Outsourcing the sales process: Hiring a mercenary sales force

In today's highly competitive environment, many firms make the decision to outsource a business process on the well-established idea that it is better to contract for services that are not within the scope of a company's core set of competencies. While outsourcing was once limited to peripheral firm activities such as advertising, firms are expanding the types of functions they outsource. For instance, many firms have begun to outsource their sales force, or at a minimum, have begun to consider ‘renting’ a sales force rather than ‘owning’ their own sales force. Being a recent trend, very little is known about what prompts firms to outsource their sales forces, nor the consequences of doing so. As such, this research explores the factors associated with determining whether a firm should outsource their sales force as well as the value to be had by engaging in such a decision. Most importantly, we offer that beyond the standard cost-based analysis, there are numerous issues that deserve consideration and examination before a firm elects to outsource its sales force.