The Black Book of Outsourcing - SMO - FINAL

THE BLACK BOOK OF OUTSOURCING 2009 SURVEY
Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing

Vendors
Publication Date: October 2009
Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing Vendors Published 10/2009
© The Black Book of Outsourcing. This report is a licensed product and is not to be photocopied Page 1
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 5
Key benefits of outsourcing your sales and marketing services 7
Typical offerings of SMO 7
SUMMARY 9
Survey overview 9
Key findings 9
SMO – top honors overall 2009 9
SMO – top vendor by function 2009 9
BLACK BOOK METHODOLOGY 11
How the data are collected 11
Understanding the statistical confidence of black book data 11
Who participates in the Black Book ranking process 12
SMO vendor rankings and results for 2009 12
VERTICAL GROWTH PREDICTED TO INCREASE THROUGH 2010–2011 13
TOP 20 SMO VENDORS 14
STOP LIGHT SCORING KEY 15
Operational excellence of SMO 15
Top score per individual criteria 20
INDIVIDUAL KEY PERFORMANCE 21
APPENDIX 40
Orbys consulting 40
Disclaimer 40
Table of Contents
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Comprehensive SMO vendors are defined as being comprised of four surveyed
functions 15
Figure 2: Key to raw scores 16
Figure 3: Color-coded stop light dashboard scoring key 17
Figure 4: Raw score compilation and scale of reference 18
Figure 5: Scoring key 19
Table of Contents
TABLE OF TABLES
Table 1: Top three contributions of SMO over the past 12 months 6
Table 2: Predicted verticals/sectors of high growth for SMO 2010–2011 13
Table 3: Top 20 SMO vendors 14
Table 4: Top score per individual criteria 20
Table 6: Vendor overall preference/vertical industry recommendations 22
Table 7: Innovation 23
Table 8: Training 24
Table 9: Client relationships 25
Table 10: Trust 26
Table 11: Breadth of offerings, client types, delivery excellence 27
Table 12: Deployment and outsourcing implementation 28
Table 13: Customization 29
Table 14: Integration and interfaces 30
Table 15: Scalability, client adaptability, flexible pricing 31
Table 16: Compensation and employee performance 32
Table 17: Reliability 33
Table 18: Brand image and marketing communications 34
Table 19: Marginal value adds 35
Table 20: Viability 36
Table 21: Data security and backup services 37
Table 22: Support and customer care 38
Table 23: Best of breed technology and process improvement 39
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Each year, the Brown-Wilson group and Black Book research undertake an annual survey into organizations' satisfaction
with their outsourcing service providers.
Sales and marketing outsourcing (SMO) is a subset of the Black Book of Outsourcing's balloting of customer experiences.
These research results are recognized as the most extensive and representative perception study of outsourcing vendors,
validated by over 26,000 respondents from service users around the globe.
Over 700 functions and 40 sectors are investigated to determine the “best fit” vendors with multiple industry specifications.
The global marketplace is growing increasingly competitive, corporations are being required to streamline operations and
cut costs in order to preserve profitability. SMO, still expanding in scope and capabilities, is anticipated to be one of the
fastest growing outsourcing service lines in 2010–2012, particularly in the post-recession global workplace as businesses
ramp up cautiously but steadily.
An organization can plan for SMO when it is planning to launch a new product or service and needs aggressive marketing
when it wants to expand into newer territories, when it requires skilled and trained manpower at a lower cost, when it wants
to carry out sales strategies/programs/campaigns like email marketing, telemarketing, telesales, cold calling or prospecting
or simply to achieve some steadiness in the sales and marketing process. SMO is fast gaining momentum, perhaps
because of the challenges resulting from the economic downturn but more likely because business, competitive and
specialization trends continue to force companies to find ever more efficient, scalable and effective solutions to generating
revenue.
In actual practice, SMO itself is not a new model. The outsourcing of sales-related telemarketing, a transactional, high
volume activity, has been an established approach for decades. Likewise, many specialized marketing services have
traditionally been outsourced, including advertising, branding, public relations, graphic design and market research.
Outsourcing critical marketing responsibilities is the other part of this evolving outsourcing model, which can provide many
advantages, particularly for small to midsize companies and startups lacking the resources to hire a full-time marketing
officer. In fact, next to great offerings or truly unique solutions, marketing may be the most important (yet possibly most
neglected) business enabler.
The venture capital firms and emerging business-investment community recognize this challenge and are becoming major
advocates of including specialists in marketing and sales strategies as part of their management oversight model.
SMO is driven by factors like breadth and depth of capabilities, domain and vertical expertise, location advantage (e.g.
near-shoring and language capabilities), sales and marketing capabilities, data compliance and the management of
business risks per industry. Clearly, the leaders in SMO in 2009 have demonstrated the expertise of market focus and
customer centricity. Over the past year, the practice of outsourcing marketing assignments has gained even greater
Introduction
relevance, particularly in the SMB space. Increasingly, companies are recognizing the advantages of engaging experts for
specific projects with well-determined objectives and manageable investment.
Table 1: Top three contributions of SMO over the past 12 months
Reduce/cut costs 96.5%
carry out marketing programs at minimal cost 91.4%
Get immediate access to experienced sales/marketing staff 83.3%
Set up qualified sales teams at minimal cost 83.1%
Obtain qualified sales leadership quickly 70.2%
Curtail sales and marketing investment 68.9%
Implement new sales/marketing strategies 64.0%
Save on HR and training costs for sales 61.8%
Access to higher sales and marketing technology 37.0%
Source: The Black Book of Outsourcing
The marketplace results of this comprehensive research study are used by:
• Current outsourcing clients to compare other users’ experiences with similar and competitive SMO vendors.
• Prospective outsourcing clients to long list vendors in the request for information (RFI) stages, or contrast final cut
vendors in selection stages.
• Investors, venture capital firm, analysts, advisors and bankers in making financing decisions.
• Media and press to recognize industry outsourcing trends as collected from client ballots.
• Most service providers to inform their go-to-market strategies, assess their perceived strengths and weaknesses,
educate their staff, communicate to a wider market and fine-tune their improvement and marketing position programs.
The end-user groups that participate use the data as a tool to benchmark their own satisfaction compared to that of other
SMO service providers. It also provides them with the opportunity to understand the perceived strengths and weaknesses
of their service providers compared to the market at large.
Introduction
Key benefits of outsourcing your sales and marketing services

