SDR Hiring vs SDR Outsourcing: What Founders Don't Realize Until Too Late

"Should we hire SDRs or outsource?"

It's one of the first questions every B2B founder asks when they're ready to scale sales.

The answer seems obvious: hire in-house. Own the team. Control the process.

But then reality hits.

After working with 100+ B2B companies across India, we've seen the same story play out dozens of times:

Month 1-3: Excited about building the team
Month 4-6: Frustrated by hiring challenges and slow ramp
Month 7-9: Drowning in attrition and management overhead
Month 10-12: Quietly looking at outsourcing options

By the time founders realize in-house isn't working, they've already burned 12 months and ₹30L+.

This article breaks down the real costs, timelines, and trade-offs so you can make the right decision upfront—not after wasting a year.

The Decision Framework: 4 Critical Questions

Before we dive into costs, answer these honestly:

1. Do You Have 6-12 Months to Wait?

In-House Timeline:

Month 1-2: Write JDs, post jobs, screen 100+ candidates
Month 2-3: Interview, hire first batch (2-3 SDRs)
Month 3-4: Onboarding, training, tool setup
Month 4-6: Ramp period (low productivity)
Month 6-9: First consistent output (if they don't quit)
Month 9-12: Replace people who quit, restart cycle

Time to consistent results: 9-12 months

Outsourced Timeline:

Week 1: Kick-off call, ICP alignment
Week 2: Campaign setup, data sourcing
Week 3-4: First meetings booked
Month 2+: Consistent 30+ meetings/month

Time to consistent results: 3-4 weeks

The real question: Can your business afford to wait 12 months for pipeline?

2. Can You Dedicate 15-20 Hours/Week to SDR Management?

Here's what managing an in-house SDR team actually requires:

Daily Tasks (30-60 minutes):

Morning huddles
Call reviews and coaching
Lead assignment and prioritization

Weekly Tasks (4-6 hours):

1-on-1s with each SDR (1 hour each)
Pipeline review meetings
Training sessions
Tool troubleshooting
Performance reviews

Monthly Tasks (5-10 hours):

Hiring (if someone quit—which is likely)
Strategy planning
Reporting to leadership

Total: 15-25 hours per week

Most founders underestimate this and end up with an under-managed, underperforming team.

With outsourcing: 1-2 hours/week for strategic reviews.

3. What's Your Attrition Tolerance?

In-House Reality:

Average SDR tenure in India: 10-14 months
Average attrition rate: 45-60% annually
Cost per replacement: ₹50,000-75,000
Productivity loss per replacement: 2-3 months

Math for a 5-person team:

2-3 people quit per year
4-6 months lost to hiring/training
₹1-2L spent on recruitment

With outsourcing: Attrition is the vendor's problem. Your meetings stay consistent.

4. What's Your True Budget?

Let's break down the real costs (not the fantasy numbers most people use):

Cost Comparison: In-House vs Outsourced

In-House SDR Team (3 SDRs + 1 Manager)

Cost Item	Monthly	Annual
3 SDRs @ ₹30k each	₹90,000	₹10,80,000
1 SDR Manager @ ₹60k	₹60,000	₹7,20,000
Benefits + PF (20%)	₹30,000	₹3,60,000
Tools & Tech
CRM (HubSpot/Salesforce)	₹15,000	₹1,80,000
Sales Intelligence (Apollo/ZoomInfo)	₹20,000	₹2,40,000
Dialer (JustCall/Exotel)	₹10,000	₹1,20,000
Email tools (Smartlead/Instantly)	₹8,000	₹96,000
LinkedIn Sales Navigator (4 seats)	₹12,000	₹1,44,000
Infrastructure
Office space (4 seats)	₹20,000	₹2,40,000
Laptops & equipment (amortized)	₹10,000	₹1,20,000
Hidden Costs
Recruitment (ongoing)	₹15,000	₹1,80,000
Training materials & courses	₹5,000	₹60,000
Founder/CXO time (20% bandwidth)	₹40,000	₹4,80,000
TOTAL	₹3,35,000	₹40,20,000

Effective cost per qualified meeting: ₹10,000-15,000 (assuming 30 meetings/month after ramp)

Outsourced SDR Team (SalesUp Model)

Cost Item	Monthly	Annual
SalesUp Service Fee	₹2,50,000	₹30,00,000
Your time investment (strategic only)	₹10,000	₹1,20,000
TOTAL	₹2,60,000	₹31,20,000

Effective cost per qualified meeting: ₹8,000-9,000 (30+ meetings/month from Week 4)

Savings: ₹9L annually + 15 hours/week of your time

When In-House Makes Sense

We're not here to sell you outsourcing blindly. In-house can work if:

✅ You Have These Conditions:

Strong sales leadership available
- Someone with 5+ years managing SDR teams
- Bandwidth to dedicate 20+ hours/week
- Experience with training, coaching, and performance management
Stable, proven ICP and messaging
- You've already cracked product-market fit
- Clear value prop and objection handling
- Documented processes and playbooks
Budget for team + infrastructure
- Can afford ₹40L+/year for 3-4 SDRs + manager
- Willing to accept 6-12 month ramp time
- Can handle attrition cycles
Long-term hiring strategy
- Building a sales org, not just filling pipeline
- Career paths for SDRs (promotion to AE)
- Employer brand strong enough to attract talent
Complex product requiring deep expertise
- Highly technical solution
- Long sales cycles (6-12 months)
- Need for product-savvy conversations

If you have ALL of these → in-house makes sense.

