07.03.2025

Sales Team for Hire: How Sales-as-a-Service is Accelerating Outbound Growth in 2025

Hire an SDR

Major Takeaways: Hire a Sales Team

Speed to Market Without Hiring Delays

  • Outsourced sales teams ramp up in 30–45 days, cutting traditional in-house hiring cycles by over 75%.

Cost Savings Without Compromising Performance

  • Companies that hire a sales team externally report saving 30–50% on sales costs compared to internal hires.

Access to Top Talent and Tools

  • A virtual sales team brings experienced SDRs, proven sales playbooks, and advanced tools without extra overhead.

Flexible Scaling for Dynamic Sales Needs

  • Sales-as-a-Service allows you to scale up or down on demand, supporting product launches, seasonal spikes, or geographic expansion.

Better Lead Quality and Pipeline Growth

  • Outsourced sales providers use real-time intent data and multichannel outreach to deliver higher-converting leads and faster pipeline growth.

Aligning Sales Strategy with Business Goals

  • Outsourcing helps B2B leaders focus internal teams on closing while aligning external teams to top-of-funnel KPIs.

Seamless Integration with Your Brand

  • With the right onboarding and communication, a sales team for hire can represent your brand with accuracy and professionalism.

Improved ROI Across Sales Operations

  • Outsourced teams reduce customer acquisition costs and improve time-to-revenue, delivering measurable outbound ROI.

Introduction

What if you could hire a sales team overnight, without the headaches of recruiting and training? In 2025, that scenario is a reality for many B2B companies. A growing number of CMOs, CROs, and VPs of Sales are embracing Sales-as-a-Service – essentially sales teams for hire – to accelerate their outbound growth. And the trend is backed by data: nearly 50% of B2B companies would consider outsourcing their sales development efforts (3), and 66% of U.S. businesses outsource at least one department already (2). Why? Because building an in-house sales team can be slow, costly, and limiting. By contrast, outsourcing inside sales provides on-demand sales talent, proven outreach playbooks, and immediate scalability.

This comprehensive guide dives straight into how hiring an external sales team (a virtual extension of your org) can turbocharge your pipeline. We’ll explore the latest 2025 trends in outsourced sales, strategic comparisons of in-house vs. outsourced teams, the ROI you can expect, and practical tips on how to hire a sales team through a Sales-as-a-Service model. You’ll also get data-backed insights, real-world examples, and answers to FAQs – all in a professional yet conversational tone.

If you’re a B2B leader looking to boost outbound lead generation, shorten ramp times, and drive revenue growth without the usual growing pains, you’re in the right place. Let’s break down the why, what, and how of hiring a sales team for hire – and how it could be the strategic advantage your company needs in 2025.

Why B2B Companies Are Turning to Sales-as-a-Service in 2025

66% of U.S. businesses now outsource at least one department, with sales and marketing among the top front-office functions.

Reference Source: DOIT Software

Sales-as-a-Service – the practice of outsourcing all or part of your sales process to a third party – has gone mainstream in 2025. It’s no longer just a cost-cutting tactic; it’s a strategic growth lever. Several trends have converged to make hiring an external sales team an attractive option for B2B firms:

  • Remote Sales Boom: The pandemic normalized remote work and virtual selling. Now it’s common to hire a virtual sales team that operates remotely but delivers globally. Geography is no barrier – you can tap top sales talent anywhere in the world. This means a larger talent pool and often lower costs. In fact, outsourcing services are projected to reach $525 billion by 2030 as companies leverage global talent (1). Sales teams for hire are a natural extension of this global outsourcing boom.
  • Demand for Speed: In today’s fast-paced market, companies can’t afford a lengthy sales hiring cycle. By 2025, 80% of B2B buyer–supplier interactions occur in digital channels (6), compressing sales cycles. Companies that respond first often win – and building an internal team takes time. This urgency has driven interest in on-demand sales teams that can start producing results in weeks. (We’ll see more on how outsourced teams drastically cut ramp-up time in the next section.)
  • Focus on Core Competencies: For product-led organizations and lean startups, dedicating precious time to manage a full in-house SDR team is a distraction. Outsourcing outbound sales allows companies to focus on their core business, while lead generation specialist teams handle prospecting. As one CEO put it, outsourcing prospecting means “you don’t have to be a lead generation expert to grow your business” – you let specialists handle that heavy lifting (7). This is increasingly appealing in 2025’s environment, where 74% of employers struggle to find skilled sales talent in-house (1).
  • Front-Office Outsourcing Acceptance: Outsourcing isn’t just for back-office tasks anymore. Half of executives now use third parties for front-office functions like sales and marketing (1). The stigma is gone; companies large and small are comfortable partnering with external teams for customer-facing roles as long as they deliver results. In short, sales outsourcing has matured into a trusted strategy, not a taboo.
  • Outcome-Oriented Mindset: B2B leaders today care less about headcount and more about outcomes. A sales team for hire typically operates on clear sales KPIs – meetings booked, opportunities created, revenue influenced – making ROI more transparent. This commercial intent (you pay for performance) aligns well with modern sales org goals. No wonder 79% of businesses that outsourced sales felt they were able to scale faster as a result (4).

