The success of many small businesses often hinges on how effective they are in marketing their products and services to potential customers. And yet, some of the latest data shows that overlooking marketing is one of the common reasons small businesses fail. It’s not surprising, however. Managing the day-to-day operations and responsibilities that come with running a successful business can be a challenge causing the marketing and sales initiatives needed to actually grow the business to fall to the wayside.

"Businesses that do not understand these aspects of sound marketing strategies are more likely to fail than companies that take the time to create and implement cost-effective, successful campaigns," a recent Investopedia article says.  

But developing a marketing and sales strategy for your business -- and getting the right talent to implement it -- can seem overwhelming.

The good news is that it's easier than ever to quickly find talented sales and marketing assistants with the talent and time to market your company and help boost your sales. Hiring a marketing freelancer or outsourcing sales to an assistant is a fantastic way to enhance your business without the cost of full-time employees. Here are a few reasons why tapping into outsourced talent can add value to your business.

Increase your marketing and sales while decreasing your responsibilities

Most small business owners wear many hats, taking on lots of responsibility to make their business successful. But failing to delegate tasks to others can lead to burnout and hinder your company's ability to grow.

That's why many companies outsource sales and marketing to experienced freelance workers. More talent is available to small businesses than ever through outsourced workers, and finding the right ones online is fast and easy.

Many sales and marketing freelancers are highly skilled and experienced, making it easy for companies to quickly bring on the talent they need without time-intensive training. Data from Zippia shows that work performed by freelancers will increase by 168% over the next decade.

All of that work is helping small business owners hand off essential tasks, freeing up more time.

Full-time employee skills at fractional freelance rates

Small business owners know that hiring employees is expensive. Not only do you have to pay sales and marketing employees a salary or hourly wage, but the cost to train them is also high.

The Society for Human Resources Management found that the average cost of hiring and training a salaried employee is about six to nine months of their salary. And then there are other costs beyond the salary and training that small businesses have to pay for, including taxes and insurance, that all add to the total expense for a full-time employee.

In contrast, outsourced marketing talent and outsourced sales assistants only charge by the hour, making it easier for your business to manage costs and keep expenses low.

For example, if you need to ramp up your social media presence to focus on sales for a specific product or event, you can hire a social media freelancer to oversee the project for a designated time. Once the project is complete, you won't have any ongoing marketing expenses.

Freelancers are efficient and consistent

Freelancers understand, perhaps better than anyone, the importance of delivering quality work efficiently. Because many of them work for multiple clients on a per-project or hourly basis, they have to be efficient.

That means that small businesses that outsource their sales and marketing needs to freelancers will likely find outsourced marketing assistants are more methodical and organized with their time than some full-time employees.  

And freelancers can be more productive than ever before. The explosion of artificial intelligence services over the past year has made it much easier for freelancers to create content, generate marketing ideas, plan sales strategies, and then tailor it to the needs and messages of specific clients. AI PLUS human expertise. A recent Microsoft survey found that 33% of workers (including freelancers) use AI to create high-quality content in half the amount of time than before.

Sales and marketing tasks you can outsource

If you're new to hiring sales or marketing freelancers, you may not be aware of all of the tasks that can be outsourced. Sales and marketing can include many different projects, and the good news is you can hire freelancers based on their specific skill set.

Here are a few tasks that freelancers may be ideally suited for:  

Marketing content:

• Creating a marketing plan for your business
• Establishing and managing a regular content schedule
• Blog writing, email campaigns, newsletters, ad copy, and social media posts
• Infographics and visual content creation
• Promotional video creation and editing
• Social media engagement and monitoring

Sales strategies:

• Creating a comprehensive sales strategy
• Pay-per-click advertising and ad campaign management
• Social media advertising
• Sales funnel development
• Lead generation assistance, including cold calling and/or lead/proposal follow up
• Customer relationship management

When you're ready to find out how a skilled marketing or sales freelancer can help your business, contact ResultsResourcing to schedule a free talent consultation.