Let's be real for a second.
Most BPOs were built on relationships. Deals got done over dinners, conferences, and long-standing connections. If you've been in the game for 15+ years, you probably still get the occasional "Hey, we're looking — can you help?" call.
But here's the part we don't talk about enough: your newer sales reps don't have that. They're not getting those calls. They don't have the same network. And they're out there every day trying to start cold conversations in a market full of noise.
It's not working — not because they're lazy or inexperienced, but because the way most BPOs are positioned makes their job ten times harder than it needs to be.
Think About It
Can your team clearly explain who you're really best suited to serve? What makes you different from every other BPO out there? Why a buyer should trust you with their business over someone else?
If they can't, they're not selling — they're scrambling. Burning hours on emails that don't get replies. Getting ghosted after the first call. Spending half their pitch just trying to explain what you do.
It's exhausting. And avoidable.
Make It Easier for the Reps You Already Have
You don't need to throw another rep at the problem. You need to make it easier for the ones you already have to succeed — a defined ideal customer profile, messaging that cuts through the noise, and the confidence and clarity to break into better conversations.
When your rep hits "send" on that cold email, it shouldn't feel cold. It should feel relevant, specific, worth responding to. When that happens, your pipeline starts to feel less like a grind and more like momentum.
Give Them Something to Work With
Before you hire another rep, find out whether the problem is headcount or positioning. The Commercial Gap Check scores your sales process and go-to-market narrative alongside strategy and account management, so you know exactly what's making your team's job harder than it should be.
FAQ: Fixing Positioning, Not Headcount
How long before reps actually feel the difference in outreach response rates?
Once the ideal client profile and messaging are locked, most teams see a shift within a few weeks — the same volume of outreach is landing on the right people with a clearer reason to reply. The bigger compounding gains, referrals and inbound, take longer.
Our senior reps' relationship-based pipeline is still working fine. Do we need to change anything for them?
Not urgently — but that pipeline has a shelf life tied to their tenure and network, not to the business. Fixing positioning now protects the reps who don't have that safety net, and the ones you'll hire next.
Our client base is already spread across a lot of different industries. How do we even define an ideal client profile?
Look for the pattern in outcomes, not industry labels — where clients stay longest, refer the most, and need the least discounting to close. That pattern is your ideal client, even if it cuts across the industries you'd have guessed.
Is this a sales problem or a marketing problem?
It's a positioning problem that shows up in sales. Fixing it isn't about training reps harder — it's about giving them a defined ideal client and messaging that makes outbound land as relevant instead of cold.
Related reading
For the full case, see the sales strategy pillar — why demand generation and authority positioning beat chasing referrals and RFPs.
Amanda Quinn
Founder of Evostr. She works with mid-sized BPO operators on the shift from selling hours to selling outcomes.