How much does sales outsourcing cost?

The cost to outsource sales generally starts around $5,000 to $8,500 USD per month. Some firms may advertise a lower sticker price but may end up charging more through commissions or other fees.

Is pay-per-performance or retainer better for sales outsourcing?

Pay-per-performance offers low initial costs but incentives your outsourced partner to schedule as many appointments as possible, regardless of quality. Retainer-based firms cost more upfront, but typically provide higher quality services.

Sales Outsourcing Pricing [Cost Comparison of Top US Vendors]

The cost of outsourced sales services varies mainly according to the task’s complexity, but factors such as time frame, project size, and industry can also influence the final price.

Why You Should Consider Sales Outsourcing

Outsourced sales entails delegating specific sales tasks or the entire process to a third-party vendor or independent contractor.

The common reasons for sales outsourcing are:

Cost savings: Compared to in-house hiring, outsourcing allows businesses to save on labor costs like salaries, benefits, and tools.

Lack of internal expertise: By outsourcing your sales process, you can take advantage of an agency’s specialized workforce without spending resources on training.

Operation Expansion: Outsourcing your sales processes can grow your business by creating an efficient pipeline while allowing you to focus on other important areas of your business.

The first step to implementing a successful outsourced sales strategy is identifying the type of service you need. The following sales tasks are some of the best candidates for outsourcing:

Appointment Setting

Appointment setting entails identifying and engaging prospects in order to book an appointment between the prospect and one of your account executives. This process uses a mix of sales and marketing techniques such as sending outbound emails, making cold calls, and leveraging supporting content such as case studies.

A successful appointment setting program requires time, money, and effort in training SDRs to become top performers. When you outsource this process, you can access the best professionals in the field and the latest technology as well as resources without blowing your budget.

Pricing models for outsourced appointment setting services can include:

Hourly rates: The average hourly rate of appointment setting agencies is between $25 and $50 per hour.¹

Pay per performance: In this model, you pay only for booked appointments. The average cost per booked appointment ranges depending on the complexity of securing the meeting. An appointment with an enterprise CEO will be more expensive than with a back-office manager.

Retainer basis: This usually applies to custom solutions, and the price varies depending on the project’s complexity and the quality of the agency. Typically retainers start around $8,000.

Lead Generation

Lead generation involves attracting potential customers to a business. It is a marketing task, but salespeople rely heavily on this process to ensure their pipeline is filled with a steady stream of conversion opportunities.

Most lead generation strategies involve leveraging content that resonates with the target audience. Since content creation tasks are time-consuming and require specialized skills, they are ideal for outsourcing.

Lead generation campaigns are paid on a contract basis or per acquired lead. The average cost per lead (CPL) is $198, but prospects that have passed through extensive qualification can be more expensive.²

List Building

List building refers to acquiring a list of potential customers within your target demographic.

Building your own lead list can be time-consuming, and businesses often can’t afford the risks of having their pipeline running dry. This makes list building an excellent task for outsourcing, as it can help to effectively expand your business’ reach.

Similar to lead generation, list building services are billed per project or for each CPL. These industries have the highest average CPL:

Cost Comparison of In-house and Outsourced Sales Teams

Budget is usually the main consideration when deciding whether to build an in-house team, outsource specific tasks, or outsource the entire process. Here’s a comparison to help you get a better idea of how much these options cost:

Cost of an Outsourced Sales Team

The costs of outsourcing vary depending on factors such as:

Type of project: Custom solutions are typically more expensive. You should also expect to pay more if you require a specialized, dedicated team for your project.

Time frame: Businesses need to invest more money when looking for speedy results, as the outsourcing provider will have to use more resources.

Call volume: SDRs can make between 30 and 100 calls daily³, depending on their quota and goals. The more calls they make, the higher the chance of setting appointments with qualified leads.

Complexity of your products and services: B2B transactions usually take time, as they deal with multiple decision-makers. Your sales cycle can also take longer if you’re selling big-ticket items.

Outsourcing your sales process is not cheap, but when you take all points into consideration, you will often find it more affordable than building an in-house team.

Here are the sales outsourcing prices from top US providers:

Service Provider	Minimum Project Size	Average rate
Belkins	$5,000+	$25/ hr
SalesRoads	$5,000+	Undisclosed
Martal Group	$5,000+	$25- $49/ hr
Cleverly	$1,000+	$25- $49/ hr
Cience Technologies	$5,000+	$25/ hr
Upcall	$1,000+	$25/ hr
Leadium	$1,000+	$25/ hr

Benefits of Choosing a Reliable Sales Outsourcing Company

You will get several advantages by working with a reliable sales outsourcing firm:

Mitigate potential risk: The common risks of outsourcing sales are quality issues and lack of control. A reliable sales outsourcing agency can prevent those by offering transparent services that welcome your input.

Generate ROI faster: The average onboarding period of a sales rep is 4.5 months⁴, and it takes at least 12 months to make them top performers. By outsourcing, you can leverage the service provider’s trained workforce to achieve your goals sooner.

Create an efficient sales process: By leveraging the provider’s preexisting infrastructure and processes, outsourcing enables you to develop a seamless sales cycle.

How to Evaluate the Price of a Sales Outsourcing Firm

The ultimate goal of outsourcing your sales process is to generate an ROI. You should know a seemingly affordable solution can end up being incredibly expensive if you don’t generate more sales.

Here are some numbers to consider as part of a cost-benefit analysis of your potential sales outsourcing partner:

Average contract value (ACV) – Also known as an average sales price, this is the average value of a new contract or customer. Use this number to understand the return of a closed deal.

Close rate – Close rate is expressed as a percentage and measures how many opportunities convert into sales. You can use your close rate and ACV to determine how many appointments you need to generate an ROI.

ROI = (Appointments Set) x (Close Rate) x (ACV) – (Cost of Outsourcing)

Bottom Line

The cost of sales outsourcing depends on factors such as task difficulty, deadline, and scope of work, but it is significantly cheaper than building an in-house team. Make sure to choose a reliable service provider to enjoy all the benefits that outsourcing has to offer.

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Sales Outsourcing Pricing [Cost Comparison of Top US Vendors]