Should You Hire a Virtual SDR, AI SDR, or SDR Agency?

We have had a few founders reach out to us, saying that they were looking for a sales assistant to help scale their company’s growth. 

But during some research, they noticed SalesBread’s website and decided to compare the two options. 

SDR agency vs. a virtual sales or AI SDR.

At SalesBread, we like to inform clients of all their options so that they can make the best decision for their business. 

In this article, we will compare the differences between hiring an agency, hiring a virtual SDR, or an AI SDR.

This will hopefully help inform readers of all their options to make the best choice to scale their business and save money in the process. 

(If you would like some lead gen advice, reach out to SalesBread for a Free 15 minute strategy session with the founder of SalesBread, Jack Reamer.)

Before you make your decision, ask yourself:

1. Do you have the time to train a sales employee?

If you are a founder or the VP of sales and you would like to hire a virtual sales assistant, you need to think about how much time you have to offer training.

Initially, it’s important to invest time in working with your sales reps so that they understand the ins and outs of your business.

You might have to review all their work for the first few months to ensure that they understand exactly what they need to do.  

Do you have the time and patience to help your virtual sales development representatives be the best that they can be? 

Prospecting might not even be your favorite thing, but it’s important to help your new sales assistant understand what they are selling and its benefits. 

Training is time-consuming.

You might even have to review their script or sales pitch until it’s perfect. 

And if you have the time and patience and enjoy the sales process, then that’s great. Hiring a sales assistant might be the right move.

2. Do you have the funds to hire a full time SDRs or take on an SDR agency?

Cost of hiring an assistant

As a business owner, you also need to ask yourself if you have the funds to pay a full-time sales employee. Whether it’s virtual or not.

This is especially true if you are a newly-fledged business and are still finding your feet. 

You might not want to pay someone immediately until you figure out your exact sales strategy.  

On average, you can expect to pay between $6000-$ 10,000 per month. 

And this excludes things like: 

• Courses

• Taxation

• Workman’s compensation

• Benefits, such as health and retirement insurance

• Office equipment, internet, and tea/coffee.

So, on top of your SDR’s salary, you can expect to pay an additional $1,916 per month. Most entrepreneurs pay their sales reps $76,065 per year (and this is only 1 sales rep .)

Cost of hiring an agency

Sales agencies can be costly… If you choose the wrong agency.

But if you choose the right company to partner up with, you could save a ton of money and have qualified sales leads come in relatively quickly.

When hiring an agency, you can expect to pay between $2,000 and $20,000 per month. The median is between $3000 – $10,000 per month.  

Some appointment setting agencies charge between $50 and $400 per booked appointment.

But remember you’re saving on costs like employee benefits, office equipment, etc.

If you do hire a virtual sales assistant, you might not need to pay the above, but it’s important to have an open chat with your potential new employee to figure out what they would like as well. 

Perhaps they expect you to pay for any data used, phone calls, or lead generation tools.

So work out your budget. See what you can afford and which option would be the best for ROI. 

3. Should you hire a freelancer instead of a full-time sales assistant?

Yes, a virtual sales assistant might be quite a bit more affordable, especially if you are hiring them off Upwork or Fiverr.

According to research, you can expect to pay between $20-$60 per consultation, or between $15-$25 per hour. 

What’s nice about these platforms is that they have filters you can use to search for the right people.

See the example below:

But there is a caveat here.

Not everyone on these freelancing platforms is the best at what they do . 

Some might be great; others might be terrible. 

Therefore, when you decide to onboard new team members, choose your top 100 candidates and read through their profiles.

You can then weed out who you think would be an ideal fit and set up meetings with them. 

Once you do this, you can ask the best ones to do a small test task to ensure they are the right fit for your business. 

PRO TIP

Make the assessment tasks a bit of a hurdle.

Why?

Because if a salesperson is willing to jump through hoops, it means that they really want the job.

Being a sales rep isn’t for everyone; it takes a certain amount of tenacity to be a great salesperson.

If someone is willing to go the extra mile, it means that they might be a good fit. 

(Hiring your first sales assistant? This article will be a good read.)

And as we mentioned earlier, a full-time in-house SDR could cost up to $ 76,000 more or less per year. It also depends on which state you are based in. 

As some sales reps charge more depending on the states they live in. 

This article will give you an idea of what you can expect to pay a sales rep in over 50 states. 

4. Is your product/service sellable?

If you have a brand-new product that you think will be a roaring success, wait a bit before hiring a sales assistant.