• Fill skill gaps – since media are increasingly fragmented, communication programs are more complicated. You
cannot be an expert in every medium and understand the needs of each of your target audiences if your products are
sold across vertical industries or has key purchase influencers from several departments.
• Reduce overhead – there is no need to hire an individual or team for a specific program. By outsourcing to an expert,
you can avoid the hidden costs of recruiting, training, furnishing an office and employee benefits. Salary is just a
fraction of employment costs.
• Eliminate bias and leverage a broader, different perspective – outsourcing eliminates the "we’ve always done it
this way" mentality. You can access the strategic thinking and creative expertise of a marketing professional free of
internal political baggage.
• Improve your focus – outsourcing helps you to focus on the core competencies of your business. Talk to your
customers or your sales team. You can then provide strategic, insightful direction and play to your strength. You will
help to reduce your risks and maximize the return on investment in your marketing programs with input from the front
line.
• Jump-start your marketing instantly – outsourcing gives you access to experienced marketing professionals who
you can trust to quickly develop plans and campaigns on the tightest of schedules while you start focusing on the
crush of your other competing priorities.
• Retain control – the client organization retains full direction and reigns of each outsourced initiative.
Typical offerings of SMO

Sales services
• sales channel development;
• sales coverage modeling;
• field sales teams;
• inside sales;
• customer sales centers;
• channel management and partner acquisition;
• sales process support;
• managed staffing: sales rep and call center; event marketing; and retail.
Introduction
Marketing services
• brand strategy;
• integrated marketing communications program development and delivery;
• product launches;
• channel marketing planning and delivery;
• lead generation/business development centers;
• field marketing;
• experiential program design and implementation: events and promotion services; product training and marketing
initiatives; demo day services; and relationship development and brand advocacy services.
• training;
• merchandising;
• point of presence/ point of sale (POP/POS) program development and delivery.
Market analytics, research and insight
• brand health measures;
• consumer field research;
• sales channel research;
• mystery shopping;
• real-time sales analysis: effectiveness surveys; integrated programs analysis; and instant new product launch metrics.
• retail operations audits;
• return analysis and reduction programs.
Summary
SUMMARY
Survey overview
In order to rank the organizations, 18 key performance indicators (KPIs) or criteria are employed, scored on each
respective vendor by client type and ranked on a 0–10 scale per KPI.
Key findings
Key finding: most important customer satisfaction KPIs
Scalability, client adaptability, flexible pricing and marginal value adds are the five most important attributes influencing
SMO client satisfaction with their 2009 outsourcing providers.
Key finding: vendor dissatisfaction in the current economic marketplace is uncommon in the SMO industry
among top ranked suppliers
Strong dissatisfaction is uncommon in SMO, occurring in less than 3.2% of US client types, 2.8% of UK clients and 10.5%
of international customers. US and global corporations collectively experience only a 5.0% dissatisfaction rate.
Key finding: highest satisfaction in SMO functional subsets achieved by comprehensive SMO vendors
SMO – top honors overall 2009

Top honors overall
Cydcor
www.cydcor.com
SMO – top vendor by function 2009

Sales team outsourcing
Cydcor
www.cydcor.com
Sales support services
Cydcor
www.cydcor.com
Summary
Marketing strategy
MarketSource
www.marketsource.com
Marketing communications
Harte-Hanks
www.harte-hanks.com
Black Book Methodology
BLACK BOOK METHODOLOGY
How the data are collected
Black Book utilizes a four-step process to collect candid performance data. Firstly, Black Book collects a series of direct
evaluations covering 26 performance areas on leadership and senior management, which comprise the scored ranking of
the “Black Book 50 Best Managed Vendors”.
Secondly, Black Book collects ballot results on 18 performance areas of operational excellence to rank vendors by
outsourced service lines. The gathered data are subjected immediately to an internal and external audit to verify
completeness and accuracy and to make sure the respondent is valid while ensuring that the anonymity of the client
company is maintained. During the audit, each data set is reviewed by a Brown-Wilson executive and at least two other
people. In this way, our clients are able to clearly see how a vendor is truly performing. The 18 criteria on operational
excellence are subdivided by the client's industry, market size, geography and function outsourced and reported
accordingly.
Thirdly, Black Book collects ballot results on 20 performance areas of consultation excellence to rank advisors by
outsourced practice outcomes and subjected to the same audit and validation processes.
Lastly, situational studies are conducted on areas of high interest such as green outsourcers, educational providers in
outsourcing, outsourcing benchmarkers and boutique advisors. These specific survey areas range from four to 20
questions or criteria each.
Understanding the statistical confidence of black book data
Statistical confidence for each performance rating is based upon the number of organizations scoring the outsourcing
service. Black Book identifies data confidence by one of several means:
• Top-10-ranked vendors and advisors must have a minimum of five unique clients represented. Broad categories
require a minimum of 10 unique client ballots. Data that are asterisked (*) represent a sample size below required
limits and are intended to be used for tracking purposes only, not ranking purposes. Performance data for an
asterisked vendor's services can vary widely until a larger sample size is achieved. The margin of error can be very
large and the reader is responsible for considering the possible current and future variation (margin of error) in the
Black Book performance score reported.
• Vendors and advisors with over 10 unique client votes are eligible for top 10 rankings and are assured to have highest
confidence and lowest variation. Confidence increases as more organizations report on their outsourcing vendor. Data
reported in this form are shown with a 95% confidence level (within a margin of 0.25, 0.20 or 0.15, respectively).
• Raw numbers include the quantity of completed surveys and the number of unique organizations contributing the data
for the survey pool of interest.
Black Book Methodology
Who participates in the Black Book ranking process
Over 650,000 individuals are invited to participate annually (including C officers of the Fortune 2000, Inc 500, institutional
members and officers of various professional organizations, subscribers of our media partners and previously validated
survey participants). Non-invitation receiving participants must complete a verifiable profile, utilize valid corporate email
address and are then included as well. Over 26,000 users were validated in the 2009 ranking process.
The Black Book survey web instrument is open to respondents and new participants each year from March 1–May 7 at
http://TheBlackBookOfOutsourcing.com
SMO vendor rankings and results for 2009

