You've worked hard to develop and perfect your product or service. Your branding and marketing strategy is in place. All your collaterals are ready. But wait! ✋
You need to fire up your lead generation processes and fill up the pipeline. A well-functioning sales team — which brings regular, high-quality leads — is essential for any business looking to scale high.
In fact, 7 out of 10 companies consider quality lead generation the biggest challenge for their business. So, it can be tough to gauge whether to build a team in-house or outsource the complete lead generation process? Which method will give you the best leads and the highest ROI? After all, the right decision here can scale or sink your business.
Each of the methods has its own pros and cons. This article will equip you with the required knowledge to opt for the right lead gen strategy for your business. Read on to know:
Pros & Cons of In-house Lead Generation
Pros & Cons of Outsourcing Lead Generation
How to decide which is the best method for your business?
In-house Lead Generation
This refers to the entire process of vetting, hiring, and training a team and setting up the equipment, processes, and systems to create campaigns to get quality leads. All of the work and training is done by your company itself. The freedom to choose your own people and strategies often makes this an attractive choice for many businesses.
✅ Pros of Generating Leads In-House
1. Unmatched Control & Visibility 🙂
In-house lead generation gives you better control, transparency, and visibility into the entire lead generation process. You get to build your own team, your own strategies and are responsible for your own results.
2. Vet and Hire As You Like 😎
This strategy allows you to hire and work with the people you vet and like. By overseeing the entire hiring process, you can choose like-minded people with the same values as your business. There is a fine alignment between the business goals of the company and the personal goals of your employees.
3. Have an In-house Dedicated Team 👥
Having an in-house team also gives you the added advantage of hiring dedicated workers that only sell your products or services. By focusing on just one company, the team can develop an enhanced understanding of how to pitch and create bespoke campaigns.
4. Add Your Personal Touch ✨
As a business owner, you know your product in great detail. You understand how it works and how it can benefit the end-user. This knowledge enables you to create customized lead generation strategies that can deliver solid results.
❌ Cons of Generating Leads In-House
1. Significant Financial Investment & Other Added Costs 💰
Building a team from ground zero requires a huge amount of finances. Take into account both the ongoing as well as upfront costs. First, there are the baseline salaries of your team. Add to it the costs of covered benefits and bonuses.
You'll also have to provide hardware, software, and infrastructure — apart from extensive training to get the employees up to speed.
2. High Investment of Time & Resources ⏰
The second disadvantage is the time that goes into building a team. You'll have to interview, shortlist, vet, and then hire people. And you cannot even be sure how much time it’ll take to find the right candidate.
Once inducted, weeks will go into training them to get them ready for the position. Designing strategies, setting up campaigns, and executing them — has a learning curve that will require you and your employees to invest tons of time and resources.
3. Lack of Knowledge in Latest Market Trends & Technology 🤷🏻♀️
As a business owner, you're well versed with your product. You know the primary USP and other features. But, you might not know how to translate those features into a compelling lead magnet or sales copy. You may not know the latest marketing trends or may not have the required, upgraded technology to execute those strategies completely.
There's a very high chance that marketing and lead generation is not your primary area of expertise. Building flawed copies and outreach strategies can disenchant your target audience and send them packing.
4. No Guarantee of Results 😵💫
The last point is about the sales expertise of your team. Even though their resume might look thick, there's no guarantee they'll be a good fit for your business or goals.
A survey by ITSMA revealed that hiring the right people to generate leads was the 2nd biggest challenge for companies. To expedite the hiring process, many managers do not conduct thorough background checks. What if your chosen new hires are not as promising as they look or sound? 🤔
That brings us to the second method of lead generation —
Outsourcing Lead Generation
You focus on your business, and hire an agency or partner company to take care of your lead generation processes and strategies.
✅ Pros of Outsourcing Lead Generation
1. More Affordable 🤑
The fact that you don't have to invest in building a team and expertise (skills & technology) from scratch makes outsourcing a comparatively more cost-effective option.
2. Hire Lead Generation Specialists 😎
Outsourcing frees you from the pain of hiring new candidates. Agencies have their specialized teams that have been specifically trained for lead generation and delivering results.
By outsourcing your lead generation to an agency, you won't have to worry about managing your employees or up-skilling them. Additionally, you'll also be able to devote more time to other critical parts of your business.
3. More Experienced & Guaranteed Results 🎯
Lead generation agencies have several years of experience under their belt. Their strategies are time-tested and guaranteed to deliver results for your business. These companies may have their own tech as well as vetted and hired people with highly specific skill sets and industry know — that makes the entire process more efficient.
Simply put, outsourcing allows you to have the practical experience in a specific field that you might lack.
4. Lighter Management 🔥
Outsourcing can also relieve you from management issues related to people management or performance management (ex: using/paying the most up to date softwares and techniques) .
While the service you pay for is covered, you can focus on other aspects of the company.
❌ Cons of Outsourcing Your Lead Generation Process
1. Not Specific to Your Business 😕
As the lead generation agency specializes in just what they do, they might not have the industry-specific knowledge required to understand your product completely.
Same for when you hire, we advise to look at the track record.
2. Lesser Control over the Process 🤨
Because you don’t have an in-house team, you may have lesser control over the lead generation process executed by the agency. (Watchout for the level of reporting you will get!)
3. Difficult to Coordinate 😤
With an external agency, coordination and communication can be tedious and counter-productive if done wrong. Misunderstandings and gaps in communication can lead to unfavorable consequences.
It is advised to understand the communication process and availabilities before engaging in any kind of outsourced service.
That being said…
A good and reputable lead generation agency (like The Scalelab 😉) offers you complete transparency in the entire lead generation cycle, keeping you updated about industry tips, the strategies employed, processes executed, with great communication and teamwork. Just saying.
So, now…
Which Lead Generation Method Is Right For Your Business?
We’ve laid out the pros and cons of each method of lead generation. To decide, which way to go, consider answering these:
1. Do you need to start generating more leads now or is it a later requirement?
Later? In-house.
Now? Outsource.
2. Do you have the required ressources and structure to nurture an in-house team?
Yes? In-house.
No? Outsource.
3. Can you easily access the latest strategies, software, and trends for effective lead generation?
Yes? In-house.
No? Outsource.
4. Is lead generation a critical aspect of the industry your business is in?
Yes? In-house.
No? Outsource.
5. What finance do you have to invest in the process? How much would it cost to hire an in-house team? How much would your agency charge for the same?
Weigh in the finances, and then decide your strategy.
Still confused? Combine both 🚀
Consider a bridge between the two. Select different lead generation strategies — and decide which to nurture in-house and which ones to outsource.
For example:
In-house
Content generation, content marketing, social media marketing.
Outsource
Email marketing, influencer marketing, cold outreach.
Wrapping Up…
Choose one. Or choose all. But:
“Don’t overestimate benefits and underestimate the costs. Lead generation takes resources, effort, and patience.” : Source
Eventually, it boils down to a simple equation.
The needs of your business and necessary investments weighed in against the end results and expected ROI.
And while there isn’t any right answer or a single best approach, mapping your business goals to the pros and cons of each strategy can help you decide which lead generation method works the best for you and your business.
Have questions? Shoot us an email at hello@thescalelab.io and we can help you decide.
Until then…
Happy Scaling,
Team TSL