Outsourcing lead generation can be one of the smartest decisions you ever make. Your business will always need new leads if you want to grow. The trouble is, the process of digging up these prospects is dull, monotonous, and takes a very long time.If you were to take that on as a business owner, you would be wasting a very valuable resource. If you hired locally for the task, you would be paying more than you need to. Outsourcing lead generation gives you the same or even better quality output for a much more reasonable cost.
What Is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is the process of hiring an individual, team, or company “outside” your own to supply a good, complete a task, or manage a business process (as in BPO). This can be done remotely or by sending employees to work for the hiring company. You can outsource from within the country you operate in, or outsource internationally.
Some of the most commonly outsourced business processes include customer relations and HR, manufacturing, accounting, research, as well as other front office, back office and non-core business functions.
Why Outsource to the Philippines?
1. Top of the Charts
The Philippines is the first choice of many companies and is one of the top countries to outsource to alongside China and India. It has even earned the title of “Outsourcing Capital of the World”. One reason for this is the fact that they have been in BPO for about 30 years, and it has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry within the country. With this kind of tenure in the space, you can be sure that their experience spells proficiency. Filipinos can handle your outsourcing needs with excellence and professionalism.
2. Good communicators
Not only are the majority of the Filipino population English speakers, but their culture of hospitality means they are also some of the easiest to work with. Outsourcing lead generation requires not only research skills, but also a high level of language and people skills. With Filipinos, you get three birds with one stone.
3. Diverse talent pool
If you look at any list of the most outsourced services in the Philippines, you’ll find quite a wide spread of talents and abilities. This includes creative skills like web and graphic design, HR and VA services, and accounting services. We have found that research skills, in particular, are at the top of the list. This makes them ideal for outsourcing lead generation.
4. Flexible hours
Want your outsourced team to work while you sleep? Want to make sure they are when you are so you can delegate effectively? No problem. The majority of Filipino freelancers, especially those with BPO experience, are ready and willing to adjust to your hours, so differing time zones are rarely an issue.
5. Labor Cost Savings
Because the general cost of living in the Philippines is lower than in Western countries, outsourcing lead generation here could save you big in terms of labor costs.
What lead generation tasks can you outsource?
You can outsource almost any lead generation task you can think of, as long as it does not have to be done in person. Below are some examples to get you excited about the possibilities.
Cold Selling
Also known as cold calling, this is the practice of contacting a potential customer who hasn’t expressed interest in your business. This method of lead generation can be quite daunting due to the risk of rejection being incredibly high. Because unsolicited calls do not often return positive responses, you need to do a lot of them to get results. This also means that outsourcing lead generation to patient people is vital.
If you start the process with emails, you need people skilled in written communication. This means that their grammar and spelling need to be perfect, but they also need to be skilled at writing clear and concise messages. When the time comes to get on a call with a prospect, cold sellers need to be prepared to answer their questions and market the services effectively and enticingly.
Social Selling
As the name suggests, this type of lead generation takes place on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. Due to the nature of these platforms, it is much easier to connect with prospects. However, a certain sociable personality type is required. Someone who is overly business-like will stick out like a sore thumb.
Although these platforms have groups and pages where companies can easily scout for their target audiences, skills are still needed. Outsourcing lead generation involves hiring people well versed in social media and who apply social listening tactics well. This means that they can better understand what your target audience is discussing, their general questions, needs, and more.
There’s a lot going on here, but it is a vital step to increase your potential for building rapport and relationships. When you have an idea of the problem they have, approaching these prospective customers with a viable solution will be more successful than throwing darts on a board blindfolded and seeing what sticks.
Lead Nurturing
Lead nurturing is all about the buyer’s journey and cultivating relationships at every stage. The buyer’s journey consists of three main stages: considering they have a problem, looking for potential solutions, and deciding on a solution. Outsourcing lead generation must take these tasks into consideration. This part of the process is all about prioritizing leads based on their stage. The more likely they are to become a customer, the more effort you should focus on helping them get there. Another important aspect is follow-ups and personalized content targeting to encourage conversion.
Audience Management
Along with lead nurturing also comes the need to be able to classify leads into targetable groups. When you monitor multiple leads and their journey through the sales funnel, you can separate them into groups based on their stage. This way you can cater the content and the communication style to fit the stage.
Networking
This is all about two things: finding the right customers for you and retaining the customers you have. This is about making connections and inquiring within a network for referrals. Once you get a customer, you want to keep them happy and even market other services to them or upgrade the ones they have already availed.
When is the right time to start outsourcing lead generation?
Outsourcing lead generation is all about finding the right person for the job. This is a research task. However, as you can see from the above, it is not a simple research task. It involves critical thinking and marketing skills, and more. This means that making the right hire will take time.
That said, the right time to outsource your lead generation work is when you have the time to avoid making a rash hiring decision. Make sure that you are not knee-deep in research tasks before you start looking. You should know what the process entails so that you can choose the best fit. However, you should not be so busy that you cannot dedicate the level of attention that you need to find the right person.
Where can you find a lead generation freelancer?
There are tons of options and platforms that house freelancers with a variety of different skills. Here are some examples:
FreeUp
FreeUp is a freelance marketplace that strives to connect talented freelancers from around the world with businesses that need their skills. They only allow in the top 1% as applicants are all carefully vetted to ensure quality skill level and quality attitude as well. They have a “No Turnover Guarantee” where they will immediately replace any freelancer that decides to quit and will take care of the applicable expenses. Additionally, they have support services via an account manager who can guide and advise you, and a support team is ready and available for you to contact whenever you need.
OnlineJobs.ph
With over 250,000 profiles, Onlinejobs.ph is presently the largest online marketplace for finding skilled and talented Filipinos to work with. You can be as passive or active as you want when searching. You can let the talent come to you by posting a job and waiting for applicants or you can take matters into your own hands and actively search through resumes to find the exact skills you need.
VAAPhilippines
VAA specializes in serving Amazon sellers. Their virtual assistants in the Phil;ippines are highly skilled, meticulously vetted, reliable, and never stop learning. VAA will also be supporting you every step of the way. You can be sure that the lead generation assistant they select for you is the best fit for your business because the founders are also Amazon sellers. If things don’t work out for whatever reason, they will even replace the VA for free.
How much should you expect to pay?
The main factors that affect the cost of hiring a Filipino freelancer are:
- Skill level and skill type – The more specialized the skillset and the higher the level of education and training they have received, the higher the rates.
- Experience – Freelancers that have worked with many other companies have an edge that entry-level freelancers do not. That experience is valuable, and therefore, will likely cost you more.
- Platform – Depending on where you hire, you could be working with fixed per-project pricing or hourly rates. These rates also differ per platform. Additionally, some platforms require signup, subscription, or other specialized fees in order to use their service. For instance, you cannot contact workers on Onlinejobs.ph without first signing up for a paid account.
That being said, you can expect that, on average, you can hire entry-level freelancers for as low as $5 per hour. This can go all the way up to around $30 per hour if you’re looking for highly skilled lead generation experts.
Conclusion
Outsourcing lead generation to the Philippines is a very smart business move. Filipinos have a ton of experience working with peoples of various cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.
You do, however, need to make the effort to get it right. A bad hire can cost you dearly. Make sure you know exactly what you need done, and take the time to find that perfect fit. Outsourcing lead generation is so much more than picking some random person from an online listing and telling them to start Googling stuff.