When you’re looking for new leads for your company, a team of experienced Sales Development Representatives, or SDRs, is essential.
The big question… do you outsource the work to an external company or recruit in-house?
You’re probably thinking that as an agency specialising in outsourced sales, we’re going to say that you should always trust your sales processes to an external provider. And, of course, we have discussed the benefits of outsourcing your sales many times on our blog.
But the truth is that there’s no right or wrong answer! There may be circumstances where outsourcing your SDR function isn’t the right option for your business.
However, here are three circumstances where outsourcing your SDR may be the ideal solution.
Wondering if in-house or outsourced marketing is right for your business? You might be interested in this article.
- You’re looking for sales support without increasing headcount
One of the main reasons businesses outsource their SDRs is to grow sales without spending time and money recruiting in-house.
It might be that your business is very new, and you don’t have the budget for an in-house team just yet. It may be the case that your in-house sales team focuses on warm leads, and you need SDRs to bring in new business. You may just have one salesperson and need to hang fire before bringing new employees on board.
According to Glassdoor, the average salary for an SDR in the UK (in 2022) is just over £32,173 a year. Not only do you need to take salary into consideration but also commission, the equipment needed to do their jobs, onboarding and training costs, holidays, pensions, and other benefits.
Plus, new recruits may expect a promotion within a couple of years, or they may move on, meaning you have to start all over again.
Add a couple of SDRs to your in-house team, and costs can quickly mount up! Outsourcing sales means you can get the valuable support your business needs without the expensive outlay.
- You want flexibility
The main bonus of hiring SDRs externally is that you can quickly ramp up or down as needed. For example, let’s say you want to push sales before the end of the financial year, or in the run-up to Christmas. You can call on additional outsourced SDRs to increase capacity temporarily, and have them stand down when the rush is over.
You can also use outsourced sales to adapt as your business grows. Outsourcing your SDRs means you can reach out to more customers, make more sales, and boost average revenue per customer, filling the gap before you hire internally.
Many businesses that outsource their sales are SMEs. According to Clutch, one in three small businesses outsources at least one of their business processes. Outsourcing sales gives these businesses the flexibility they need to try new processes (more on that in a bit) and means they can quickly scale up or down when needed.
- You want to test new things
An outsourced team of SDRs is excellent if you want to try new things in your sales department with minimal risk. Think of them as a team of sales scientists, ready to experiment on behalf of your company!
Let’s say your business has a new product you want to sell to customers. You have three options available:
The first is taking one or two of your in-house SDRs and moving them to your new product. This is risky as this means you’re potentially losing sales revenue on your existing product lines.
The second is to hire new staff. This will cost your business time and money as you need to recruit and onboard these staff. Plus, if the new product isn’t a success, there is the risk that you may need to let these staff go.
The third option, and the one we recommend, is to outsource the sales. This is the best option, as you can test the product’s success with an external team. If the product sells well, you have the evidence needed to hire new staff in-house. If it doesn’t, your in-house sales team is unaffected, and you can go back to the old way of working.
An external sales team can also offer fresh insights and new thoughts on how you run your sales team. Is there anything they do differently that you can apply to your in-house processes? A good outsourced sales agency will be more than happy to share its experience and knowledge with you.
Choosing the right outsourced SDR team is critical
If you were recruiting an in-house SDR, you’d spend a lot of time selecting the perfect candidate. You’d pore over CVs, carry out detailed interviews, and go through your notes before making the final decision.
The same logic applies to who you choose to outsource to.
Outsourcing can be done well, but it can also be done wrong. We’ve seen many small agencies start up with just a mobile phone and a laptop, and in our experience, they can’t provide the services most businesses need to grow sales revenue.
Knowledge, practical experience, and transparency are essential.
We work with each of our clients to provide a tailored outsourced sales experience to suit their needs.
When in-house recruitment is the right solution
If you have a mature business with a dedicated in-house team, high-quality outbound sales processes, and a brilliant Sales Manager in place, you’re generally best hiring internally.
Of course, there are a few circumstances where outsourcing your sales may be of benefit, for example, if you want to test something new. However, nine times out of ten, we’d say stick with what you know!
Remember, if you need a little extra help with your in-house recruitment, we can use our experience to help you hire the best SDRs on the market. Our sister company, Seed Talent, specialise in helping businesses recruit the best SDRs and AEs on the market. Visit their website to find out more.
