Outbound Hiring Cost Calculator: Build vs Buy for B2B Sales

The Full Cost Model for In-House SDR Hiring

Most B2B companies dramatically underestimate SDR costs by focusing only on base salary. The true Year 1 fully-loaded cost includes: Base salary (€35,000–€55,000) + Variable compensation (€8,000–€18,000) + Employer taxes and benefits (€12,000–€20,000) + Recruitment costs (€5,000–€12,000 amortized) + Tools and tech stack (€6,000–€12,000) + Management overhead (€8,000–€15,000 allocated) + Training and onboarding (€3,000–€6,000) + Ramp-time productivity loss (€8,000–€15,000).

Total Year 1: €85,000–€153,000 per SDR, with a median of €127,000. Year 2 costs drop to €75,000–€115,000 as recruitment, ramp, and training costs are eliminated. The critical insight: your first SDR costs 40–60% more than your fifth SDR due to fixed costs (playbook development, tool setup, management infrastructure) that amortize across headcount. This is why single-SDR teams have the worst unit economics.

Outsourcing and Fractional SDR Cost Models

Outsourced SDR options and their cost profiles: Full-service SDR agencies: €3,500–€7,000/month per dedicated SDR (€42,000–€84,000/year). Includes management, tools, and training — but you sacrifice control over messaging and typically get 60–70% of in-house productivity. Fractional SDR services (like TalentBridge): €2,000–€4,500/month for part-time dedicated SDRs. Best for companies that need 10–20 meetings/month and can't justify a full-time hire.

Freelance SDRs: €25–€50/hour, typically working 15–25 hours/week. Total: €1,500–€5,000/month. Highest flexibility but requires strong management and quality control from your side. Offshore SDR teams: €1,200–€2,500/month per full-time SDR. Lowest cost but requires investment in training, timezone management, and quality frameworks. The decision matrix: outsource when monthly meeting needs are <20 or when testing a new market. Build in-house when meetings needed >30/month and you have management capacity.

Breakeven Analysis and ROI Timeline

The breakeven calculation: Monthly fully-loaded SDR cost ÷ (Meetings per month × Meeting-to-opportunity rate × Opportunity-to-close rate × Average deal value). Example: €10,600/month ÷ (15 meetings × 30% × 25% × €24,000) = 0.39 — meaning each €1 invested returns €2.56 at steady state. But this only kicks in after ramp. During months 1–3, expect 30–50% of target productivity. Months 4–6: 70–90%. Full productivity: month 7+.

The median breakeven point — when cumulative revenue from SDR-sourced deals exceeds cumulative SDR investment — is 5.8 months for experienced hires and 8.2 months for junior hires. If your sales cycle exceeds 6 months, adjust expectations: enterprise SDRs may not break even for 10–14 months. This is why cash-constrained startups should strongly consider fractional or outsourced models until they've validated product-market fit and have predictable conversion rates.

Decision Framework: Build, Buy, or Hybrid

1. Build in-house when: you need >30 meetings/month, your sales cycle is well-understood, you have a proven playbook, and you can dedicate a manager (1:6 ratio). 2. Expected timeline to full productivity: 4–6 months. 3. Buy (outsource) when: you need <20 meetings/month, you're testing a new market or ICP, you lack SDR management experience, or you need meetings within 2–4 weeks (no ramp time). 4. Expected productivity: 60–75% of in-house levels. 5. Hybrid (recommended for most scaling companies): start with outsourced/fractional SDRs to validate ICP and messaging (months 1–3), then hire your first in-house SDR while maintaining outsourced capacity (months 4–6), then scale in-house team and reduce outsourced dependency (months 7–12).

Compare the models before committing: [build in-house vs flexible remote capacity](/blog/build-in-house-sdr-team-vs-hire-remote-talent), [full-time vs flexible SDR](/blog/full-time-vs-flexible-sdr-decision-framework), or [build outbound vs buy pipeline capacity](/blog/build-outbound-team-vs-buy-pipeline-capacity). Ready to act? [Start company signup](/signup/company).

Frequently Asked Questions