Kategorier: Articles

Outsourcing sales operations to a partner company is a modern and cost-effective solution in the retail and HORECA sector. It is far from irrelevant who is chosen as the outsourcing partner and how the partnership and collaboration develops. Sales work is fundamentally about people and their interactions. Therefore, the cooperation between the outsourcing company and the outsourcing partner must be strong and successful.

What is sales outsourcing all about?

A company can outsource its field sales and key customer sales (KAM) to a partner who specializes in sales functions and acts as a house of sales expertise. Such a company has not only a professional, trained sales organization, but also sales coordination and support services, as well as experienced sales management. High-quality monitoring and reporting systems and processes that support the business.

Outsourcing sales allows the company to focus on its core competencies, such as product development or branding and marketing. Cost-effectiveness is often achieved by sharing the outsourced sales resource with other brands. The outsourced sales resource can be scaled flexibly according to needs and situations.

The basis for successful cooperation

Sales are at the heart of almost every business. Sales is a strategic and necessary function without which a company cannot develop and grow. Therefore, it is crucial to choose a professional, development-oriented and reliable partner as your outsourcing partner.

It is of utmost importance that the goals of the company and the outsourcing partner are aligned. Both parties must primarily strive for the success and growth of the brand sold in the market. The metrics for achieving the objectives should also be defined together.

It is also important that both parties are willing to invest in the cooperation and its development. Transparency and honesty from both sides are critically important, as is providing constructive feedback. Sometimes it is necessary to constructively challenge the partner on both sides, because suggestions for improvement promote development.

It is a good idea to stick to the agreed division of labour and responsibilities and let each party be responsible for their part. Regular meetings, effective and timely reporting, continuous communication, and contact serve as channels for the basic elements of successful collaboration mentioned above.

How to measure the success of outsourced sales?

The typical primary measure of success with an outsourced sales partner is sales growth. Sales targets are usually set at the annual and customer level, as well as by sales periods and product groups, for example. In addition to sales growth, the outsourcing company usually also monitors profitability and its development as the main measure of outsourcing.

It is important that all parties have a clear, consistent understanding of the key objectives and metrics, and that performance is regularly monitored, results are reported, and corrective action is taken as needed.

There are also other factors to consider when evaluating the outsourcing partner’s performance. Key issues include:

• Does the collaboration with the outsourcing partner develop us and our brand in the right direction?
• Do we learn from our outsourcing partner?
• Is cost-effectiveness achieved?
• Is the solution optimal in terms of profitability?
• Does our outsourcing partner invest in developing their business and cooperation?
• Is our collaboration motivating?

Sales Support: Your winning partner in outsourced sales

Sales Support offers a modern, experienced and comprehensive leading outsourced sales organization at your disposal. Our focus is 100% on the success of our partners. We handle both field and key customer sales cost-effectively and growth-oriented. We have extensive experience of successful cooperation with our partner companies, and we believe in open cooperation and transparent operations.

Contact us, and we’ll discuss together how we can build a winning outsourced sales solution for your business to support future growth.

The role of the store salesperson in grocery stores is very significant for a brand owner’s success. With a well-thought-out plan, optimal coverage and visit frequency, a solid structure, set key performance indicators (KPIs), and clear goals, a store salesperson can achieve significant results to increase sales. Below, we list some tasks that are important in a store salesperson’s mission.

Availability and Visibility

The most important thing for a store salesperson is to ensure that the products are available, not only in as many stores as possible but also in the right stores. A store salesperson with good insight can identify which stores have the potential to increase the product range and work purposefully to get relevant products into these stores. This ensures broader distribution and increased visibility for the products in the right stores. A sales representative who regularly visits stores also listens to the potential challenges of the store staff and helps in problem situations. A sales representative is the expert of the brand he/she represents, whom the store staff can always turn to. This way, the brand has a face in every store.

Central and local campaigns

Planning and selling central and local campaigns are often crucial for driving sales in grocery stores. A store salesperson who regularly visits the stores can present campaign offers and ensure that the stores are well-prepared to implement them. This can include the placement of POS (Point of Sale) materials and training of store staff to maximize the campaign’s effect.

POS Materials

The use of POS materials is an important part of a store salesperson’s work. Effective use of POS materials can capture customers’ attention and drive impulse purchases while also having a long-term brand-building effect. A store salesperson who plans and implements the use of POS materials in a structured way ensures that the products stand out from the competition.

Category development and insights

To be competitive, it is important to keep an eye on how categories develop. This includes monitoring prices, campaigns, and product launches within the category. By having updated insights into the category’s development and competitors’ activities, a store salesperson can adjust their offers and strategies accordingly to ensure that the products remain attractive to customers.

Conclusion

The role of the store salesperson in grocery stores is crucial for ensuring proper distribution, creating effective campaigns using relevant POS materials, and assisting stores with knowledge to increase their competitiveness. With a well-structured strategy and clear goals, a store salesperson can achieve significant improvements in sales and contribute to the success of the store and the brand.

Sales Support – Outsourcing of Field Sales

A flexible, efficient, and future-oriented model is to outsource Field Sales to a professional partner. At Sales Support, we have over 30 years of experience, and our model provides our partners with better store coverage and visit frequency. With our portfolio of strong brands, our store salespeople are always relevant to store buyers. 

If you have questions or want to know more about what we can offer, please contact us.

The store is the primary location in the grocery trade where most purchasing decisions are made, making it crucial for a brand’s position and sales. Given that the grocery trade in the Nordics is extensive in both area and number of stores, and simultaneously requires a qualified sales force with high coverage and frequency, it is often costly, time-consuming, and inefficient for a brand owner to hire their own sales force.

How an external sales force operates

Working with an external sales force means that a brand owner, instead of employing their own sales force, hires a sales company to represent its brands effectively at the store level. The sales company provides experienced staff who are trained on the brands they represent and then implement the brand owner’s plans and goals at the store level. The objective of this work in stores is to increase sales and profitability for the brand owner through qualified sales efforts and related tasks, such as sharing product and category knowledge, managing distribution structures, enhancing product visibility in stores, and activating products through various campaigns.

The advantages of Sales Support’s external sales force solution

Using Sales Support as an external sales force partner offers several advantages for brand owners in the grocery trade, such as:

• Specialization and Experience: Sales Support specializes in store sales and has highly experienced sales staff and a well-established structure.
• Time Efficiency: Free up time for a brand owner to focus on more strategic tasks such as brand building and product development.
• Sales Efficiency and Coverage: Sales Support’s position as the leading sales company in the Nordics creates the best efficiency for our clients. At Sales Support, a sales force is often divided into several assignments within a few selected categories, which creates the opportunity to be part of a larger sales force with high store coverage and frequency at a lower investment than an in-house sales force solution with similar requirements.
• Flexibility: Working with Sales Support also means increased flexibility and the ability to adapt your sales force to your needs faster and easier.

Sales Support is the brand owner’s personal sales team

Sales Support is the leading sales company in the Nordic region. With over 30 years of experience, we have established a strong presence and good relationships in all important channels. In the Nordics, Sales Support has over 300 salespeople divided into 24 sales forces who visit sales outlets in the grocery trade, convenience trade, foodservice, and pharmacies to ensure that our clients’ products reach the right customers and consumers.

With modern tools, strong sales management, and a well-established structure combined with extensive experience, deep knowledge, and good store relationships, Sales Support aims to deliver the highest possible quality to the brands we represent at every visit. We believe in transparency and long-term partnerships as a foundation, and our goal is to be the brand owner’s personal sales team, bringing great experience, expertise, and passion to maximize a brand’s growth in both the short and long term.