Every small business leader knows the feeling: Your business is growing, but you’re stretched too thin to keep up with it. Whether you’re just starting out or a long-time leader, delegation is key to maintaining a level of growth that’s sustainable over time.
Partnering with proven experts is an invaluable tool to scale your business successfully without breaking the budget. So how do you know when it’s time to look for additional resources?
We’ve laid out the milestones and indicators leaders can use to determine the right time to seek outside help, plus the most effective projects to impact your bottom line.
When to Start Engaging a New Partner in Your Projects
There’s no crystal ball that can tell you when it’s time to find an external partner for something like marketing, but there are plenty of indicators that can inform the decision. Here are a few questions that can help you find clarity:
How heavy is your internal team’s workload?
Whether you’re a team of 1, 10, or 100 people, there’s only so much each team member can contribute. If your internal team is stretched thin and deadlines are coming faster than you can handle, it may be time to bring in more help. Your internal resources are valuable, and it’s important to protect their time and talent to avoid burnout and maintain the quality of their work.
Are there knowledge gaps among your current resources?
You may be an expert in your field, but you can’t be an expert in every field. Take an objective look at where you and your team aren’t yet experts and consider how important those areas are to your continued growth. If you have a solid sales team that means you’re regularly in front of customers but may be unsure how best to bring regular updates or enhancements to keep ahead of your competition. This is sign you may need to bring in someone who can help while letting your already effective teams keep up the great work.
What stage of growth are you in?
Most high-growth businesses can benefit from some level of partnering with an external team—revenue operations are another great example. If you’re growing but not sure why, consider bringing in an expert that can help you review your sales process, pipeline metrics, and sales team structure. The value an outside voice brings usually finds new areas for your sales or customer service team to engage your market, increasing the closing rate, and upping the average selling price.
How to Find a Strategic Partner
It’s widely known that working with an external team is generally much more cost-effective than hiring additional internal resources, but it still comes with a price tag. It’s important to weigh the return on investment (ROI) you’ll see when engaging an external team.
Fields that are typically great options for external teams like Marketing, Product, Revenue Operations or Data Visualization aren’t one-size-fits-all , so it’s important to have a knowledgeable and dedicated partner on your side. Trends change quickly, especially in the B2B space, and you may need to change your approach if you’re not seeing the results you planned.
You don’t have to go all-in when you start with a new partner. For example, in marketing you can start smaller with a single marketing campaign or focus on a quick facelift to your website to optimize your search results. The right marketing partner can scale up to handle anything from marketing strategy, content creation, analytics and reporting, brand identity, product launches, and more.
Choosing a Partner
The first step towards effective external partnerships is choosing the right team. You’ll want to look for a group that can tailor their solutions to what your business needs. That means they’ll shape their strategy and execution around key performance indicators (KPIs) that make an impact on your specific business goals.
Equally important is selecting a partner with proven success in your industry. Some partners have only worked in one or two industries, so make sure whoever you choose has the experience to take you over the finish line.
At GANI Consulting, we get to know each client’s needs before building a custom partnership plan designed to maximize their ROI. To learn more about how the GANI team can amplify your businesses results, get in touch with a member of our team today.