Outsourced lead generation vs an in-house SDR: compare the full cost
Compare agency and in-house prospecting using management time, tools, ramp-up, qualified opportunities and ownership rather than salary or retainer alone.
Compare the same job
An SDR salary and an agency retainer are not automatically comparable. One quote may include research, data, message development, sending infrastructure and reply qualification; another may cover only calling or appointment setting. First define the work, the markets, the channels and who owns each step.
Write down what your existing team will still need to do. Discovery calls, proposals, technical answers and closing often remain internal in either model. If those responsibilities are omitted, the comparison can make outsourcing look more complete, or hiring look less expensive, than it really is.
Build a cost sheet from your own numbers
For hiring, include compensation, employer costs, recruitment, onboarding, management time, data, tools and infrastructure. Consider how much productive time the person will have during ramp-up and who covers absences or turnover. Use your actual local employment and supplier costs rather than a generic salary benchmark.
For an agency, include setup, retainer, any performance fees, tools excluded from the quote and the internal time required for approvals and follow-up. Check the term, cancellation conditions and what happens to domains, contact data and campaign material when the work ends.
Use a simple break-even model
A useful starting calculation is: total acquisition cost divided by gross profit per new customer equals the number of customers needed to cover that cost. Use a defined period and distinguish cash received from contracted or forecast revenue. For recurring services, choose a customer-value period you can justify.
Then work backwards with your own observed qualification and closing rates. If the data is thin, test several scenarios and label them as assumptions. The ROI calculator on this site is a planning tool, not a promise that a campaign will produce those numbers. A short test also needs time for opportunities to mature before a fair comparison is possible.
Choose for ownership and learning as well as cost
An internal role can fit when you have a repeatable sales motion, experienced management and enough work to support a dedicated person. An external team can fit when you need several capabilities for a defined test or cannot yet justify building each capability internally.
A hybrid arrangement can also work: external research and campaign operations, with an internal person owning the buyer relationship. In every model, insist on shared definitions, usable reporting and a clear handover. The decision is stronger when the team can explain what it learned, not only how many meetings it booked.