In summary, 2025 has created the perfect environment for Sales-as-a-Service to thrive. Digital-first buyers, tight labor markets, and pressure to grow fast have opened the door for outsourced sales teams to step in as a fractional extension of many companies. Before we dive into the how-tos, let’s clarify what you actually gain by hiring an external sales team.

Key Benefits of Hiring an External Sales Team (Sales-as-a-Service)

Sales outsourcing can reduce total sales costs by 30–50% compared to hiring and managing an internal sales team.

Reference Source: Tendril 

Why hire a sales team from an outside provider instead of building your own? Simply put, a good Sales-as-a-Service partner brings immediate firepower to your outbound efforts. Here are the top benefits – backed by statistics – that B2B organizations are seeing:

  • 🚀 Speed to Market: An outsourced sales team can start generating pipeline in a fraction of the time an in-house team would take to hire and onboard. Instead of spending 4–6 months recruiting and training SDRs, you can have a fully functional team in 30–45 days (8). Providers maintain a bench of trained reps ready to go, cutting ramp-up time dramatically. The result: you engage prospects faster and beat competitors to opportunities. In fact, using Sales-as-a-Service cuts the typical hiring timeline by 75% or more (8), allowing you to capitalize on market demand right now.
  • 💰 Cost Efficiency: Outsourcing often delivers the same (or better) results at a significantly lower cost. You avoid salaries, benefits, office space, and turnover costs. Instead, you pay a flat fee or performance-based rate. Studies show outsourced sales can reduce total sales costs by 30–50% compared to in-house (11). Some businesses have saved even more – up to 60% savings in sales expense by using external teams (12). For example, one analysis found a $100K/year in-house rep actually costs ~$230K after overhead (9), whereas an outsourced equivalent comes at roughly half that cost (9). For budget-conscious companies, this kind of savings is a game-changer.
  • 🎯 Access to Expert Talent: When you hire a sales team from a specialized firm, you’re getting experienced sales professionals with proven playbooks. These reps have honed their outreach techniques across industries and know how to handle common objections. You’re not wagering on a rookie rep learning on the job – you’re leveraging experts who can hit the ground running. Outsourced firms often bring industry-specific expertise and multilingual teams from day one (5), which would take years to cultivate internally. They also stay up-to-date on the latest tools and tactics (because it’s their core business to excel at sales). It’s like plugging into an instant knowledge base of outbound sales best practices.
  • ⚖️ Scalability & Flexibility: Need to ramp your outreach quickly for a big product launch or end-of-quarter push? Or perhaps scale down during a slow season? An outsourced sales team offers unmatched flexibility. You can scale headcount up or down on-demand (7) by adjusting your contract – without the pain of hiring or layoffs. This agility means you always have the right-sized team for your goals. In-house teams, by contrast, are slow to scale and costly to downsize (severance, morale impact, etc.). As business needs change, a sales team for hire changes with you, hassle-free. It’s an elastic workforce for your pipeline.
  • 🔄 Focus on Core Business: Every hour your VP of Sales spends recruiting SDRs or your account executives spend sourcing cold sales leads is an hour not spent on high-value activities (like closing deals or refining product strategy). Outsourcing outbound functions frees up your internal team’s bandwidth. Your in-house salespeople can focus on what they do best – building relationships and closing deals – while the outsourced team fills the top of the funnel. Meanwhile, your leadership can concentrate on strategy and product, rather than managing day-to-day B2B prospecting. This division of labor often leads to better overall performance. Think of it as removing the prospecting burden from your core team so they can operate at full strength on core sales tasks.
  • ✅ Proven Processes & Tools: Sales-as-a-Service providers come equipped with refined processes, data resources, and tech stacks that many small-to-mid companies don’t have. For example, an outsourcing sales agency might provide access to premium contact databases, intent data, email automation platforms, auto-dialers, and analytics dashboards as part of the service. You essentially get cutting-edge sales technology and data tools included (7), without having to buy and integrate them yourself. Moreover, these teams have established cadences (e.g. multi-touch outreach sequences, follow-up schedules) that have been optimized over dozens of outbound campaigns. You’re not figuring out the process – you’re plugging into a machine that’s already optimized for conversion. This leads to higher productivity and throughput right out of the gate.