387 qualified respondents ranked 39 services suppliers offering the most comprehensive and popular segments of SMO as
part of the Black Book annual survey conducted Q2 2009 via web survey instrument. The top 20 SMO vendors are ranked
in this report.
In addition to the 18 criteria of SMO operational excellence compiling the ranking of vendors, two questions specific to SMO
were included which asked current clients to prioritize: what they saw as the top three (of 20 options) contributions by the
outsourcer to their organization in 2009; and what specific functionalities they anticipate increasing or decreasing in SMO
over 2010–2011.
Vertical growth predicted to increase through
2010–2011
VERTICAL GROWTH PREDICTED TO INCREASE THROUGH 2010–2011
Table 2: Predicted verticals/sectors of high growth for SMO 2010–2011
Sector/function % predicted increasing

SMO initiatives in 2011
Consumer electronics 73.3%
Information technology 72.9%
Biomedical/life sciences/pharma 70.5%
Patient services healthcare 46.1%
Telecommunications 40.3%
Automotive 33.5%
Energy and natural resources 21.8%
Construction, engineering, architecture 20.3%
Top 20 SMO Vendors
TOP 20 SMO VENDORS
Table 3: Top 20 SMO vendors
2009 rank SMO vendor
1 Cydcor
2 3forward
3 Marketsource
4 Harte-Hanks
5 Corporate Rain
6 Rowan Group
7 MarketStar
8 Endurance Group
9 Acquirent
10 Next Level
11 Xsellence
12 Sales Partnerships
13 Arteka
14 Pretium Partners
15 Sales Fuel
16 Tennyson
17 Novak Group
18 SMI
19 Deacon Lloyd
20 Fusion Sales
Stop Light Scoring Key
STOP LIGHT SCORING KEY
Operational excellence of SMO
Figure 1: Comprehensive SMO vendors are defined as being comprised of four surveyed functions
Sales team Sales support Market strategy Communications
Figure 2: Key to raw scores
0.00–5.79 ► ◄ 5.80–7.32 ► ◄ 7.33–8.70 ► ◄ 8.71–10.00
Deal breaking Neutral Satisfactory Overwhelming satisfaction

dissatisfaction performance
Meets/does not meet expectations Exceeds expectations
Does not meet expectations consistently Meets expectations
Highly recommended vendor
Cannot recommend vendor Would not likely recommend Recommends
vendor vendor
Figure 3: Color-coded stop light dashboard scoring key
Green (top 10%) scores better than 90% of SMO vendors. Green coded vendors have received constantly highest client satisfaction scores.
8.71 +
Clear (top 33%) scores better than 67% of SMO vendors. Well-scored vendor which have middle of the pack results.
7.33 to 8.70
Yellow scores better than half of SMO vendors. Cautionary performance scores, areas of improvement required.
5.80 to 7.32
Red scores worse than 66% of SMO vendors. Poor performances reported, potential cause for contract cancellation.
Less than 5.79
Figure 4: Raw score compilation and scale of reference
Black Book raw score scales
0 = Deal breaking dissatisfaction ◄ ___ ► 10 = Exceeds all expectations
Individual vendors can be examined by specific indicators on each of the main functions of SMO as well as grouped and summarized subsets. Detail of each subset is contained so that
each SMO vendor may be analyzed by function and end-to-end SMO services collectively.
Figure 5: Scoring key
Overall Q6 SMO Vendor Sales team Sales Market Communi- Mean

