Leveraging business process outsourcing (BPO) to support sales is one of the best ways that companies can streamline their sales pipelines and boost profits. However, many business leaders may not understand the difference between inbound vs. outbound BPO sales and which model would work best for their companies.
BPO call center services can support both inbound and outbound calling depending on a company’s overall marketing strategy. Some businesses may focus on an outbound strategy to optimize outreach, while others may prioritize answering incoming calls to capture as many potential leads as possible.
Which one is right for your business? Explore this comprehensive guide on inbound and outbound call center support to find out.
Unpacking BPO Sales Strategies
Inbound and outbound sales can both use outsourced call center teams, but they take distinct approaches to making a sale. Understanding each strategy is the first step in choosing the right combination of call center support.
The Basics of Inbound BPO
Inbound BPO is all about answering incoming messages. It puts the impetus on customers to contact the company. In many cases, inbound call centers focus on things like BPO inbound customer service and technical support for existing clients. However, they can also conduct inbound sales, which involves accepting calls and messages from people interested in learning more about a product and potentially making a purchase.
Understanding Outbound BPO Dynamics
Meanwhile, outbound BPO teams proactively contact customers to market their services. Typically, outbound calling goes hand in hand with a lead generation strategy designed to gather the contact information of prospects. Contact center representatives will collect lists of phone numbers or emails and contact prospective customers with the goal of making a sale.
Key Differences Between Inbound and Outbound Sales
Both types of selling strategies revolve around talking to customers to resolve an issue, finalize a sale or upsell, but they have several core differences. The way reps handle incoming vs. outgoing calls differs when building their sales funnels, interacting with customers, and tracking their progress.
Sales Funnel Divergences
To generate incoming calls, marketing teams need to emphasize different kinds of communication to encourage customers to reach out. This can involve content marketing, direct advertising on social media, search engine advertising, and more. It can even start with a referral from another customer. In any case, the customer will already be familiar with a brand and its products; they simply want to learn more or purchase.
With outgoing calls, BPO representatives need to do more legwork when it comes to brand and product awareness. Customers often have little to no information about the brand. They may have simply input their information into a sign-up sheet, or they may have no affiliation with the brand at all. If agents are cold calling, they’ll need to introduce potential customers to the whole idea of the brand and what solutions they provide. Even if representatives are working off a list of interested prospects, they’ll have to do more direct promotion and selling to get prospects hooked.
Customer Interaction Models
Because inbound callers have already interacted with the business in some way, they’re often already primed to make a purchase. As a result, call center reps should be ready to dive in and close the deal. Meanwhile, reaching out with an outbound call is often one of the first steps in qualifying a lead; reps may focus more on setting up a future appointment and encouraging future interactions instead of closing a deal right away.
Measuring Success Metrics
Incoming calls will typically have higher conversion rates than outgoing cold calls because customers are already interested in the products. As a result, the metrics for success vary for reps handling incoming vs. outgoing messages. Different actions can also count as conversion metrics for each type of call; for example, convincing a prospect to schedule a discovery meeting could be a metric for success for a cold call conversation.
When To Choose Inbound or Outbound BPO
Considering these differences and how they would impact your sales strategy is the best way to choose the right technique for your business. Here are a few other factors to keep in mind.
Industry-Specific Considerations
Some industries are more suited to inbound or outbound sales, depending on consumer behavior. For example, businesses that focus on searchable consumer products may be better at generating interest and encouraging customers to reach out, making an inbound strategy more successful. Service-based companies that thrive on word-of-mouth marketing can also benefit from investing in a call center to use incoming calls as a way to sell more products.
Similarly, investing in B2B outbound call center support is ideal for companies that are relatively new and don’t already have much brand awareness. That can include highly niche industries, B2B businesses, and SaaS products.
Balancing Customer Expectations
It’s important for your call center services to align with your brand identity so you can meet customer expectations and support customer retention. Quality BPO support will strike the right balance between serving customer needs and directly advertising products. Outbound calling involves a more assertive approach, while inbound support lets customers take the lead; each strategy has its place in a comprehensive marketing plan.
Choosing the Right BPO Partner and Sales Approach
Selecting a specific call center strategy also hinges on having the right BPO partner. When picking a call center outsourcing service for sales, it’s critical to find a provider that understands the complexities of inbound and outbound communications.
Finding the Right Fit for Your Strategy
Some call centers specialize in incoming calls, while others focus on cold calling, outsourced telemarketing, and other outbound techniques. Look for a provider with experience with your chosen technique. You’ll also want to look for industry-specific experience to ensure that the team has the product knowledge and selling best practices to implement your strategy.
Aligning Sales Strategy with Business Goals
Consider your ultimate goal for partnering with a BPO team. Of course, you want to make more sales and capture more leads, but what are your secondary goals and considerations? Look for BPO providers that can act as true strategic partners who can work toward your long-term vision, along with simply achieving short-term KPIs.
Ready To Supercharge Your Sales Pipeline? Let’s Talk BPO Strategy
Inbound and outbound sales techniques can both play critical roles in a company’s sales pipeline, especially when implemented with the support of a qualified BPO provider. The right call center can help businesses capture interest from incoming messages, reach a new audience with outgoing cold calls, or diversify marketing techniques with a mix of both outreach methods.
The Confie BPO team is experienced in both types of selling, so you can customize your experience to fit in with your marketing goals. Start using call center strategies to sell more products today by connecting with the Confie BPO team at 800-684-2276 or reaching out online.