Data Spotlight: It’s not just theory – companies are seeing tangible benefits from these advantages. 79% of businesses using outsourced sales services say it enabled them to expand faster (4), and a survey found that outsourcing lead generation can produce up to 43% better results than handling it internally (5). Additionally, cold outreach is far from dead: 78% of decision-makers have taken a meeting or event due to an email or cold call (4). In other words, a skilled external team will get you in front of prospects that your internal team might never reach, translating to better pipeline management and more revenue.

By tapping into these benefits, companies in 2025 are treating Sales-as-a-Service not as an experiment, but as a strategic extension of their sales organization. However, to fully appreciate the value, it helps to compare the outsourced model directly against the traditional in-house approach. Let’s do that next.

In-House vs. Outsourced Sales Teams: A Direct Comparison

Sales-as-a-Service teams can be deployed in 30–45 days, compared to the 4–6 months it typically takes to hire and onboard internal sales reps.

Reference Source: Martal Group – The 2025 Speed to Market Playbook

How does a “sales team for hire” stack up against building an internal sales development team? Each approach has its pros and cons. Below we compare key factors side by side to illustrate the differences:

Factor

In-House Sales Team

Sales-as-a-Service Team

Ramp-Up Speed

Hiring and onboarding are slow – it can take 4–6 months for new sales hires to reach full productivity (8). You start from scratch with each rep.

Team is ready to go in weeks. Providers cut ramp time to ~30–45 days for a functional SDR team (8). No lengthy hiring delays – they hit the ground running.

Cost Structure

Significant fixed costs: salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, office space, plus hidden costs (training, turnover). Sales team expenses can eat up 20–30% of revenue (9). Replacing one rep can cost tens of thousands in recruiting and lost productivity.

Variable costs on a contract. No benefits or overhead on your books. Companies report saving roughly 30–50% on sales operation costs by outsourcing (9). You pay for output, and the provider absorbs hiring costs, tools, and HR burden.

Expertise & Talent

Quality depends on your ability to find and develop talent. New hires may need extensive training in your industry. In-house teams build deep product knowledge over time, but initial learning curve is high.

Access to experienced sales professionals with domain expertise. Outsourced reps often have industry-specific knowledge and proven outreach playbooks from day one (5). The team brings collective experience gained across multiple clients – often yielding creative tactics and insights you might not develop internally.

Scalability

Limited flexibility. Scaling up means lengthy hiring (or transferring reps from other teams), and scaling down may involve layoffs. It’s hard to quickly adjust team size to meet demand spikes or dips.

Highly scalable. Need to double your SDRs for a campaign next quarter? Just request it. Need to pause or reduce scope? Easy to dial back the contract. You can scale the team up or down on short notice without the usual friction (7). This elasticity is ideal for adapting to market changes.

Control & Alignment

You have direct oversight of the team’s day-to-day activities, culture, and messaging. In-house teams are deeply ingrained in your company and fully immersed in your product and values. This can be crucial for complex enterprise sales requiring tight coordination.

You’ll need to invest in communication and onboarding to ensure the outsourced team understands your product, brand, and messaging. You won’t see them at the office daily, so trust and regular syncs are key. Reputable providers mitigate this by training their reps on your offering and maintaining transparency. Many companies find that with good onboarding, outsourced reps can represent the brand nearly as seamlessly as employees.

Technology & Tools

You bear the responsibility for CRM, sales engagement software, data tools, and their upkeep. If budgets are tight, your team might operate with suboptimal tools or data, which can hinder performance. All tech integration and admin falls on your shoulders.

Included tools and tech. Top Sales-as-a-Service firms come with advanced sales tech stacks in place – e.g. dialers, email automation, LinkedIn outreach tools, contact databases, and even AI-driven outbound prospecting platforms – all bundled into the service (7). This means your outsourced team often has better tech at their fingertips, without you having to invest in each tool. It also ensures proper lead tracking and analytics from day one.

Table: In-house vs. outsourced sales team differences in 2025.

Both models can work, and many organizations choose a hybrid approach – for example, keeping closers in-house but outsourcing SDR/appointment-setting to feed the pipeline (7). The table highlights that an in-house team offers greater control and internal alignment, which can be important for brand and culture. Outsourced teams, on the other hand, excel in speed, cost efficiency, and scalability, which drive faster growth.

The key is to assess what your business needs most:

  • If you require rapid pipeline generation, cost savings, and flexibility, an outsourced sales team is incredibly advantageous.
  • If your sales process is highly technical or relationship-based (e.g. selling complex enterprise software with long cycles), you might keep certain roles in-house for deep product expertise, while still outsourcing prospecting to specialists.