Why?

Because if you don’t have enough data yet on how well your product/service is selling, it can be risky to start spending cash on salaries.

And it doesn’t matter if you hire a sales rep or an agency; if your product isn’t selling, you’re setting yourself up for major stress.

If you’re using outbound methods to sell your first unit, don’t pay tons of money to let someone else do that for you. 

It’s much too early. 

As a founder, you have to make sure that there is interest in your product, and you have to do this first. (Even if you hate cold calling or writing cold emails.)

You have to make sure that your product is sellable and that it’s something that potential customers want and need. 

It’s not someone else’s job, you have to make sure at least that there is some interest in the market for your product.

It’s not an agency’s role to come and solve your sales problem.

So what we suggest is selling your product for at least 6 months before onboarding sales assistant services.

If you wait 6 months, you will then have enough data to see how well your product/service is doing.

This information is also important because, without it, you won’t be able to conduct prospect research to determine your ideal buyer. 

5. Would you need an appointment setter, someone to close deals, or find qualified leads? 

As we mentioned earlier, you need to be honest with yourself and think about what you enjoy doing and if you have time. Maybe you love closing deals but hate lead generation. 

Think about your needs.

Would you like an agency that sets appointments and does lead gen? Or would you just need an agency to find qualified leads for you, and then you can close the deals? 

Or would you like to hire a rep who does it all? 

Ask the agency or sales rep beforehand what they specialize in, whether it’s B2B leads or B2C, or if they do it all. 

If you have clear answers to all of the above questions, you can then decide whether a sales assistant or an SDR agency will be the best fit for your business.

What is an AI SDR?

An AI SDR (Sales Development Representative) is a software tool powered by AI that automates tasks traditionally done by human SDRs. Sales teams use AI SDRs in a variety of ways, depending on their needs.

For example, you could use an AI SDR for lead research. The software can pull data for you from sources like LinkedIn or websites to build prospect lists.

An AI SDR can also be used to write and send personalized emails, LinkedIn messages, or SMS.

NOTE: We don’t recommend using AI to write personalized messages. Yes, it can help you formulate ideas, but personalization isn’t where AI shines. For example, we use ChatGPT to help us build lists. Humans write personalization way better than a robot.

You could also use an AI SDR for follow up sequences, where the tool would automatically send follow-ups based on your message cadence or lead behavior.

Another option is to use an AI SDR to help you with lead qualification. Potential clients could answer a few discovery questions via email or chat to determine if a lead fits your ideal customer profile.

When to use an AI SDR

Some businesses might want to use an AI SDR to scale their outreach and lead qualification.

You might think that an AI tool can do all of these tasks faster than human reps, but remember, you don’t want to skimp on quality.

At SalesBread we have a saying – Don’t spray and pray; Rather, focus on low volume, high quality outreach. So use AI but mindfully. Don’t use it for tasks that a human would do much better.

You could use AI for the following:

• Top-of-funnel outreach: Sending cold emails, LinkedIn messages, and other first touches.

• Initial lead qualification: Asking basic questions, gathering info, and booking meetings automatically.

• 24/7 engagement: Following up with leads immediately — even if it’s 2 a.m. on a Sunday.

• Working massive lead lists: When you’ve got way more leads than your team can realistically chase down.

• Testing messaging fast: Trying different value props, copy, and offers across lots of segments without exhausting your team.

REMEMBER, though – AI SDRs aren’t the best fit for everything.

You probably don’t want to rely purely on AI if:

• Your deals are high-touch, complex, or need a lot of nuance early on.

• Personal relationship-building is a huge part of your brand.

• You sell a product that requires deep discovery conversations

Most teams find a sweet spot by using a hybrid approach — let AI handle basic qualification and list building, and have your human reps step in once a lead shows serious intent, and for writing personalized outreach messages.

What is a virtual SDR team?

A virtual SDR team is basically a group of Sales Development Representatives who work remotely instead of in an office. They do all the usual SDR tasks — like reaching out to prospects, qualifying leads, and booking meetings — but they can be located anywhere in the world.

There are a few ways companies build virtual SDR teams.

Sometimes it’s an in-house team where everyone just happens to work from home or different cities. Other times, businesses hire outsourced SDRs through agencies that specialize in remote sales support.

Virtual SDR teams focus on typical sales activities:

• Cold calling,

• Cold emailing

• Managing inbound leads

• Updating the CRM

• Linkedin outreach

There are a few reasons companies love virtual SDR teams.