rank criteria support strategy cations
rank
5 1 Credit Card BPO Inc 8.30 7.44 6.89 9.58 7.98
• Overall rank – this rank references the final position of all 18 criteria averaged by the mean score collectively. This
vendor ranked fifth of the 20 competitors.
• Criteria rank – refers to the number of the question or criteria surveyed. This is the sixth question of the 18 criteria of
which this vendor ranked first of the 20 vendors analyzed positioned only on this particular criteria or question.
• Company – name of the SMO vendor.
• Subsections – each subset comprises one-third of the total SMO vendor mean at the end of this row, and includes all
buyers and users who indicate that they contract each respective service subsection with the supplier, specific to their
enterprise:
• Sales team – includes pipeline management, sales leadership and deal closure.
• Sales support – lead generation, appointment setting, call services.
• Market strategy – marketing strategy, planning differentiation and orientation outsourcing.
• Communications – market communications and external relations outsourcing. Includes collateral development,
program development and distribution.
• Mean – congruent with the criteria rank, the mean is a calculation of all three subsets of SMO functions surveyed. As
a final ranking reference, it includes all vertical industries, market sizes and geographies.
Overall KPI Leaders
Top score per individual criteria
Table 4: Top score per individual criteria
Question Criteria Vendor Overall rank
1 Vendor overall preference/vertical industry recommendations Cydcor 1
2 Innovation Harte-Hanks 4
3 Training Cydcor 1
4 Client Relationships and cultural fit Rowan Group 6
5 Trust Cydcor 1
6 Breadth of offerings, client types, delivery excellence Harte-Hanks 4
7 Deployment and outsourcing implementation Cydcor 1
8 Customization MarketSource 3
9 Integration and interfaces Cydcor 1
10 Scalability, client adaptability, flexible pricing Acquirent 9
11 Compensation and employee performance MarketStar 7
12 Reliability Cydcor 1
13 Brand image and marketing communications Harte-Hanks 4
14 Marginal value adds Arteka 13
15 Viability Harte-Hanks 4
16 Data security and backup services Cydcor 1
17 Support and customer care Cydcor 1
18 Best of breed technology and process improvement Cydcor 1
Individual Key Performance
INDIVIDUAL KEY PERFORMANCE
Table 5: SMO vendors – raw scores 2009

Rank Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 Mean
1 Cydcor 9.55 9.27 9.40 9.32 9.31 9.07 9.55 9.33 9.48 9.10 9.43 9.73 9.25 8.91 9.19 9.63 9.60 9.49 9.37
2 3forward 9.49 9.47 9.00 8.94 9.26 8.73 9.11 9.36 8.77 9.02 9.13 8.87 8.25 8.73 8.18 8.71 8.72 8.87 8.92
3 Marketsource 9.20 9.25 9.11 9.16 7.32 9.40 8.68 9.57 8.50 8.89 8.84 8.76 8.52 9.02 8.29 9.47 7.61 8.71 8.79
4 Harte-Hanks 8.90 9.62 8.67 8.80 9.06 9.43 8.19 7.99 8.98 9.21 8.68 7.68 9.61 7.81 9.38 8.96 8.36 8.74 8.78
5 Corporate Rain 8.91 8.96 8.32 8.91 9.07 8.29 8.35 8.70 8.56 9.30 8.94 8.88 7.85 8.26 7.80 8.59 8.78 8.91 8.63
6 Rowan Group 9.01 8.16 9.05 9.40 8.36 8.46 9.28 7.85 7.75 7.43 7.58 8.65 8.57 7.64 8.31 9.08 9.43 8.34 8.47
7 MarketStar 8.57 8.25 8.34 7.54 8.73 8.60 8.52 7.89 8.86 7.12 9.50 8.38 7.99 8.83 9.05 8.03 8.66 8.41 8.42
8 Endurance Group 7.53 8.83 8.25 8.38 7.58 9.11 9.40 8.14 7.60 8.08 9.15 8.49 9.27 8.74 7.68 8.11 8.70 8.32 8.41
9 Acquirent 8.51 7.69 9.24 8.46 8.81 7.90 7.51 8.76 7.00 9.36 8.02 7.99 8.66 6.98 8.53 8.70 8.80 9.29 8.35
10 Next Level 8.82 8.30 6.87 8.98 8.33 7.42 8.46 7.43 7.50 7.56 9.20 8.87 8.29 8.04 9.09 8.84 9.25 8.67 8.33
11 Xsellence 6.83 7.63 8.58 8.43 8.81 7.89 7.28 7.07 7.82 8.03 8.80 7.71 6.88 7.29 7.64 8.94 7.91 8.35 7.88
12 Sales Partnerships 8.75 8.05 8.78 8.14 6.93 6.85 8.01 8.07 7.54 7.05 7.06 9.30 8.27 8.29 7.83 7.26 7.47 8.00 7.87
13 Arteka 8.39 7.50 8.13 7.46 8.20 7.95 6.93 8.22 8.38 7.57 6.90 7.40 8.71 9.41 6.68 8.12 7.44 7.65 7.84
14 Pretium Partners 8.25 8.97 7.76 7.86 7.77 7.56 8.86 7.23 6.72 8.19 6.83 7.55 7.08 8.89 7.23 7.52 6.87 9.11 7.79
15 Sales Fuel 7.17 7.85 8.25 7.87 7.24 7.86 7.79 8.60 6.00 6.94 5.96 6.88 6.73 8.45 6.57 8.72 8.89 7.18 7.54
16 Tennyson 8.51 8.29 9.22 6.93 7.32 7.93 6.53 7.79 9.10 7.20 6.15 7.46 7.04 5.82 7.39 6.05 7.48 7.96 7.45
17 Novak Group 7.48 6.48 7.30 7.27 6.16 8.74 6.21 6.01 7.59 8.08 7.72 8.50 8.16 6.96 5.88 8.72 8.61 7.24 7.40
18 SMI 9.23 7.85 7.81 5.40 7.88 8.13 5.33 6.82 6.67 5.81 8.61 6.81 7.17 9.29 7.08 6.00 7.28 6.62 7.21
19 Deacon Lloyd 7.25 7.51 8.73 7.21 6.68 6.19 7.18 5.54 6.89 7.56 7.41 5.07 7.83 7.11 7.45 5.66 9.57 7.41 7.13
20 Fusion Sales 6.93 7.76 7.80 7.21 6.81 5.13 7.55 6.73 8.22 5.29 7.71 6.72 7.70 8.09 5.60 6.26 7.87 7.02 7.02
1. Vendor overall preference/vertical industry recommendations
Organizational structure meets the needs of stakeholders or customers and stakeholder satisfaction is the most important priority. Is the client likely to recommend the vendor for an
outsourcing engagement for SMO initiatives and management to other SMO buyers?
Table 6: Vendor overall preference/vertical industry recommendations
Q1
Overall rank Criteria Company Sales team Sales support Market strategy Communications Mean
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.58 9.67 9.43 9.50 9.55

