Whenever someone says they don’t believe in outsourcing new business development, we say, “Good! You shouldn’t.” But there’s an important distinction to make, and we use an analogy from the oil industry to illustrate it.
In the oil industry, there are two primary sectors: Upstream and Downstream. Upstream involves the exploration and extraction of oil, while Downstream focuses on refining and delivering the product to end users. In between sits the refinery that prepares the raw material for the marketplace.
Upstream exploration is challenging, risky, and requires a highly specialized skill set. Companies focused on exploration use experts and advanced technology to locate oil reservoirs, drill, and assess each potential site. More often than not, they come up empty-handed, but when they do strike oil, the rewards are massive.
Although oil companies could technically handle this process themselves, they choose instead to rely on specialized Upstream exploration companies with the expertise and tools to execute this phase cost-effectively. These experts handle the tough work of locating and delivering oil to the refinery, where the main oil company then takes control.
Outsourcing new business development follows a similar principle. In this analogy, we are the Upstream specialists, where the “reservoir” represents new business opportunities, and the “refinery” is the first meeting between a prospect and our client.
By outsourcing new business development to us, companies access expertly filtered and qualified leads, just as oil companies receive prepared resources. From there, your team—the experts on your product and relationship-building—steps in, refining the lead and taking it through to completion.
That’s why you shouldn’t outsource your entire business development process. Instead, by outsourcing new business development specifically for the Upstream stage, you focus on what you do best: building relationships and closing deals. We do the groundwork—locating, qualifying, and delivering top-quality leads.
Outsourcing new business development lets your team focus on their strengths, ensuring the entire process runs efficiently from start to finish. Let us handle the exploration, so you can concentrate on winning new clients and growing the relationship.