Most modern B2B companies find a balance. As one industry survey noted, the majority of successful B2B firms leverage outsourcing in some capacity to stay competitive  (10). In 2025, it’s rarely all-or-nothing. The question becomes how to hire and integrate an outsourced team effectively. That’s what we’ll tackle next.

How to Hire a Sales Team via Sales-as-a-Service

79% of businesses that outsourced sales said it helped them scale faster and more efficiently.

Reference Source: TTEC 

So you’re convinced of the benefits and ready to explore hiring a sales team externally – how do you actually do it? Engaging a Sales-as-a-Service partner requires a strategic approach to get the most value. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to hire a virtual/outside sales team and set the stage for success:

  1. Define Your Goals and Metrics: Start with clarity on what you want this outsourced team to achieve. Are you looking to book 20 extra sales meetings per month? Generate $X in pipeline from a new market segment? Identify your primary lead generation KPIs (e.g. number of qualified leads per month, cost per lead, conversion rate to opportunity). Also determine your target customer profiles and regions. Having concrete goals and an ideal customer profile will help both you and the provider measure success. Be as specific as possible – “increase outbound leads” is vague, whereas “book 15 demo appointments with enterprise fintech prospects per month” is clear and actionable.
  2. Choose the Right Outsourcing Model: Sales-as-a-Service is not one-size-fits-all. Determine what level of service you need:
    • Lead Generation/SDR Team: Do you primarily need top-of-funnel support (prospecting, cold emailing, cold calling, LinkedIn outreach)? Many providers specialize in appointment setting and lead qualification, essentially acting as your SDR and BDR team.
    • Full-Cycle Sales Team: In some cases, you might hire a team that can take deals from first contact all the way to close. This is less common but possible if you need end-to-end coverage (for example, launching in a new geographic market with no local salespeople).
    • Fractional SDR Manager or Consulting: Maybe you have reps but need leadership. Some firms offer fractional VP of Sales or sales consulting as part of Sales-as-a-Service to guide strategy and training.
      Decide if you want a dedicated team (working only for you) or a shared team (cheaper, but reps handle multiple clients). Dedicated teams cost more but act truly as your team members. Shared resources can be cost-effective for smaller needs.
  3. Research and Shortlist Providers: Not all sales outsourcing agencies are equal. Look for reputable providers with experience in your industry and target markets. Ask for referrals or case studies in your domain – e.g., if you sell SaaS, has the provider worked with SaaS companies before? Key things to evaluate:
    • Track Record: What results have they delivered for similar clients? (e.g. “helped X company triple their lead flow in 6 months”).
    • Expertise of Team: Who are their sales reps and managers? Do they have backgrounds that align with your needs (tech savvy, multilingual, etc.)?
    • Services and Scale: Can they handle the scale you need? Ensure they have enough capacity to add reps if you plan to grow the engagement.
    • Client Retention and Reviews: Happy long-term clients are a great sign. Check for testimonials or ask to speak with a reference.
    • Avoid Competitor Providers: Steer clear of agencies that might conflict with your business or represent your competitors. You want a partner that will focus on your success without overlap in prospect lists.
  4. Assess Technology and Data Capabilities: A modern sales team for hire should come with strong tech support. In initial discussions, inquire about:
    • CRM & Integration: Do they integrate with your CRM or provide their own? Smooth data flow is important so leads seamlessly transfer to your salespeople.
    • Tools: What dialer, email automation, and prospecting tools do they use? Top firms will mention platforms or proprietary tools (for example, Martal Group provides an AI-driven sales engagement platform as part of their service).
    • Data Sources: Do they build targeted lead lists for you? Using what data (LinkedIn, intent data providers, etc.)? Quality data is the fuel for effective outbound. A good partner will have access to premium data sources to find prospects that match your ideal customer profile.
    • Compliance: Ensure they follow email/communication laws (CAN-SPAM, GDPR, etc.) and have strict data security. In 2025, data privacy is paramount – any slip-up can hurt your brand. Providers should be prepared to explain how they handle opt-outs, data storage, and comply with regulations. Only work with sales and marketing outsourcing firms that treat your brand and data as carefully as you do.
  5. Engagement Structure & Trial: Before you commit long-term, consider starting with a pilot project or trial period. Many providers will offer a 3-month pilot program. This lets you evaluate performance on a small scale. Clearly outline the scope: e.g., “1 SDR for 3 months to target XYZ industry and set meetings.” Set milestone metrics for the trial (such as number of meetings or SQLs). A pilot protects both sides – you get proof of concept, and the provider gets a chance to demonstrate value. If it goes well, you can smoothly scale up; if not, you can course-correct or exit without a massive sunk cost. Tip: Even during a trial, treat the outsourced reps as part of your team – invite them to product training calls, share feedback, and integrate them into your weekly cadence. The more information and support you provide, the better they can represent you.
  6. Align on Communication and Reporting: Clear communication is the backbone of a successful outsourcing relationship. When hiring a sales team service, establish how you will collaborate:
    • Point of Contact: Who on your side will manage the relationship? Often a marketing or sales leader oversees the outsourced team’s work. Also know who the provider’s team leader or account manager is.
    • Meetings: Set a regular sync (weekly or bi-weekly) to review progress, share feedback, and adjust targeting or messaging as needed. Treat these meetings like you would an internal sales team meeting.
    • Reporting: Ensure the provider will deliver detailed reports on activities and results. At minimum, you should see metrics like number of outreach attempts, conversations, appointments set, conversion rates, etc. Many providers have dashboards or will send weekly reports. In 2025, real-time analytics are common – some even give you a client portal to watch the funnel in real time. Demand transparency. You should know exactly what the outsourced reps are doing on your behalf.
    • Quality Assurance: Discuss how quality will be maintained. Will calls be recorded? Can you review sales email templates? Establish upfront that you’d like to periodically review messaging or sit in on a call to ensure brand alignment. A professional firm will welcome this, as they’re proud of their quality.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to finding and onboarding the right sales partner. Remember, when you hire a virtual sales team, you’re also hiring their expertise and processes – so choose a partner you feel aligns with your company’s style and values. The goal is a seamless extension of your team, not just a vendor.