2 2 3forward 9.31 9.24 9.67 9.72 9.49
18 3 SMI 9.06 9.43 9.27 9.14 9.23
3 4 Marketsource 8.97 9.15 9.49 9.18 9.20
6 5 Rowan Group 9.25 8.47 8.99 9.32 9.01
5 6 Corporate Rain 9.24 8.90 8.63 8.85 8.91
4 7 Harte-Hanks 8.68 8.44 8.91 9.45 8.90
10 8 Next Level 8.97 8.77 9.28 8.24 8.82
12 9 Sales Partnerships 8.26 8.57 9.20 8.98 8.75
7 10 MarketStar 8.33 9.11 8.48 8.34 8.57
2. Innovation
Customers are also continuing to push the envelope for further enhancements to which the SMO vendor is responsive. SMO clients also believe that their vendors’ technology is helping
them compete more effectively, generate larger revenues and profits and cut their overhead in ways that were difficult or impossible to accomplish before outsourced business process
services were introduced.
Table 7: Innovation
Q2
rank
4 1 Harte-Hanks 9.50 9.48 9.72 9.76 9.62

2 2 3forward 9.08 9.53 9.68 9.59 9.47
1 3 Cydcor 9.39 9.35 9.20 9.14 9.27
3 4 Marketsource 9.11 9.37 9.47 9.04 9.25
14 5 Pretium Partners 9.03 8.90 8.76 9.18 8.97
5 6 Corporate Rain 9.23 9.17 8.72 8.71 8.96
8 7 Endurance Group 8.65 9.01 9.24 8.40 8.83
10 8 Next Level 8.38 7.81 9.02 7.98 8.30
16 9 Tennyson 8.92 8.02 7.69 8.53 8.29
7 10 MarketStar 7.98 8.33 8.75 7.94 8.25
3. Training
Outsourcing leadership provides significant and meaningful training opportunities for employees and client staff. Leadership strives to develop technology staff, credit card customer
service and customer servicing consultant employees in particular.
Table 8: Training
Q3
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.49 9.47 9.33 9.31 9.40

9 2 Acquirent 9.54 8.99 8.95 9.50 9.24
16 3 Tennyson 9.29 9.60 8.97 9.03 9.22
3 4 Marketsource 8.90 9.15 9.30 9.08 9.11
6 5 Rowan Group 8.32 9.44 9.04 9.41 9.05
2 6 3forward 8.92 9.34 8.95 8.80 9.00
19 8 Deacon Lloyd 9.14 8.87 8.52 8.40 8.73
4 9 Harte-Hanks 8.88 8.47 8.26 9.08 8.67
11 10 Xsellence 8.32 8.62 8.53 8.84 8.58
4. Client relationships and cultural fit
Outsourcing leadership honors customer relationships highly. The relationship with the SMO elevates the customer reputation. Improving customer efficiency and effectiveness is a
priority of the supplier. Governance of engagement is neither complex for buyer nor does it require vendor management attention regularly. There is no regular transparency or quality
issues. There are no culture clashes or misfits that threaten relationship’s success or client’s satisfaction.
Table 9: Client relationships
Q4
rank
6 1 Rowan Group 9.10 9.41 9.37 9.72 9.40

1 2 Cydcor 9.64 9.33 9.00 9.39 9.32
3 3 Marketsource 9.10 9.25 9.38 9.03 9.16
10 4 Next Level 8.99 9.11 8.94 8.88 8.98
2 5 3forward 9.03 8.99 8.92 8.83 8.94
5 6 Corporate Rain 8.81 9.34 8.77 8.72 8.91
4 7 Harte-Hanks 8.68 8.99 8.48 9.04 8.80
9 8 Acquirent 8.78 7.43 9.30 8.35 8.46
11 9 Xsellence 8.25 8.93 8.16 8.40 8.43
8 10 Endurance Group 8.77 8.43 7.98 8.33 8.38
5. Trust
Trust in enterprise credit card services reputation is important to market SMO/support services clients as well as prospects. Client possesses an understanding that their outsourcing
organization has the people, processes, and resources to effectively deliver the desired business results, based on its industry reputation and past performance.
Table 10: Trust
Q5
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.40 9.52 9.31 9.00 9.31

9 2 Acquirent 9.41 9.17 9.41 9.05 9.26
5 3 Corporate Rain 9.28 9.38 8.65 8.97 9.07
4 4 Harte-Hanks 9.00 9.20 8.50 9.53 9.06
3 5 Marketsource 8.89 8.56 8.90 8.87 8.81
11 6 Xsellence 8.47 8.81 8.49 9.48 8.81
7 7 MarketStar 9.26 8.90 7.99 8.77 8.73
6 8 Rowan Group 8.65 8.29 7.81 8.70 8.36
10 9 Next Level 8.76 8.50 8.19 7.86 8.33
13 10 Arteka 8.52 8.54 8.05 7.69 8.20
6. Breadth of offerings, client types, delivery excellence
Industry recognized horizontal functionality and vertical Industry applications to manage bundled SMO services. Vendor routinely drives operational performance improvements and
results in the areas they affect. Comprehensive offerings are constructed to meet the unique needs of the client’s SMO initiatives.
Table 11: Breadth of offerings, client types, delivery excellence
Q6
rank
4 1 Harte-Hanks 9.40 9.38 9.40 9.52 9.43

