For the vast majority of B2B businesses, at some point the pipeline will start running thin, or the business will realise that it needs more leads to reach their growth targets.
When this happens, outbound sales is often the fastest and most efficient tactic for growth.
Businesses have two options when they choose this route for growth:
- Hire in-house SDRs to perform outreach
- Hire a growth agency
I frequently speak with founders and sales leaders who are in this position and are unsure of which step is best for them.
Why Hire SDRs In-House?
Control and Alignement
The main benefit of hiring SDRs in house is that you have more control over their daily activities. You’re able to instill your company’s culture and vision into them more easily as they’re more immersed within your operations and team.
Teamwork
When you’re hiring an SDR to work in-house, you’re not just getting leads, you’re getting an extra pair of hands on the team. This means you’re able to cross-train them to perform tasks outside their job role and cover for other people during busy periods or when people are out-of-office.
There’s also greater potential for real-time collaboration and communication across departments within the company are easier to facilitate.
Nurturing Talent
Finally, inhouse SDRs can be nurtured to grow within the company and promoted internally so they are able to take sales calls and lead teams. If your business is in a small market, it can also be useful for inhouse sales people to build long-term relationships with your market by attending industry events and conferences.
Why Hire an Agency?
Cost-Effectiveness
The first benefit of working with an agency is that it is far less expensive than hiring. The payment schedule is usually a fixed retainer, or with Inboxxia, pay-per-meeting so you only actually pay for results.
When hiring you have to pay for:
- The hiring process
- The base salary
- Any bonuses
- Holiday pay
- Sick pay
- Training
- Management
- Software & Hardware
Speed of Delivery
If you need to fill your pipeline quickly, working with an agency is the most effective way to do this.
It takes roughly 3 months to get an SDR up and running at full volume (and that’s without the hiring process and assuming you made a good hire that passes probation).
It takes Inboxxia under 2 weeks to generate leads.
Expertise
An SDR is a fairly junior role, and often when businesses hire them they have a lot to learn. SDRs need to learn how to prospect, manage data, write copy, manage CRMs, follow-up, work with tech.
Agencies like Inboxxia already have systems in place and a specialised team that includes campaign writers, response/lead nurture experts, list builders, operations managers and data specialists, providing a comprehensive approach to lead generation.
At Inboxxia we’ve also run hundreds of campaigns, sent millions of outreach messages and generated thousands of leads, so we know what works.
Flexibility and risk reduction
When you hire an SDR you need to pay them whether you’re filling your pipeline or not. And if you enter a busy period where you don’t need any more leads, you still have to pay them.
Agencies like Inboxxia are much more flexible and less risky. You only pay for meetings that you have and you can pause and restart outreach whenever you want.
This gives you the ultimate flexibility and peace of mind that you don’t have an overhead that is bringing you no return.
Summary
In summary, the choice between hiring in-house SDRs or partnering with an agency depends on your specific business needs and goals.
If you’re looking to build a team, nurture talent over the long term, and maintain a high level of control when managing people, then hiring SDRs might be the best solution for you.
If you’re seeking quicker growth in a more cost-effective and less risky manner, then hiring an agency could be the best solution for your business.
If you believe an agency is the right fit for your business, don’t hesitate to connect with us. You can send a message to hugh@inboxxia.com or book a call here: https://calendly.com/hugh_inboxxia/growthconsultation
