--- title: "Outsourced vs in-house SDR: cost, execution and ramp-up" description: "Counting calls and emails doesn’t tell you whether prospecting is working. How long each model takes to produce useful conversations, and who has to oversee it." url: https://duranb2b.com/en/insights/sales-outsourcing/outsourced-vs-in-house-sdr language: en-GB author: Eduardo Durán Velázquez · B2B Sales Partner contact: eduardo@duranb2b.com spanish_version: https://duranb2b.com/insights/sales-outsourcing/sdr-externo-vs-sdr-interno --- SALES OUTSOURCING · DECISION GUIDE 3 min read # Outsourced SDR vs in-house SDR: differences in cost, execution and ramp-up The difference between the two models goes beyond who makes the calls: it covers the whole structure around that activity. **Eduardo Durán** B2B Sales Partner Comparisons between an outsourced SDR and an in-house one tend to start with cost and stop too soon. Both can prospect, make calls and work LinkedIn and email, but the difference goes beyond who carries out those tasks. The structure needed around them changes as well: recruitment, onboarding, tools, supervision, accumulated knowledge and how quickly the person can start doing useful work. ## Ramp-up starts before the first call An in-house SDR needs to learn the product, the market, the ICP, the messaging and the tools. Some of that learning is unavoidable and, if managed well, ends up as knowledge that stays inside the company. An outsourced SDR may arrive with more of the operational infrastructure ready, but still needs context. If they don’t understand what problem the company solves or which type of account deserves priority, starting outreach sooner doesn’t necessarily mean starting better. So ramp-up isn’t measured only by the day the calls begin. What matters is how long the model takes to produce conversations that teach you something useful about the market and generate opportunities that make sense. ## Supervision is part of the cost too An in-house SDR needs management. Someone has to review activity, listen to calls, work on messaging, help prioritise accounts and decide what to do with what the market is feeding back. When there is a Sales Manager or a mature sales structure, that work is part of the system. When there isn’t, it usually falls to the founder or to someone else who ends up spending time on a role they may not have expected to take on. An external model can absorb some of that supervision, although the company can’t disappear from the process. Learning still has to be shared, questions answered and alignment kept on which opportunities deserve to move forward. ## The problem with measuring activity alone In both models it is easy to fall back on comfortable metrics: number of calls, emails sent, contacts added or meetings booked. Those figures help you understand execution, but on their own they say little about the quality of the system. You also want to know whether the accounts are the right ones, whether we are reaching the right people, which objections keep coming up and what happens to opportunities after the meeting. An SDR generating a lot of activity in the wrong segment can look efficient for several weeks. Quality shows when the activity produces learning and pipeline the rest of the team can work with. ## The structure you are building changes too Outsourcing fits when execution capacity is needed now, when a market needs testing or when it isn’t worth taking on the recruitment, employer social security contributions and supervision of another hire. It can also sit alongside an in-house team if responsibilities are clearly separated. ## What to look at before deciding I wouldn’t choose between an in-house and an outsourced SDR based on a universal rule. I would look at the company’s stage, how much sales knowledge already exists, who is going to supervise the operation and what capability it wants to keep in-house over the long term. If the bottleneck is executing now, without adding a salary, social security and hours of supervision, an external model makes more sense. If you want to see the figures for a real salary, the [full cost comparison](https://duranb2b.com/en/my-model#fricciones) shows what an in-house salesperson costs per fully productive year. **Eduardo Durán** B2B Sales Partner [About →](https://duranb2b.com/en/about) · [LinkedIn →](https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardoduranvelazquez/) ## You might also like - [SALES OUTSOURCING · DECISION GUIDE Outsourcing B2B sales vs hiring an in-house salesperson: what really changes 3 min](https://duranb2b.com/en/insights/sales-outsourcing/outsource-or-hire-sales) - [SALES OUTSOURCING · DECISION GUIDE When does it make sense to hire an external sales partner? 3 min](https://duranb2b.com/en/insights/sales-outsourcing/when-to-hire-a-sales-partner) - [B2B OUTBOUND · PLAYBOOK Multichannel B2B prospecting: how to coordinate phone, LinkedIn and email 3 min](https://duranb2b.com/en/insights/outbound-b2b/multichannel-b2b-prospecting) ## Where are your B2B sales getting stuck? Let’s look at it in 20 minutes A diagnostic video call, with no obligation. If we’re not a fit, I’ll tell you on the call. [Book a call (20 min) →](https://duranb2b.com/en/contact?from=insights) · [eduardo@duranb2b.com](mailto:eduardo@duranb2b.com) CLEAR AGENDA 1. **01** Product and market 2. **02** Bottleneck 3. **03** Diagnosis