Next, let’s look at what these outsourced sales teams actually do to drive outbound success – and the tools and tactics they employ to get you results.

Outbound Sales Strategies and Tools Used by “Sales Teams for Hire”

Omnichannel outreach achieves a 31% lower cost per lead than single-channel sales strategies.

Reference Source: Sopro

One of the reasons companies see great results with Sales-as-a-Service is because these providers live and breathe outbound strategy. An outsourced sales team will typically deploy a multi-pronged approach to generate sales leads and appointments. Here’s what that often looks like:

Omnichannel Outreach & Personalized Touches

Gone are the days of relying on a single channel. External sales teams leverage omnichannel outreach to maximize engagement:

  • B2B Cold Email Campaigns: Well-crafted, personalized emails are a staple. Rather than generic blasts, outsourced SDRs send targeted emails that speak to each prospect’s pain points (often referencing industry specifics or triggers). They use proven templates and A/B testing to refine subject lines and messaging that get replies. Email remains powerful – nearly 73% of B2B buyers still say email is their preferred way to hear from sellers (13). The key is personalization and persistence, which a dedicated team provides.
  • Cold Calling with a Human Touch: Yes, cold calling is alive – but it’s more strategic now. Skilled reps will call prospects after an email touch or LinkedIn touch, creating a multi-touch cadence. They prepare talking points and value props so those calls aren’t “cold” in quality. This approach works: 78% of decision-makers have attended an event or taken a meeting thanks to a cold call or email (4). A sales team for hire often has call scripts and voicemail outreach strategies honed over hundreds of calls, improving the odds of conversion.
  • LinkedIn and Social Selling: Expect outsourced SDRs to be active on LinkedIn – sending connection requests, engaging with prospect posts, and dropping thoughtful InMail messages. Social selling builds familiarity. By the time a call happens, the prospect might already recognize your company name from a LinkedIn touch. In 2025, top outsourcing partners integrate LinkedIn steps into their cadences (e.g. view profile, like a post, then message). This softens the approach and can boost response rates.
  • Other Channels: Depending on the target audience, some teams also use SMS texts (where appropriate and compliant) or even direct mail for high-value accounts. The idea is to surround the prospect through multiple mediums, increasing the chance of breaking through. An omnichannel marketing strategy was shown to achieve a 31% lower cost per lead than single-channel outreach (13) – because you connect with business leads more efficiently.

These outreach sequences are typically orchestrated in a synchronized way. For example: Day 1 email, Day 3 LinkedIn touch, Day 5 call + voicemail, Day 7 email follow-up, etc. Outsourced providers use sequencing tools to manage this across potentially thousands of prospects without letting any slip through the cracks. For you, this means systematic coverage of your target market.

