10 years of Developing the Sales Industry
Wow - and just like that it's 10 years of Magnify Consulting! Thought I'd share how I see the development of the fractional / outsourced sales and business development agency space:
2015
The only options that exist for founders and business owners wanting to grow sales alongside their own sales efforts are:
Hire a whole sales rep
Hire a telemarketing agency
Feeling freaked out about going self-employed, get a big contract and try to keep my head down so I don't mess up the family income too much! No business cards, no website, just some word of mouth.
2016
I'm totally convinced about the need for something different than the status quo that exists in the sales industry.
Spending time trying to articulate this.
The market is not ready for it.
People say - 'But I can just hire a sales rep if I want sales help'. There's plenty of money in the economy so yes - they can just go hire someone if they want to.
After a medical situation at end of 2015 and the big client giving notice during that time, back to the drawing board for income.
Get a small project to manage. Word of mouth brings in more work. And having a website helps with credibility!
2017
Working hard, juggling, first Magnifier comes onboard for a large project.
Starting to figure out how outsourced (or fractional as it's now called!) sales works.
Now using HubSpot CRM, lots of learning, and personally growing in confidence.
Also starting to get noticed by telemarketing firms in the local NZ market, some of whom will gradually change their approach to sales and business development.
2018
More traction with outsourced sales and business development.
More internal understanding at Magnify about the value we're delivering.
Growing awareness that this is worth building.
And growing awareness that people around the world are also thinking about the sales industry, and how we can change structures to better serve founders and business owners.
2019
Continuing to develop processes and bring on work.
APAC waking up to sales and business development as an industry sector, more players coming on to the market, more founders and business owners thinking that this could be a good idea to grow their sales pipeline and revenue.
This effectively grows the pie, which will ultimately grow the opportunities.
2020
The covid pandemic panic! Sales pipelines frozen as the world goes into lockdowns!
Nervous about cashflow, clients want to pause projects almost instantly.
Covid speeds up the awareness of outsourced sales and results in an almost instantaneous convergence of trends that have been building in the market for quite a while.
Business owners looking to de-risk sales and business development, save on costs but still grow their business - are now more open to outsourced sales.
2021
It's a rocky year in APAC with rolling lockdowns. At Magnify, work comes back with a roar, more founders and business owners actively looking for online solutions to solve their sales process challenges.
I first hear the word 'fractional' when during training when someone uses this word to describe Magnify's services.
2022
Increasing interest in the outsourced sales agency space, and in fractional sales.
领英推荐
Yes, it's really a thing! And it's taken 7 or 8 years to develop to this point!
Increased competition too in the market, which also adds to the learning and the need to differentiate further. Or to simply emphasize the unique points of difference that have been there all along.
Incredible sales experts entering the market along with some newbies, all offering various shades of sales training, sales pipeline building and sales capability development so founders and business owners can do sales for themselves.
2023
Every man and woman and their dog is now a sales specialist or a LinkedIn specialist or both!
NZ's economy going through more challenging patch. Is it a recession? While we're waiting to find out, continue to work hard on growing sales pipelines and developing relationships.
Founders and business owners are increasingly interested in their sales pipeline, now that their sales have decreased.
More sales people and wannabe sales people entering the outsourced sales market, offering a range of services to increasingly stressed founders and business owners.
And more business services talking about how they also help to grow sales and sales pipelines.
2024
It's definitely a recession. More people wanting to do more with less.
More business owners suddenly scrambling to add 'outbound sales' as a channel, despite having ignored this for more than a decade.
Influx of low-skilled sales efforts on the market combined with recessionary caution means a sharp drop-off in client engagement stats.
Sales cycles also continue to increase.
More openness among founders and business owners who want to talk about:
And especially - where to tap to get the fastest sales revenue results.
Along with the rise of AI - a whole raft of new tools to streamline sales process and give more visibility across all stages of your sales pipeline.
2025
What does this year hold? Here's what I see:
More opportunity for quality sales and business development that's
Sales cycles aren't shortening any time soon. With the economic headwinds blowing a gale, they may stay lengthy for a while.
The wild west is here. More providers offering more solutions to rapidly plug haemorrhaging sales pipelines that are literally bleeding out revenue. More options for more sales problems with more specialised processes.
Founders and business owners need to build a list of the exact combination you want between sales results, internal sales capability and sales process development. This will help you select the right sales growth partner.
Here at Magnify Consulting it's an exciting time to be part of the market. We're going deep on personal sales skills, combined with just the right level of sales tech, to grow more sales pipelines.
It's the rise of the sales industry, out of the ashes of a burned economy. Let's grow!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm Mary, founder of Magnify Consulting .
We help B2B founders across engineering, tech + professional services to grow sales - without hiring.
I post on here about Sales Pipelines:
?? How to build them
?? How to grow them
?? How to turn opportunities into sales (cash in your business bank account)
Need some help to unblock your sales pipeline? DM me and let's talk.
The Confident Eater | Fussy Eating NZ. Author, Speaker, PD, Podcast guest
1 个月Whoop!
Sales Consultant at Ronin Group NZ
1 个月Amazing achievement, it’s not easy so well done ??
Seasoned Sales Director and Coach. Proven record of enhancing performance across industries through a mentor-like approach blending traditional and modern techniques.
1 个月Congratulations Mary. 10 years only seems like yesterday. You're always a pleasure to deal with and your enthusiasm and outlook stand you in good stead. The clients at work with you are very lucky to have you..
Director @ Sarah Wilson Recruitment Ltd | 20+ years in recruitment
1 个月Go you ! That's something to be proud of Mary Crampton.
?Elevate your branding. ?Expand your reach. ?Enjoy the results. I collaborate with you and your business or organisation to create meaningful connections with your audiences. Let me help bring your ideas to life!
1 个月Huge congrats on Magnify's 10th Anniversary Mary!!! ? Like many others here our business was also graced by your deep knowledge. ???? This is such an interesting retrospective article!