| The Age of Outsourcing and Sales and Marketing. | | | | company. When they do, of course, there are |
| Today, now more than ever, companies need to go | | | | fractional management solutions that are available |
| outside to find partners, consultants, | | | | from companies like ours. But, a more common |
| inter-management solutions, and service providers | | | | notion is that a VP of sales has got to be somebody |
| who can help them to cover the range of their | | | | who is really dedicated to full time, permanent or |
| needs of sales and marketing. As new rules have | | | | regular position inside the company. In those cases, it |
| been invented regarding lead generation, the internet, | | | | makes perfect sense for you to find a recruiting |
| and more complexity has come into the sales and | | | | company to help you search for, screen, and find a |
| business development and marketing model of most | | | | top sales leader to come into your company and help |
| companies, it's very difficult for you to keep up with | | | | you build and execute your sales strategy. |
| all of the skill sets that are required in order to be on | | | | A lot of times a company is on sort of the edge of |
| the top of your company's game and maintain best | | | | where they're not sure if it's time for them to have |
| practices across all of those functional areas. So, | | | | an in house solution on a permanent basis or if they |
| companies are looking increasingly to bring in | | | | could go with a fractional solution. Part of the issue is |
| outsourced service providers who can provide them | | | | how core the function is to your long term strategy |
| with fractional management or contract personnel or | | | | as a company, and how strategic it is really for the |
| ongoing outsourcing and consulting to cover the | | | | execution of your business model. But there are |
| needs that they're not capable of keeping in house | | | | many functions inside a company that cannot be |
| or cannot justify to have on a full time basis. | | | | outsourced and must be kept in house. And in those |
| Outsourcing covers a range of different types of | | | | cases, finding a partner who can help you to recruit |
| functional areas, including search engine optimization, | | | | those resources and bring them into your company is |
| pay per click management, and product management | | | | absolutely critical to accelerating your sales and |
| / product marketing. Many companies go through | | | | generating top line growth, transforming your sales, |
| launch phases of new products or product | | | | and growing your business. |
| requirements or definition in new product planning | | | | When does it make sense to outsource part of your |
| cycles that require having those resources around. | | | | management sales and marketing or business |
| But they don't need them on a permanent basis once | | | | development management functions to an |
| a new product has been defined, built, launched, and | | | | outsourced service provider? One of the examples is, |
| handed off into the sales force. Copywriting is | | | | if your company has a tactical marketing team of |
| another area where a lot of companies look to | | | | marketing communications specialist, doing advertising, |
| outsource that capability in the marketing side for | | | | internet marketing, direct mail or organizing trade |
| creating new brochures, collateral, web design copy, | | | | shows, but you can't afford a full time manager inside |
| etc. Many companies would love to have a graphics | | | | the company, you still need somebody who can |
| design and internet marketing capability in house, but | | | | provide planning, oversight, and leadership to that |
| they simply can't afford or justify doing that on a full | | | | team. If you're a CEO, who is an engineering, |
| time basis, yet this does work perfectly in an | | | | operations or finance oriented person, you're |
| outsourced model, where you have a full service | | | | probably not the best person to guide this team and |
| web design company that can build your online web | | | | bring best practices into the company and marketing. |
| site pages, conversion mechanisms, landing pages, | | | | That person can participate in your quarterly |
| microsites, etc. and deploy those for your company. | | | | management team meetings, in your company's |
| So, these are just some of the many examples of | | | | planning cycle, including doing strategic marketing |
| areas where companies need to consider outsourcing | | | | planning, developing your go to market strategy, |
| in order get all their work done. | | | | segmenting and maintaining your updated competitive |
| At the management level, many companies can't | | | | analysis, doing those kinds of projects, or at lease |
| justify having a full time VP of Marketing or a | | | | overseeing them at a high level, and helping your |
| Director of Business Development, but what they | | | | company to provide top level oversight of the |
| can justify is having an interim management solution | | | | execution of your marketing programs. That's a |
| or fractional management solution. Some companies | | | | perfect example of where having a fractional VP of |
| that are trying to get to the next level would love to | | | | marketing, on an outsourced basis from a consulting |
| have that top executive on the marketing side but | | | | or service provider, can make a lot of sense. Another |
| it's just simply too expensive and they can't afford it. | | | | example is, when you've brought a new product to |
| So what do they do? Often times, they do nothing, | | | | market and you've realized that the best way to |
| and as a result, are not capable of moving their | | | | bring that product to market is through third party |
| business forward in their target markets and really | | | | distribution channels and you already have a channel |
| executing a proactive marketing strategy. | | | | management function set up for system integrators, |
| This is a perfect example of where fractional | | | | VARs or OEMS, but what you want to do is you |
| management or outsourcing of a management | | | | want to deploy a new channel for this particular |
| function or interim management of that function can | | | | product line. |
| make a lot of sense and can be done without | | | | This is a perfect project to outsource to an interim |
| bearing the full cost of a full time employee. Smart | | | | VP of business development or interim director of |
| companies are using fractional VPs of marketing who | | | | business development...a rainmaker who can go out |
| are top marketing professionals to come in and help | | | | and research, target, identify, screen, and select a |
| them plan and execute their marketing programs | | | | new channel of distribution for your new product line. |
| even if they're not on a full time basis. This provides | | | | Or, perhaps your company has already got a system |
| a wonderful solution: a company can get a part of a | | | | of integrators providing a technical solution that |
| senior marketing manager without paying full time for | | | | bundles your product into a full turn key solution for |
| it. So if you're company is thinking about how to get | | | | your clients, but you've now come up with a shrink |
| its sales and marketing to the next level, you might | | | | wrapped, office shelf product that can really be sold |
| want to consider what your outsourcing and | | | | with less value added and less integration and you |
| fractional interim management strategy is and how | | | | have a channel organization that's set up to run your |
| you can put new resources to work for your | | | | system integrators but you don't have anybody |
| company on an interim or part time basis, or on a | | | | who's capable of going and finding OEMs or more |
| project basis that will help you to round out the skills | | | | traditional VARs for that product. Here, you can |
| sets of your company and accelerate your sales. | | | | easily bring in an outsourced or fractional or interim |
| Of course, there are some positions in your company | | | | VP of business development to set up that channel |
| that you simply cannot afford to outsource and you | | | | for you, get it going, make sure that it's running |
| need a permanent hiring or recruiting solution for | | | | smoothly and producing the sell through that you're |
| those positions. A good example of that is your VP | | | | looking for, and then handed over to your normal |
| of sales. Very few companies would consider | | | | channel management organization. |
| outsourcing their VP of sales duties to an outsource | | | | |