Sales Playbooks and Messaging

Another strength of outsourced teams: they usually come with battle-tested sales playbooks. Early on, they’ll work with you to learn your value proposition and key messages. Then they incorporate that into their proven frameworks:

  • ICP Targeting: They’ll help refine your ideal customer profile and build prospect lists accordingly. Many providers subscribe to databases (ZoomInfo, Crunchbase, etc.) and can quickly pull lists of leads that match your criteria (industry, job title, company size, region). Some even use intent data (monitoring which companies are searching for terms related to your solution) to prioritize “warm” outbound targets. This intelligent targeting ensures higher hit rates.
  • Messaging Sequences: Outsourced SDRs often have a library of outbound email templates and call scripts that they know work, which they tailor to your offering. They might implement a storyline over a sequence – e.g., Email 1: introduce problem, Email 2: share a case study, Email 3: offer a meeting with an insight, etc. Their experience helps in crafting messages that resonate. (Pro tip: Ask if they will do A/B testing on subject lines or value propositions – many will, continuously improving the messaging.)
  • Handling Objections: Because these reps focus purely on prospecting day in and day out, they get very good at common objections (“Not interested,” “We have no budget,” “Call me next quarter”). Good outsourced teams have playbook guidance on overcoming each objection and keeping the conversation alive. This means more prospects convert to opportunities instead of falling out after a single rejection. Your internal team benefits by getting well-nurtured, pre-qualified leads handed off to them.

All of this is done in close consultation with you. In the onboarding phase, you’ll typically share sales collateral, do a product demo for the outsourced team, and align on key selling points. The best providers essentially act as an extension of your marketing/sales, crafting messaging that fits your brand voice (but with the added spice of their outbound expertise). Don’t be afraid that an outside team won’t “get it” – with proper onboarding, they often grasp the sales pitch quickly and may even refine it with fresh perspective.

Tools & Technology Stack

As mentioned earlier, Sales-as-a-Service teams come armed with technology. Here are some tools they commonly use (and that you benefit from):

  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Many will work directly in your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) or sync to it, so you have full visibility. If not, they have their own CRM to track prospects and will provide you access or reports. Either way, every contact and touchpoint is logged.
  • Sales Engagement Platform: This is the software that automates the outreach sequences. Platforms or proprietary systems send the emails, create task lists for calls, and monitor engagement. These tools ensure consistent follow-up – e.g., if a prospect doesn’t reply to the first email, the system auto-schedules the second email a few days later, and so on. They also provide analytics (open rates, reply rates) which the team analyzes to optimize campaigns.
  • Dialers and VoIP: Rather than manual dialing, outsourced SDRs often use power dialers or click-to-call systems integrated with their CRM. This increases call efficiency dramatically (no time wasted punching numbers). Some use local presence dialing (showing a local area code on caller ID) to boost answer rates. Modern cloud phone systems log calls and can record conversations for quality control (with compliance to consent laws).
  • Data Intelligence: To keep the pipeline flowing, these teams leverage data tools. This might include LinkedIn Sales Navigator for prospect research, Apollo or ZoomInfo for contact info, and data enrichment tools that provide direct dials and verified emails. By having these tools in-house, the provider ensures they always have fresh leads to contact. They may also use intent data providers or technographic data (knowing what software a prospect company uses) to sharpen targeting.
  • AI and Automation: 2025 has seen an uptick in AI usage in sales. Some outsourcing firms incorporate AI to, say, draft personalized email snippets or analyze which prospects are engaging. ChatGPT-like tools can help craft tailored messages at scale. AI-based lead scoring might rank inbound responses so the hottest leads get immediate attention. While not every provider is advanced here, many are experimenting with AI to augment their human efforts. (Notably, McKinsey estimates generative AI could add $0.8–$1.2 trillion in annual sales productivity (6), so expect AI to increasingly support outsourced sales efforts.)

From a client perspective, all this tech and know-how being handled for you is a relief. You don’t have to buy a dozen lead generation software licenses, set up sequences from scratch, or figure out deliverability hacks – your partner does it. It’s one of the hidden gems of Sales-as-a-Service: you get an enterprise-grade sales development infrastructure on day one.

Emphasis on Data and Iteration

Finally, professional outsourced teams are very metrics-driven. They will track performance diligently:

  • Open rates, reply rates for each email template.
  • Call connection rates and outcomes (how many dials to reach a decision-maker, how many conversations convert to a follow-up).
  • Meeting set and meeting held rates.
  • Ultimately, how many of those meetings or leads convert to pipeline/revenue (if they have insight into later stages).

They don’t just report these; they analyze and iterate. For example, if an email template is underperforming, they’ll tweak the copy or try a new approach in the next cadence. If a certain industry vertical isn’t responding, they might shift focus to a different segment or adjust the value proposition for that industry. This continuous improvement mindset means your campaign shouldn’t go stale. Over a 6-month engagement, the messaging and targeting today might look different than at kickoff – because it’s been refined by real-world feedback.

