You are the owner or marketing and sales manager of an SME company and are taking a critical look at your current marketing and sales activities. Outsourcing results are disappointing, costs are rising and you wonder if you shouldn't have more control over these crucial business processes. The thought of taking marketing and sales completely into your own hands starts to become more and more attractive.

But is it realistic? Do you have the right people, knowledge and resources in-house? What tasks should you absolutely do yourself and what is still better to outsource? And how do you ensure that this transition is actually successful?

As a trainer and coach, I have guided dozens of SMEs with 50 to 500 employees in internalizing their marketing and sales activities. I've seen the stumbling blocks and how to overcome them. I know what works and what doesn't, and I have developed concrete roadmaps that companies can follow to make this transition successfully.

In this article, I explain why more and more companies are bringing their marketing and sales in-house, which tasks are better to (continue to) do yourself and which you can still outsource. I outline the conditions for a successful implementation and help you determine whether your company is ready. You will get concrete tools to make a business case and a practical step-by-step plan to ensure a smooth transition.

Instead of investing more and more in external parties, more and more SMBs are choosing to take marketing and sales in-house.

Advertising is becoming increasingly expensive and often produces fewer results. SEO tricks that used to work are losing their effectiveness. Many companies are finding that the short-term solutions and "shortcuts" that worked well in the past are now having less and less impact.

This new reality is forcing companies to think about a fundamentally different approach. Instead of investing more and more in external parties, more and more SMBs are choosing to take marketing and sales in-house.

Imagine a successful restaurant. Would you hire the head chef externally? Would you outsource the service to a temp agency? Probably not. It's hard to imagine running a restaurant where the chef isn't flown in until five to twelve and the wait staff walks around in non-standard clothing because they come from an outside agency.

Why not? Because these functions are the core of your restaurant. The guy makes the place. Your people define the look, quality, culture and experience your customers experience.

But when it comes to marketing and sales, many companies make a different trade-off. They do outsource these core activities, often because they see it as something outside their comfort zone or expertise. "We're good at our job," you'll hear, "but marketing and sales are just an add-on."

Still, bringing your marketing and sales in-house has three key benefits:

1. Culture and brand identity: In-house teams breathe your company's culture. They know the values, the tone, the image and the way of working. An outside agency can never fully adopt this, no matter how good they are.

2. Depth and expertise: An internal team builds in-depth knowledge about your specific products, services and market. Compare someone who has read the StoryBrand book once to someone who works with it daily, attends workshops and is involved in implementations. The latter person develops a much deeper understanding of StoryBrand and can translate that into better content, better videos and better sales calls.

3. Ownership: With outsourcing, you hand over work, but the responsibility remains with you. You still have to manage, control and adjust. With an in-house team, ownership lies with the employees themselves. They feel responsible for the results and also have the means to work on them themselves.

Not all marketing and sales activities have the same impact on your bottom line. Some tasks are crucial to keep in-house, while others are fine to outsource. Let's start with what you absolutely should have in-house.

The content you produce is the voice of your business. It's how you communicate with your (potential) customers, how you demonstrate your expertise and how you build trust. Outsourcing this is like a restaurant having its menu written by someone who has never tasted the food.

An in-house content manager knows your company inside out. He knows exactly which questions customers ask, what the pain points are and how your solution responds to them. This depth is reflected in the quality of the content.

The same goes for video. An in-house videographer gets to know your company's culture and knows exactly what type of video fits your brand and target audience. This creates consistency and authenticity that is hard to achieve with outside parties.

Your sales process is where the magic happens. This is where leads are converted into customers. Outsourcing this means putting the most critical phase of your customer relationship in the hands of people who may not be fully versed in your product or service.

Internal salespeople can combine their in-depth product knowledge with the right tone of voice and company culture. They can truly act as trusted advisors and build long-term relationships with customers. This level of authenticity and expertise is difficult to achieve with external sales teams.

The core of your marketing and sales strategy - content production and sales - largely determines how your brand is perceived. These are not support functions, but core activities that directly impact your bottom line.

By bringing these activities in-house, you create a consistent experience for your customers. You build expertise internally that translates into better content, better videos and better sales calls. And you ensure that the people representing your company are fully imbued with your values, culture and expertise.

Not everything has to be done internally. There are tasks you can outsource just fine without compromising your brand identity or results.

Tasks that occur once or occasionally are excellent candidates for outsourcing. Consider:

• Web design or a complete website makeover
• Implementing new technology such as HubSpot
• Specific technical projects

These tasks often require specialized knowledge that your company does not need on a continuous basis. It is more efficient to hire external expertise for these tasks.

Some marketing disciplines require very specific expertise and also change rapidly. Paid advertising is a good example. The platforms and best practices are constantly changing, and it takes a specialist to get optimal results from them.

If these activities are only a small part of your marketing, it may be more efficient to outsource them to specialists who focus entirely on this area.

The decision to bring a particular task in-house or outsource often comes down to a simple question: do we do enough of it to put someone on it full-time? If the answer is yes, then it usually pays to build this expertise in-house. If the answer is no, then outsourcing may be a better option.

