with it significant upfront costs and responsibilities. There’s also the time factor to consider. Recruitment requires the creation of job descriptions, advertising, interview processes and then the new team member needs to give their notice in, so the whole process can take several months – not to mention the cost the recruitment process carries with it, and all the more so if recruitment agencies are involved.

Even then, there is no guarantee you will find someone suitable, or that they will actually bring in more leads and sales once they have started working for you. So, going down this route could see you outlaying a lot of capital, and taking a lot of time, before you even start to see a single new lead come into the business, if at all.

Not to mention ongoing salary and training costs for the new staff members, as well as all the personnel issues that have to be dealt with as part of looking after and developing an expanded sales team.  So this route might work if you have a lot of upfront capital available, and are in no hurry to bring in new leads… but that’s not very likely to be the position most businesses find themselves in.

Increasing sales lead generation before growing the team

So if you’ve ruled out the option of expanding your sales team because it’s going to cost too much and take too long, then how do you get your current team to focus on lead generation and potential business growth, on top of their current workload with existing clients?

If you have reached a place where you want to grow, then surely that means your current team is at full capacity? If they start to focus on lead generation and prospecting for new clients, will they still have time to close existing prospects and get business across the finishing line, or could you be faced with a greater volume of early stage leads and a drop in business actually closing?

Are you able to create a distinction within the team as it stands, between new business, and account management for ongoing clients, or is the team just too small to do that right now? It really can feel like being stuck between a rock and a hard place when you need to grow but can’t see a way to do it that will work.

Using a third-party to generate leads while you grow the business

Fortunately for businesses, there is a third option available which is to outsource your lead generation and business growth to a safe pair of hands. Business development agencies which specialise in lead generation and sales, such as Libertad Growth, can really take the pressure off. They will take over prospecting and sourcing new business leads for you, ensuring a steady supply of new leads and contacts, while your sales team are free to focus on getting existing prospects over the finishing line and you can focus on the business direction and strategy.

Outsourcing to a third party gives you the ability to get an increase in business straight away, rather than having to wait to recruit someone, with lower costs, reduced risk and far less hassle than committing to employing someone full-time.  They can work for you on a month-by-month basis helping to control the costs while still growing the business at the same time.

Conclusion

If you are getting to the point where you need to grow your business and increase sales, but can’t afford the time or money to grow a sales team, and your current team has no capacity to drive an increase in new business, then consider outsourcing your lead generation to another organisation. It compares very favourably on cost against recruitment, takes the pressure off your team and gives your organisation a continuous pipeline of new leads and contacts to follow up with so that your business can grow as it needs to.

If you are looking to outsource your business’ lead generation and new business sales, then do get in touch to see if we at Libertad Growth can help take your company forward.