8 2 Endurance Group 9.41 9.32 9.41 9.45 9.40
2 3 3forward 9.28 9.16 9.03 8.97 9.11
1 4 Cydcor 9.25 9.24 9.20 8.60 9.07
17 5 Novak Group 8.89 9.04 8.56 8.47 8.74
3 6 Marketsource 8.47 8.45 9.48 8.51 8.73
7 7 MarketStar 9.06 8.70 7.99 8.65 8.60
6 8 Rowan Group 8.82 8.29 7.94 8.80 8.46
5 9 Corporate Rain 8.44 8.50 8.19 8.04 8.29
18 10 SMI 8.23 8.54 8.05 7.69 8.13
7. Deployment and outsourcing implementation
Faster deployments. Outsourced solutions eliminate the excessive buyer supervision over vendor implementations. There is a minimized need for consultant management of
deployments due to highly astute vendor staff. Vendor overcomes implementation obstacles and challenges effectively. Technical, organizational and cultural implementation obstacles
are handled professionally and timely. SMO implementation time exceeds expectations.
Table 12: Deployment and outsourcing implementation
Q7
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.48 9.67 9.43 9.50 9.55

2 2 3forward 9.31 9.24 9.67 9.72 9.49
18 3 SMI 9.06 9.43 9.27 9.14 9.23
3 4 Marketsource 8.97 9.15 9.49 9.18 9.20
6 5 Rowan Group 9.25 8.47 8.99 9.32 9.01
5 6 Corporate Rain 9.24 8.90 8.63 8.85 8.91
4 7 Harte-Hanks 8.68 8.44 8.91 9.56 8.90
10 8 Next Level 8.97 8.77 9.28 8.24 8.82
7 10 MarketStar 8.33 9.11 8.48 8.34 8.57
8. Customization
SMO products and process services are customized to meet the unique needs of specific client purpose, processes and models. Little resistance is encountered when changing
performance measurements as clients’ needs vary. Keen ability to customize projects to cross-industries, verticals and/or intended users.
Table 13: Customization
Q8
rank
3 1 Marketsource 9.43 9.45 9.76 9.62 9.57

2 2 3forward 9.51 9.54 9.06 9.34 9.36
1 3 Cydcor 9.40 9.41 9.09 9.40 9.33
9 4 Acquirent 8.57 8.48 8.60 9.37 8.76
5 5 Corporate Rain 8.96 8.43 8.34 9.05 8.70
15 6 Sales Fuel 8.11 8.82 8.32 9.13 8.60
13 7 Arteka 8.53 7.98 7.35 9.01 8.22
8 8 Endurance Group 7.32 8.59 8.07 8.58 8.14
4 10 Harte-Hanks 6.98 7.79 7.98 9.20 7.99
9. Integration and interfaces
Managed SMO services vendor supports interfaces so information can be shared between necessary applications. Solutions are easily integrated to existing backend systems.
Seamless interfaces to legacy applications are performed as required for optimal functioning. Human integration and interface activities are administered precisely. Cross-industry
expertise is evidenced by execution and orchestration of multiple transaction and purchasing products, services and systems.
Table 14: Integration and interfaces
Q9
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.47 9.64 9.33 9.47 9.48

16 2 Tennyson 8.67 9.33 9.10 9.29 9.10
4 3 Harte-Hanks 8.75 9.18 8.79 9.19 8.98
7 4 MarketStar 8.61 8.58 8.84 9.42 8.86
2 5 3forward 9.35 8.21 9.06 8.45 8.77
9 6 Acquirent 8.88 8.49 8.21 9.14 8.68
5 7 Corporate Rain 9.03 8.69 8.14 8.38 8.56
3 8 Marketsource 8.60 8.28 8.77 8.36 8.50
13 9 Arteka 8.93 7.49 8.50 8.59 8.38
20 10 Fusion Sales 7.85 8.73 8.17 8.11 8.22
10. Scalability, client adaptability, flexible pricing
SMO services and solutions vendor provides flexible outsourcing pricing allowing the client to choose and pay for the precise functionality and services needed. Invested in significant
infrastructure and have the ability to provide services to enterprise organizations. IT products and services meet the changing and varied needs of the SMO customer.
Table 15: Scalability, client adaptability, flexible pricing
Q10
rank
9 1 Acquirent 9.49 9.34 9.38 9.21 9.36

5 2 Corporate Rain 9.23 9.49 9.19 9.28 9.30
4 3 Harte-Hanks 9.14 9.10 9.27 9.32 9.21
1 4 Cydcor 9.48 9.38 8.53 9.00 9.10
2 5 3forward 8.55 9.13 9.10 9.31 9.02
3 6 Marketsource 8.78 9.06 8.94 8.77 8.89
8 8 Endurance Group 8.30 8.41 7.08 8.54 8.08
17 9 Novak Group 8.56 7.72 8.52 7.51 8.08
11 10 Xsellence 7.58 8.10 8.51 7.92 8.03
11. Compensation and employee performance
SMO vendor is focused on building and developing a strong employee team of producers. Employees act like owners/leaders. Company is moving towards leveraged pay at all levels.
Implications of the “contractor mentality” are minimized. Vendor is using effective tools to tie performance metrics to compensation policy and compensating top leaders. NB: human
resources-related criteria are scored from the client perspective on this indicator.
Table 16: Compensation and employee performance
Q11
rank
7 1 MarketStar 9.34 9.69 9.25 9.72 9.50