First, they’re usually cheaper — you’re saving on office space, and you can hire great talent from places with lower costs of living.

You also get access to a much bigger talent pool since you’re not limited to one city.

And when you need to scale the team up or down quickly? It’s a lot easier when everyone’s remote.

That said, running a virtual SDR team isn’t without its challenges.

Communication can get tricky if you don’t have strong processes in place.

You’ll need a good tech stack — think CRM tools, Slack, Zoom, project management apps — to keep everyone aligned.

And because people aren’t seeing each other every day, you have to be a little more intentional about building team culture and keeping motivation high.

When to hire a virtual SDR?

Someone would hire a virtual SDR mainly because they want to grow their pipeline faster and more affordably, without needing to build a big in-house team.

Here are the main reasons:

• You want to save money: Hiring virtual SDRs (especially offshore or outsourced ones) is usually way cheaper than building a full in-house team — you save on salaries, office space, equipment, and overhead.

• Flexibility and scalability: Virtual SDR teams are easier to scale up or down based on business needs. If you suddenly need to double outreach efforts for a new product launch, it’s faster (and less painful) to add remote SDRs than to hire locally.

• Access to a bigger talent pool: You’re not limited to the people who live near your office. You can hire great reps from anywhere — even from regions where sales talent is plentiful, but costs are lower.

When to hire a lead generation agency for outbound sales

If you’re looking to boost your sales performance without overwhelming your team, it might be time to hire an SDR agency.

A good agency can act as a guide to help streamline your sales efforts, whether you’re focused on inbound sales or outbound outreach.

This is especially valuable for founders who don’t have the time or experience to build and manage a high-performing sales team from scratch.

An SDR agency will help you find high-quality leads and identify value prospects who are more likely to turn into real opportunities.

Plus, with access to vast lead databases, these agencies can quickly surface the right potential buyers, saving your team from chasing dead ends.

The result? Higher conversion rates, faster sales cycles, and more time for your team to focus on closing deals.

Pros and Cons of hiring an SDR agency for outreach

It’s important to note that not every sales agency out there has its clients’ best interests at heart.

Some bigger companies might just view your business as a number and not offer the same personalized experience that another agency might offer. 

So, before you decide to hire an agency, you need to ask these 10 questions first. 

Here are some red flags to be aware of:

• If a lead generation agency locks you into a contract… run… 

You should be staying because of their excellent results. Not a contract.

At Salesbread, we don’t lock our clients into contracts, and they are welcome to stop using our services at any time. (Yes, a heads-up would be great, but you won’t be expected to sign on for months on end.)

• They only use one outreach channel. A good SDR agency should use more than just one channel. 

For example, if they only do cold calling, you run the risk of losing out on other leads who might prefer a cold email.

So, ask the agency which outreach channels they use. 

At SalesBread we specialize in LinkedIn outreach.

The agency you hire should also be able to give you a clear sales strategy. An agency needs to be completely transparent with you. Be wary if they can’t explain exactly how they will bring leads in. Lead generation shouldn’t be a secret. 

And they also need to write personalized messages. If an agency promises to reach out to thousands of leads, and they use the same generic template, don’t hire them. 

Chances are, you are going to be paying thousands of dollars and get very few (if any) qualified sales leads. Personalization ensures that prospects reply. 

People ignore generic messages. Period. 

Pros

Scale your business growth quickly

An SDR agency can scale your company’s growth quickly because it already has a lead generation strategy that has been tried and tested.

If your product is sellable and you know your target audience, an agency can run with it and quickly bring in leads.

Agencies don’t need training.

This means the time you would have spent training an SDR is freed up. All you would have to do is share your ideal target audience, and hopefully, the agency will build an ultra-targeted list of prospects (like Salesbread does), and you will have to double-check that the copy is correct. 

SDR agencies are more cost-effective initially.

If you hire an agency, you don’t have to worry about paying for things such as lead generation tools or employee benefits. 

Get your first lead within 48 hours.

The right agency should bring you your first lead within 48 hours after the campaign launch.

(Salesbread has a track record of bringing our clients their first lead within the first 2 days and 1 lead per day.)

An agency has the experience and ability to write good copy.

So if writing isn’t your strong point, a lead generation agency can do this for you. They should have a copywriter and a personalization expert on their team.

This person will be solely responsible for writing personalized messages or scripts.