Bottom line: The  lead generation strategies and tools employed by a sales team for hire are sophisticated and continually optimized. By partnering with such a team, you essentially outsource not only the work of prospecting but the learning curve and experimentation that comes with it. The result is often a faster path to a robust outbound engine than if you were building one internally.

Next, let’s talk about results – how to measure the ROI of this approach and what kind of outcomes you can expect when you outsource your sales development.

Measuring ROI: What Outbound Growth Can You Expect?

Outsourcing lead generation can yield up to 43% better results than managing sales development in-house.

Reference Source: LLCBuddy 

Let’s address the million-dollar question: Does hiring an external sales team pay off? For most companies that approach it correctly, the answer is an emphatic yes. The ROI (return on investment) comes in multiple forms – increased pipeline, lower customer acquisition cost, and faster revenue growth, all while controlling costs. Here’s how to gauge success:

1. Pipeline and Revenue Impact: The most direct measure of ROI is the additional pipeline (and ultimately revenue) generated by the outsourced team. Track the opportunities created from their efforts and the conversion of those opportunities into deals. Many companies see a substantial uptick. For example, a midsize tech firm might find that after bringing on an outsourced SDR team, they’re adding 30% more qualified opportunities each quarter than before. If your average deal size is $50k, that could mean an extra $hundreds of thousands in pipeline regularly. Over the course of a year, this can translate to significant new revenue closed by your sales reps thanks to the partner’s contributions. One outsourced sales provider noted that their clients often double their pipeline within a few months of engagement – a claim that should be validated by you monitoring your own numbers closely.

2. Cost Savings Realized: On the flip side of the ROI equation is cost. Calculate what it would cost to hire, SDR salary, and equip an equivalent in-house team versus what you’re paying the provider. We’ve seen the stats: if outsourcing saves you ~30-50% of the cost for similar output (9), that difference is direct ROI back to your budget. For instance, if an in-house SDR fully loaded costs $8k/month and you’re getting an outsourced SDR for $5k/month, that’s $3k in savings per month, per rep. Multiply over a year and multiple team members – it’s substantial. Moreover, factor in avoided costs: no recruiter fees, no training program expense, no downtime when someone quits (the provider covers replacements). Many companies also consider the opportunity cost saved – your internal team can close more deals or focus on strategic tasks because their time isn’t spent prospecting. That productivity gain is a bit harder to quantify, but certainly real.

3. Faster Time to Market = Faster ROI: There’s an often overlooked benefit: speed itself has ROI. If a Sales-as-a-Service partner helps you penetrate a new market in 3 months that would’ve taken you 9 months on your own, you’re 6 months ahead in revenue generation. Those are sales cycles you don’t lose. As noted earlier, reaching prospects 3× faster by outsourcing top-of-funnel work is a realistic outcome (11). Early revenue can be reinvested, creating a growth flywheel. In competitive markets, being first can mean capturing clients that might have gone to a rival if you were slower. So, time saved is money earned.

4. Lead Quality and Conversion Rates: Quantity of leads is one thing; quality is another. A great outsourced team doesn’t just deliver more sales ready leads – they deliver better leads. Monitor the conversion rate of leads to qualified opportunities and to closed deals. If the outsourced leads convert at a higher rate than your prior in-house leads, that boosts ROI significantly. For example, maybe historically 1 in 10 cold leads turned into a customer. If the outsourced team’s leads convert 1 in 7 (because they target more precisely and nurture the lead better), that’s a higher yield on every outreach. The stat we cited earlier – outsourcing can produce up to 43% better outcomes than internal efforts (5) – speaks to this. It implies a higher success rate per attempt, meaning less waste and more bang for your buck. Keep an eye on metrics like SQL-to-opportunity and opportunity-to-win percentages for the outsourced leads versus others.

5. Intangible Benefits: Not everything is a spreadsheet formula. There are qualitative returns too:

  • Focus and Morale: Your internal sales team can focus on closing deals without being burnt out by cold calling. This often improves their morale and performance. Happier account executives might close more deals – an indirect ROI.
  • Market Feedback: Outsourced SDRs often gather market intelligence (common objections, competitor mentions, product feedback from prospects) and share it with you. This information can influence your marketing and product strategy, potentially leading to improvements and revenue upticks elsewhere.
  • Expanded Market Reach: By using a provider with multilingual or global capabilities, you might break into geographic markets you wouldn’t have attempted otherwise. Capturing even a few clients in a new region is new revenue that wouldn’t exist if you hadn’t extended your reach via outsourcing.
  • Lower Risk of Missed Quota: If your pipeline generation is consistently fueled by the partner, you reduce the risk of sales reps missing quota due to top-of-funnel shortfalls. Hitting targets more reliably quarter after quarter certainly pays off in company valuation and growth planning.