If you're missing ANY of these → outsourcing is smarter.

When Outsourcing Makes Sense

Outsourcing wins when:

✅ You Have These Goals:

Speed to results
- Need pipeline this quarter, not next year
- Can't afford 6-12 month ramp time
- Testing new markets or segments
Predictable costs
- Want fixed monthly expense vs variable hiring costs
- Need accurate CAC calculations
- Want to avoid attrition surprises
Focus on core business
- Founder/CXO time better spent on product or closing
- Don't want to become an SDR manager
- Would rather buy meetings than build a team
Proven at scale
- Vendor has experience in your industry
- Track record of consistent delivery
- Infrastructure and playbooks already built
Testing before committing
- Not sure SDR motion will work
- Want proof of concept before hiring
- Need flexibility to scale up/down quickly

The Hybrid Model: Best of Both Worlds?

Many companies eventually land here:

What It Looks Like:

1-2 senior SDRs in-house (handling strategic accounts, partnerships, inbound)
Outsourced team handling high-volume outbound
Clear handoff process between teams

Benefits:

Control over key relationships
Scale without hiring headaches
Lower overall cost than pure in-house
Faster than building from scratch

Who It Works For:

Series A+ companies with established sales orgs
Companies with complex sales processes
Teams ready to hire 1-2 people, not 5-10

The 3 Biggest Mistakes Founders Make

Mistake #1: Hiring Too Early

The scenario:

You just closed a few deals manually
Think "Let's hire SDRs to scale this"
Hire 2-3 people before you have a repeatable process

Why it fails:

You don't have documented playbooks
ICP and messaging aren't clear
SDRs flail around trying to figure it out
They quit or underperform

The fix: Build repeatable processes first (or work with someone who has them).

Mistake #2: Underestimating Management Burden

The scenario:

"I'll manage them part-time while I focus on product/fundraising"
SDRs are left to figure things out alone
Performance suffers, people quit

Why it fails:

SDRs need daily coaching and feedback
Without it, they develop bad habits
Under-management = underperformance

The fix: Either dedicate proper time or let someone else manage.

Mistake #3: Optimizing for Cost Instead of Results

The scenario:

"Outsourcing is expensive. Let's just hire cheap SDRs."
Hire at ₹20-25k/month
Get low-quality candidates who can't perform

Why it fails:

Cheap = inexperienced or unmotivated
Training them takes forever
They leave as soon as they get a better offer

The fix: Optimize for cost per qualified meeting, not cost per SDR.

Decision Matrix: Should You Hire or Outsource?

Use this simple framework:

Factor	In-House	Outsource
Timeline to results	9-12 months	3-4 weeks
Upfront cost	Low (salaries)	Medium (service fee)
Total annual cost	₹40L+	₹30-35L
Management time	20+ hours/week	2 hours/week
Attrition risk	High (your problem)	Low (vendor's problem)
Control	Full	Strategic only
Flexibility	Low (hiring cycles)	High (scale up/down)
Best for	Long-term, stable orgs	Fast growth, testing

What to Look for in an Outsourced SDR Partner

If you decide to outsource, don't just pick the cheapest option. Evaluate on:

1. Industry Experience

Have they worked with companies like yours?
Do they understand your buyer persona?
Can they show case studies with similar ICPs?

2. Process & Technology

What tools do they use?
How do they handle data enrichment?
What's their quality control process?

3. Team Structure

Who manages the SDRs?
How do they handle training?
What's their attrition rate internally?

4. Transparency & Reporting

What metrics do they track?
How often do you get reports?
Can you listen to calls and review emails?

5. Alignment with Your Goals

Do they guarantee meeting volume?
What happens if quality is poor?
How do they handle feedback?

The Bottom Line

Here's the truth most vendors won't tell you:

Both approaches can work. Both can also fail spectacularly.

The key is being honest about:

Your timeline
Your budget (real budget, not fantasy)
Your bandwidth
Your risk tolerance

In-house is right if: You have time, money, expertise, and patience to build a team over 12-18 months.

Outsourcing is right if: You need results in weeks, want predictable costs, and would rather buy meetings than build infrastructure.

Hybrid is right if: You're Series A+ with some sales infrastructure but want to scale faster than hiring allows.

What We Do at SalesUp

At SalesUp, we've built what we wish existed when we were founders:

AI + Human SDR teams that start delivering in Week 1
Guaranteed 30+ qualified meetings/month or you don't pay
Full transparency: Listen to every call, review every email
No long-term contracts: Month-to-month, scale up or down anytime

We handle:

Data sourcing and enrichment
Multi-channel outreach (calls, emails, LinkedIn)
Follow-up sequences
Meeting booking and confirmation
CRM updates

You handle:

Closing deals
Building product
Growing your business

Cost: ₹2-3L/month (less than one experienced SDR + tools).

Book a demo to see if we're a fit for your business.

The choice is yours. Just don't wait 12 months to figure out you made the wrong one.