1 2 Cydcor 9.45 9.48 9.44 9.36 9.43
10 3 Next Level 9.35 9.34 9.24 8.87 9.20
8 4 Endurance Group 8.86 9.48 8.88 9.36 9.15
2 5 3forward 8.95 9.07 9.05 9.44 9.13
5 6 Corporate Rain 8.97 8.87 8.86 9.05 8.94
3 7 Marketsource 8.83 8.70 9.16 8.67 8.84
11 8 Xsellence 8.41 8.58 9.24 8.96 8.80
4 9 Harte-Hanks 8.93 8.14 8.82 8.83 8.68
18 10 SMI 8.29 8.12 9.04 8.98 8.61
12. Reliability
SMO services supplier meets agreed terms as evidenced by routine, acceptable service level reporting and industry expectations. Depth and breadth of applications/solutions are
acceptable in meeting client needs. Online reliability is maximized and outages/downtimes are minimized. Solid product and outsourcing service capacities are demonstrated
consistently. Service levels are consistently met as agreed. Services and support response is maximized by vendor team.
Table 17: Reliability
Q12
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.80 9.80 9.64 9.69 9.73

5 3 Corporate Rain 8.34 8.99 9.05 9.12 8.88
2 4 3forward 8.61 8.82 8.62 9.42 8.87
10 5 Next Level 9.30 9.04 8.64 8.49 8.87
3 6 Marketsource 8.88 8.79 9.14 8.21 8.76
6 7 Rowan Group 8.93 8.94 8.35 8.38 8.65
17 8 Novak Group 8.60 8.28 8.77 8.36 8.50
8 9 Endurance Group 8.74 8.54 8.50 8.20 8.49
7 10 MarketStar 7.85 8.40 8.17 9.11 8.38
13. Brand image and marketing communications
The outsourcing vendor’s human resources outcomes are accurately and appropriately represented via service deliverables. Image is consistent with top SMO rankings. Sales
presentations and proposals are delivered upon and corporate integrity/honesty in marketing and business development are highly valued. Company image and integrity are values
upheld top-down consistently. Maintains high image and reputation so that customer, manufacturers, Multinationals and other buyers of SMO services openly reference their outsourced
vendor representatives as client team members. High level of relevant client communications enhances relationship.
Table 18: Brand image and marketing communications
Q13
rank
4 1 Harte-Hanks 9.53 9.47 9.65 9.77 9.61

8 2 Endurance Group 9.55 8.94 9.40 9.18 9.27
1 3 Cydcor 9.50 9.35 9.15 9.00 9.25
13 4 Arteka 8.39 9.09 8.86 8.49 8.71
9 5 Acquirent 9.18 9.05 8.32 8.07 8.66
6 6 Rowan Group 7.71 9.01 8.97 8.59 8.57
3 7 Marketsource 8.52 7.95 8.90 8.70 8.52
2 8 3forward 8.60 9.06 8.41 7.59 8.42
10 9 Next Level 7.67 8.22 8.93 8.32 8.29
14. Marginal value adds
Outsourced SMO vendor’s cost savings are realized as generally estimated and not over-positioned or over/underestimated in ways that effect major client satisfaction or costs. Savings
expectations such as decreases in firm process handling and support staff are realized. Buyer’s publishing support costs are reduced significantly. Vendor offers value-adds as a cross-
industry outsourcing partner in cost savings management initiatives and creative programs through bundled product design outsourcing. Provides true business transformation
opportunities to buyer and opportunities for top line contributions.
Table 19: Marginal value adds
Q14
rank
13 1 Arteka 9.48 9.37 9.25 9.53 9.41

18 2 SMI 9.61 9.29 8.97 9.30 9.29
3 3 Marketsource 8.94 8.79 9.25 9.08 9.02
1 4 Cydcor 9.57 8.99 8.68 8.41 8.91
7 6 MarketStar 8.68 9.39 8.53 8.73 8.83
8 7 Endurance Group 8.37 8.89 9.46 8.25 8.74
2 8 3forward 7.76 8.90 8.81 9.44 8.73
15 9 Sales Fuel 8.41 8.43 8.36 8.57 8.45
15. Viability
Vendor’s viability, employee turnover, financial stability and/or cultural mismatches do not threaten relationship. This outsourcing vendor takes extraordinary efforts to avoid relationship
problems among service providers and the client as well. Senior management and the board exemplify strong leadership principals to steward resources appropriate that impact SMO
buyers in particular.
Table 20: Viability
Q15
rank
4 1 Harte-Hanks 9.26 9.23 9.34 9.69 9.38

1 2 Cydcor 9.57 9.28 8.61 9.30 9.19
10 3 Next Level 9.24 8.99 8.72 9.39 9.09
7 4 MarketStar 9.37 8.64 9.21 8.99 9.05
9 5 Acquirent 8.21 8.69 8.88 8.34 8.53
6 6 Rowan Group 7.98 8.42 8.35 8.48 8.31
3 7 Marketsource 8.37 7.87 8.54 8.37 8.29
11 9 Xsellence 7.08 7.14 7.62 8.70 7.64
2 10 3forward 8.14 7.52 7.67 7.17 7.63
16. Data security and backup services
In order to provide a secure and constantly dependable SMO service offerings for corporate product development entities, an outsourcing vendor has to provide the highest level of
security and data back-up services. In some cases, you may find the vendor’s service in these two areas superior to the security and back-up system in your own firm/corporation.
Table 21: Data security and backup services
Q16
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.58 9.72 9.62 9.60 9.63

17 2 Novak Group 9.48 9.44 9.55 9.39 9.47
6 3 Rowan Group 8.84 8.90 9.45 9.13 9.08
4 4 Harte-Hanks 8.97 8.64 9.11 9.11 8.96
11 5 Xsellence 9.22 8.43 9.23 8.88 8.94
10 6 Next Level 8.95 8.86 8.96 8.59 8.84
3 7 Marketsource 8.70 8.79 8.98 8.42 8.72
15 8 Sales Fuel 7.91 8.98 8.96 9.02 8.72
2 9 3forward 8.25 8.82 8.83 8.95 8.71
9 10 Acquirent 8.28 9.12 9.03 8.37 8.70
17. Support and customer care
Account management leadership provides an adequate amount of onsite administration and support to clients. There exists a formal outsourcing relationship and account management
program that meets client needs among suppliers for the customer. Vendor evidences successful management strategies of SMO and services design products and services. Media
and clients reference this vendor as a services leader and top producer correctly. Customer services and relationship satisfaction is manifested through significant flagship clients as
well as smaller and newest customers similarly.
Table 22: Support and customer care
Q17
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.60 9.67 9.53 9.59 9.60