To ensure you’re getting ROI, set up a straightforward dashboard or report that ties it all together – for example:

  • Dollars spent on outsourcing (monthly fee, etc.).
  • Number of leads/opps from outsourcing.
  • Dollar value of pipeline from those opps.
  • Revenue closed from those opps (lagging indicator, but track it over time).
  • Cost per lead/opp (outsourcing cost divided by number of leads or opps).
  • Compare that cost per lead/opp to your historical internal cost per lead (marketing or sales). Many find it’s equal or lower, with the added benefits above.

Case in Point: To illustrate ROI, consider a real-world style example. Imagine a SaaS startup that struggled with outbound – their two internal SDRs managed to book only 5 meetings a month, combined. At an average deal size of $20k and 10% close rate, that was ~$10k in new monthly pipeline and 1 deal every other month. They decided to “hire a sales team” through an outsourcing firm. Within 3 months, the external SDRs were delivering 20 meetings per month. The pipeline jumped to $80k monthly, and deals started closing monthly. For an incremental cost roughly 50% of what expanding the in-house team would’ve been, the startup quadrupled its pipeline. The ROI was clear: faster growth at lower cost, with the CEO reclaiming time to focus on product and fundraising. This scenario is not uncommon – we’ve observed similar outcomes with clients who effectively leverage Sales-as-a-Service.

Of course, results will vary based on the quality of the provider and how well you integrate them. It’s important to treat outsourcing as a partnership: continuously communicate and calibrate to maximize returns. But when done right, the outbound growth trajectory can be steep. One survey found 79% of companies felt outsourcing helped them scale faster (4) – faster scaling is ROI in competitive B2B markets.

In the next section, we’ll address a few common questions that B2B leaders often ask when considering hiring a sales team externally, to clear up any remaining concerns.

Conclusion: Accelerating Outbound Growth with the Right Partner

By now, it’s clear that hiring a sales team through a Sales-as-a-Service model can be a powerful catalyst for outbound growth. In the fast-paced B2B landscape of 2025, this approach offers a way to hit the gas on lead generation and pipeline building without the usual roadblocks of time, cost, and capacity. A well-chosen outsourced sales team brings experience, speed, and scale that can elevate your sales efforts to the next level – all while your in-house team focuses on closing deals and strategic initiatives.

At Martal Group, we’ve witnessed firsthand how the Sales-as-a-Service model transforms businesses’ top-of-funnel results. By providing clients with on-demand SDR teams, cold outreach expertise, outbound lead generation campaigns, and omnichannel prospecting strategies, we help fill sales pipelines with qualified opportunities in a fraction of the time it would take to do it alone. Our approach has always been to operate as a seamless extension of our client’s sales force – bringing in the right prospects, at the right time, with the right message, so your revenue team can do what it does best: close deals and grow accounts.

If you’re looking to accelerate your outbound growth and consistently reach more ideal customers, consider leveraging an external sales team for hire as part of your strategy. With the insights and data shared in this guide, you’re equipped to evaluate if it’s the right move for your organization. The next step is a simple one. We invite you to book a free consultation to discuss your sales goals and see how a fractional SDR team might fit your needs. In a brief call, we’ll assess your situation and share tailored advice on boosting your pipeline – whether through our services or other strategies.

Don’t let another quarter slip by with missed revenue targets or an underutilized addressable market. By embracing Sales-as-a-Service, you can inject new energy and efficiency into your outbound program. The companies that move decisively will capture market share and outpace competitors in 2025’s competitive environment. If accelerating growth with less overhead sounds like the strategic boost you need, let’s chat about making it happen.

Ready to turn your sales momentum up to full throttle? Book your free consultation with Martal Group’s team and explore how a “sales team for hire” can deliver qualified leads and tangible revenue results for your business. Opportunity is knocking – let’s open the door together and seize it.

References

  1. Prialto 
  2. DOIT Software 
  3. SalesHive 
  4. TTEC 
  5. LLCBuddy 
  6. SuperOffice 
  7. Martal Group – Sales Process Optimization Guide 
  8. Martal Group – The 2025 Speed to Market Playbook 
  9. Tendril 
  10. LinkedIn (Konsyg post) 
  11. Martal Group – Outsourcing Questions 
  12. RPM BPO 
  13. Sopro 

FAQs: Hire a Sales Team

Vito Vishnepolsky
Vito Vishnepolsky
CEO and Founder at Martal Group