Teach you how to generate leads.

If your company partners with a good lead gen agency, they will be open enough with you to show how they generate leads.

This type of “training” means you can bring the entire process in-house once you are ready. 

Cons

Hiring the wrong agency could mean no ROI.

Hiring the wrong lead generation company can be detrimental. 

Why?

Imagine paying between $ 3000 and $ 10,000 and not getting one lead.

We actually had a client who hired a well-known LinkedIn ad agency, paid about $8000, and never even received 1 lead.

Some agencies might even promise to reach out to thousands of prospects, but when leads do come in, they are all the wrong fit.

Be very careful if an agency does not use personalization or build ultra-targeted lists. You’re going to just be throwing cash down the drain.

Pricing might be unaffordable for new founders.

The pricing of some agencies might be high for new entrepreneurs.

If this is the case, it would be better to do lead gen yourself for a short period of time until you have enough capital to hire an agency.

They will just scale what you’re already doing and bring in more leads quickly. 

No “personal touch.” – Your campaign might be led by someone who lacks experience

Many bigger agencies might not have that “personal touch.”

For example, they could have hundreds of other clients, meaning that they view you as a number.

You might get fobbed off to a sales manager with less experience than the founder. 

At Salesbread, our clients work along with the founder, and we only take on a few clients at a time (in fact, we have a waiting list).

This ensures excellent service. 

Pros and cons of hiring a virtual sales development representative

Pros

Saves you time

Hiring a virtual assistant can take a lot of time off your hands.

If you need someone for scheduling meetings, adding more leads to your sales pipeline, and closing deals, then a virtual assistant might be ideal. 

It could be more affordable

A virtual sales assistant might be cheaper than hiring a full-time in-house SDR.

You might be able to hire a freelancer on Upwork from another part of the world who has excellent skills and a cheaper rate. 

Save on office expenses

If you do hire virtual sales support, you won’t have to pay for things like office rent, office furniture, or tea/coffee.

You could just use a platform like Slack or Discord as virtual office space. 

And if you want to, you could still offer the freelancer some benefits.

Perhaps paid leave, or incentives for work well done. 

But this will still be cheaper than having to pay for all the extra expenses that come with hiring office space. 

Training someone new could be beneficial.

When choosing a sales assistant, you can train them from scratch to do exactly what you need them to.

Some founders prefer starting off afresh with someone newly experienced because they can teach them the ropes from the get-go.

If an assistant is willing to be adaptable and learn, then that’s a great start for any small business owner.

Cons

Finding the right sales assistant is hard.

It can take time to find the right sales assistant.

You might need to wade through a few before you find the right person for the job. 

This also means that initially, you might have a bit of churn at your company, which can be frustrating, especially if you spend a lot of time training potential candidates.

Training can be frustrating, especially if you don’t have time.

If you don’t have the time to train a sales/ administrative assistant, it can be really frustrating.

They might need you to be hands-on for the first 3 months before they begin to do well at their job.

( Most HR managers say that it takes 3 months to onboard, and if an employee still struggles after this, they might not be the right person for the job.) 

But if you don’t have the time to train new employees, it might be better to hire an agency.  

A full time in-house sales assistant can be pricey.

If you choose to hire a full-time in-house sales assistant, it can be expensive.

As mentioned earlier, you should expect to pay at least $76,000 per year for just 1 sales rep. 

Different time zones can be a challenge

Hiring a virtual sales assistant who lives in another time zone can also be a challenge.

Especially if you need to set up meetings. You would have to find a middle ground to schedule meetings that will suit everyone’s needs.

But…. There is also a perfect middle ground.

If you are still unsure of which choice is best, you might want to hire a sales consultant to help you figure out a strategy for more leads in your sales funnel.

Consultants are normally a fraction of the price, and you don’t have to hire them forever. 

Salesbread offers consultation services too, or you could also check out Clarity.fm, which is a platform that allows you to chat with experts. 

So, which option is best for you? Human SDRs? AISDRs, Virtual SDRs, or an agency?

The answer really depends on your needs as a founder. 

If you have the time and resources, getting an assistant might be the solution to all your sales tasks. 

But if you don’t have the time, or the capacity to deal with an in-house team, hiring an agency who are expert sales professionals, like SalesBread, might be a better choice. 

Our clients know that they can expect 1 lead per day with our done-for-you LinkedIn lead generation service. Book a free 15-minute consultation below to see how we can help.