But remember: even if you decide to outsource certain tasks, you remain responsible for strategy and results. It is therefore important to have enough knowledge in-house to be able to assess the quality of the outsourced work.

Start with a clear vision and strategy.

Bringing marketing and sales in-house is not a matter of simply hiring people. There are a number of conditions you must meet to be successful.

Start with a clear vision and strategy. Without this foundation, new employees will make their own interpretation of what is needed based on what they have done before. This often leads to inconsistency and disappointment.

Use proven frameworks such as StoryBrand or They Ask, You Answer to shape your strategy. These frameworks provide a common language and approach that your entire team can follow.

Recognize that there may be a knowledge gap between what you think is good content or a good sales pitch, and what your new employees think. You can close this gap through ongoing training and development.

Invest in training, coaching and role-plays. Give regular feedback on content and sales calls. This is how you ensure that your team continues to develop and get better at what they do.

Think carefully about what roles you need and in what order you want to fill them. This is not a standard recipe from a book but requires a strategic assessment based on your specific situation.

These do not all have to be full-time employees. However, you can expect more commitment and ownership from full-time and part-time employees than from freelancers and marketing agencies.

Provide clear processes so that everyone knows what is expected of them. This applies to both the input side (how much content should be produced) and the output side (what results do we expect).

By standardizing processes, you make it easier for new employees to become productive quickly and for the existing team to perform consistently.

Invest in the right tools and systems to help your team work as effectively as possible. It would be a shame to invest heavily in people, but then cut back on the tools they need to do their jobs well.

Get a good CRM system, content management tools, video editing software and other essential tools that fit the roles on your team.

One of the biggest challenges in building an internal marketing and sales team is creating support within the organization. Especially in companies where marketing and sales were not seen as core activities, this can be a stumbling block.

Take the time to explain internally why this investment is valuable. Involve other departments in the process and let them see the value. By doing so, you will avoid resistance and create a culture where marketing and sales are seen as essential parts of business success.

Also read: Why is a culture change needed for They Ask, You Answer?

Whether it's realistic to do marketing and sales entirely yourself depends on several factors. Let's look at how to make a good trade-off.

Make a concrete business case. Ask yourself: how many new customers do I need to earn back this investment? For example, if you are considering hiring a content manager, videographer and salesperson (each part-time, two days a week), calculate what the costs will be and how much additional revenue you will need to cover these costs.

For companies with a high order value, this can quickly be profitable. For companies with a lower order value, it may be more realistic to start smaller.

Tip: Are you unsure about the business case for your company? We are happy to look at it with you. Schedule an appointment with me or one of my colleagues.

Realize that investing in an in-house marketing and sales team is a long-term investment. You are building a "trusted and known brand" - a brand that inspires trust and is known by your target audience. This takes time, but it also yields the greatest returns in the long run.

It doesn't necessarily have to be profitable in the first year to still be a good investment. Look at the expected returns over a period of three to five years to get a realistic picture.

Ask yourself the following questions to determine if your company is ready to organize your marketing and sales in-house.

• Is your current business model profitable enough to bear this investment?
• Are you willing to invest in the necessary training and tools?
• Is there enough support within the organization?
• Do you have the time and capacity to properly mentor new employees?
• Are you willing to go for the long haul?

If you can answer "yes" to most of these questions, you're probably ready for this step.

If you decide to bring marketing and sales in-house, it's important to start realistically and grow gradually.

Start by defining your vision and strategy. Then determine which roles you want to fill first, based on what will have the greatest impact for your company.

Start with the core roles: content manager, videographer or salesperson. Add more specialized roles later as you grow and develop more specific needs.

For smaller companies (under 50 employees), it may be wise to start with part-time roles. That way you can spread the investment and start building internal expertise anyway.

For example, start with a content manager for two days a week and expand this as you see results and the business case gets stronger.

Consider working with a coach or trainer who has experience setting up internal marketing and sales teams. They can help you avoid common pitfalls and get results faster.

Especially for companies undergoing significant culture change, external coaching can make the difference between success and failure. A good coach will help you not only with the technical aspects, but also with creating support and dealing with resistance within the organization.

Bringing your marketing and sales completely in-house is no small step, but for many SMBs it is a realistic and strategically smart move. By keeping core activities - content production and sales - in-house while continuing to outsource specialized or one-off tasks, you create a powerful combination of deep business knowledge and external expertise.

The challenges involved in internalizing marketing and sales are real. From finding the right people and building knowledge to creating support within your organization and developing effective processes. Yet these challenges outweigh the long-term benefits you gain: more control, better quality, more authentic communication and ultimately better results.

At Buzzlytics, I have guided countless companies through this transition. I've seen how they struggled with the same questions you have now, but also how they grew into true trusted and known brands once they had the right people and processes in place. These companies now not only achieve better marketing and sales results, but have also developed a stronger and more cohesive corporate culture.

After reading this article, have you been inspired to take your marketing and sales into your own hands? Start small, focus on core activities and gradually expand. And if you need guidance through this transition, consider joining our marketing and sales program. We'd love to help you lay the right foundations for long-term marketing and sales success.Schedule a no-obligation consultation with me or one of my colleagues today.