19 2 Deacon Lloyd 9.72 9.30 9.51 9.75 9.57
6 3 Rowan Group 9.05 9.61 9.36 9.69 9.43
10 4 Next Level 9.54 9.32 8.83 9.31 9.25
15 5 Sales Fuel 8.87 8.69 9.26 8.76 8.89
9 6 Acquirent 8.53 8.54 9.11 9.01 8.80
5 7 Corporate Rain 8.40 9.24 9.02 8.47 8.78
2 8 3forward 8.77 8.76 8.33 9.00 8.72
8 9 Endurance Group 8.04 8.57 9.29 8.89 8.70
7 10 MarketStar 8.82 7.87 9.06 8.90 8.66
18. Best of breed technology and process improvement
BPO management and related technology services are considered best of breed. Vendor technology elevates customers via capabilities, equipment, processes, deliverables,
professional staff, leadership, quality assurance and innovative initiatives. BPO services are delivered at or above current/former in-house service levels.
Table 23: Best of breed technology and process improvement
Q18
rank
1 1 Cydcor 9.44 9.71 9.37 9.42 9.49

9 2 Acquirent 9.05 9.45 9.17 9.48 9.29
5 4 Corporate Rain 9.03 8.79 8.60 9.22 8.91
2 5 3forward 9.17 8.66 8.45 9.21 8.87
4 6 Harte-Hanks 8.40 9.24 8.37 8.94 8.74
3 7 Marketsource 9.18 8.76 8.66 8.23 8.71
10 8 Next Level 8.18 8.33 9.00 9.16 8.67
7 9 MarketStar 8.73 8.08 8.14 8.68 8.41
11 10 Xsellence 7.88 8.75 7.85 8.93 8.35
Appendix
APPENDIX
Orbys consulting
We hope that the data and analysis in this report will help you make informed and imaginative business decisions. If you
have further requirements, the Orbys consulting team may be able to help you. For more information about Orbys'
consulting capabilities, please contact us directly at info@orbys-blackbook.com.
Disclaimer
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior permission of the publisher, The Black
Book of Outsourcing.
The facts of this report are believed to be correct at the time of publication but cannot be guaranteed. Please note that the
findings, conclusions and recommendations that the Black Book of Outsourcing delivers will be based on information
gathered in good faith from both primary and secondary sources, whose accuracy we are not always in a position to
guarantee. As such, The Black Book of Outsourcing can accept no liability whatever for actions taken based on any
information that may subsequently prove to be incorrect.

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THE BLACK BOOK OF OUTSOURCING 2009 SURVEY

Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing

Publication Date: October 2009

Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing Vendors Published 10/2009

Key benefits of outsourcing your sales and marketing services 7

Typical offerings of SMO 7

SMO – top honors overall 2009 9

SMO – top vendor by function 2009 9

BLACK BOOK METHODOLOGY 11

How the data are collected 11

Understanding the statistical confidence of black book data 11

Who participates in the Black Book ranking process 12

SMO vendor rankings and results for 2009 12

VERTICAL GROWTH PREDICTED TO INCREASE THROUGH 2010–2011 13

TOP 20 SMO VENDORS 14

STOP LIGHT SCORING KEY 15

Operational excellence of SMO 15

Top score per individual criteria 20

INDIVIDUAL KEY PERFORMANCE 21

Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing Vendors Published 10/2009

Figure 2: Key to raw scores 16

Figure 3: Color-coded stop light dashboard scoring key 17

Figure 4: Raw score compilation and scale of reference 18

Figure 5: Scoring key 19

Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing Vendors Published 10/2009

Table 2: Predicted verticals/sectors of high growth for SMO 2010–2011 13

Table 3: Top 20 SMO vendors 14

Table 4: Top score per individual criteria 20

Table 6: Vendor overall preference/vertical industry recommendations 22

Table 9: Client relationships 25

Table 10: Trust 26

Table 11: Breadth of offerings, client types, delivery excellence 27

Table 12: Deployment and outsourcing implementation 28

Table 13: Customization 29

Table 14: Integration and interfaces 30

Table 15: Scalability, client adaptability, flexible pricing 31

Table 16: Compensation and employee performance 32

Table 17: Reliability 33

Table 18: Brand image and marketing communications 34

Table 19: Marginal value adds 35

Table 20: Viability 36

Table 21: Data security and backup services 37

Table 22: Support and customer care 38

Table 23: Best of breed technology and process improvement 39

Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing Vendors Published 10/2009

Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing Vendors Published 10/2009

Table 1: Top three contributions of SMO over the past 12 months

Reduce/cut costs 96.5%

carry out marketing programs at minimal cost 91.4%

Get immediate access to experienced sales/marketing staff 83.3%

Set up qualified sales teams at minimal cost 83.1%

Obtain qualified sales leadership quickly 70.2%

Curtail sales and marketing investment 68.9%

Implement new sales/marketing strategies 64.0%

Save on HR and training costs for sales 61.8%

Access to higher sales and marketing technology 37.0%

Source: The Black Book of Outsourcing

Top Sales and Marketing Outsourcing Vendors Published 10/2009

Key benefits of outsourcing your sales and marketing services

Typical offerings of SMO

• sales channel development;

• sales coverage modeling;