Outsourcing sales sounds like one thing, but there are three very different arrangements behind it with very different price tags and risks. Below: which part of your sales process you can really hand over, what it costs and why the model where you only pay on results usually disappoints in B2B.
The short answer
You can outsource the top of your funnel: finding and approaching companies up to and including the first interested reply. In the US and UK an agency typically charges $1,500 to $8,000 per month for email. You can also outsource the conversation itself, to a setter or closer, and that is charged per hour or on commission. What you cannot outsource is knowing why customers buy from you, because every piece of copy and every conversation is built on that.
We deliberately only do the first part. We find the companies, email them on your behalf and deliver the qualified positive replies to your inbox. You have the conversation, or we put a setter on it.
Three things outsourcing sales can mean
1. Only the first approach. A party builds the list, writes the copy, manages the sending and delivers the replies to you. Fixed monthly fee, predictable, and the risk of a disappointing month sits with you. This is where we sit.
2. Approach plus the qualification call. Someone is added who follows up on replies, calls and puts the meeting in your calendar. That is charged per hour or per booked meeting, and agencies that charge per meeting typically ask $200 to $1,000 each. Worthwhile if nobody on your side can respond within one working day.
3. The entire sales process, including closing. An external team that quotes and signs on your behalf. In B2B this only works with a simple, standardised offer. As soon as customisation or technology comes into play, an external closer loses out to someone who really knows the product.
Source: published 2026 pricing guides from BounceZero and Prospeo, checked on 4 October 2026.
Why no cure no pay disappoints in B2B
Paying per meeting sounds safe: you only pay for results. In practice it just shifts the problem. The supplier has to earn back their risk, so the price per meeting is high, and they earn on the number of meetings and not on their quality. In a bad month that means pressure to deliver something, and you end up with a calendar full of conversations that go nowhere.
With any results-based model, ask three things before you sign: what exactly counts as a result, who decides that, and where the cap is. Without a cap, paying per result is an open-ended bill. With too broad a definition of result, you pay for out-of-office replies.
That is why we work with a fixed monthly fee, and on the two largest packages we set a minimum number of qualified positive replies in the contract. If we do not reach it, we keep going at no cost until the number is there, for up to three extra months. The guarantee covers positive replies and not meetings, revenue or paying customers, because the latter depends on conversations we do not have.
The calculation versus hiring someone
The honest comparison is not the monthly fee against zero, but the monthly fee against what your own sales employee costs in the first year.
| Item | In-house SDR, year 1 | Outsourced email channel |
|---|---|---|
| Direct costs | US: about $114,000 / UK: about £65,000, before tooling and workspace | $24,000 to $54,000 per year on our packages, all-in |
| Cost before anything comes out of it | About three months of ramp time, so roughly a quarter of the first-year cost | Two to three weeks of setup |
| Time to first result | Around 3 months to full productivity | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Stopping | Severance in the US, notice periods and dismissal rules in the UK | Three months, then monthly |
| Risk if it underperforms | Entirely with you, and fixed | Limited to the term |
US: median SDR on-target earnings of $80,000 and a ramp time of 3 months according to The Bridge Group, plus benefits and payroll taxes at the private-industry average of 29.8 percent of total compensation (BLS, June 2025). UK: median SDR on-target earnings of £56,399 according to RepVue (July 2025), plus 15 percent employer National Insurance above £5,000 and the minimum 3 percent workplace pension. Worked out further in outsourcing cold email or hiring an SDR.
The outcome tips once you have enough volume to keep someone busy full-time and want to build the knowledge in-house. Below that point, outsourcing mainly buys you speed and the absence of a fixed overhead.
Where we draw the line
We are not a sales office and do not want to be one. What we always do: define the target group and build the verified list, write and adjust the copy, manage domains, mailboxes and warmup, read every incoming reply by hand, and report weekly on what went out and what came back.
What is not included by default: answering replies and scheduling meetings, unless you add Full Service on Scale or Pro. We do not do cold calling. And we do not guarantee meetings, revenue or paying customers, because those depend on your conversation.
That boundary is deliberate. A party that promises everything, from the first email to the signature, spreads its attention across steps it has no control over. We deliver the part we can actually steer, and are clear about the rest.
Frequently asked questions
What does outsourcing sales cost in the US and UK?
For the email channel an agency typically charges $1,500 to $8,000 per month, with most established agencies at $3,000 to $5,000. Paying per booked meeting usually runs $200 to $1,000 per meeting. An external setter or closer works by the hour or on commission. An in-house SDR has median on-target earnings of $80,000 in the US and £56,399 in the UK, before employer costs and tooling.
Isn't no cure no pay simply safer?
Rarely. The supplier has to earn back their risk, so the price per meeting is high and the incentive is on numbers rather than quality. Always ask what exactly counts as a result, who decides that and where the cap is. Without a cap it is an open-ended bill.
Do you also take over the conversations?
Not by default. With the Full Service module on Scale and Pro we answer the replies and put the meeting in your calendar. You have the sales conversation yourself, or we put a setter on it via Link2Talent.
Do I get a guarantee on results?
On the Scale and Pro packages we set a minimum number of qualified positive replies in the contract up front, calculated on your target group, offer and market size. If we do not reach it in three campaign months, we keep going at no cost until it is there, for up to three extra months. The guarantee covers positive replies, not meetings or revenue.
Can I stop early?
The first term is three months, because the first two weeks are warmup and new copy has to run for three weeks before you can judge anything. After that it continues monthly and you can cancel month by month.
Which part is best to hand over in your case?
In the free fit check we look at your target group, your offer and your follow-up capacity, and tell you which part fits with us and which part is better kept with you.
Rather email first? That works too: info@link2leads.nl