Outsourced sales development: how an SDR team fills your pipeline
How an outsourced sales development team researches accounts, runs outreach, qualifies leads and books meetings for your closers, and how to measure it honestly.
On this page
Many sales teams have the same problem: closers spend too much time prospecting and not enough time selling. An outsourced sales development team, often called SDRs, takes on the top of the funnel so your sales people can focus on deals.
What an SDR team does
- Research: build and clean lists of target accounts and contacts.
- Outreach: run sequences across phone, email, LinkedIn and WhatsApp.
- Qualification: check fit and interest against your definition of a qualified lead.
- Appointment setting: book meetings in your sales team's calendars with notes.
- Account work: renewals, upsell calls and win-back campaigns for lapsed customers.
Every activity is logged in your CRM, from day one.
Start with the definition of qualified
The most common failure is a disagreement about what counts as a good lead. Before outreach starts, agree your ideal customer profile, the buyer personas and exactly what makes a lead qualified. Write it down.
Write and test the messaging together
Scripts and emails should be drafted with you and approved by you. Then test them: different subject lines, openings and calls to action. Keep what works, drop what does not, and review calls weekly.
Ramp-up takes a few weeks
Activity starts quickly, but a new SDR team usually takes three to four weeks to reach full activity, and longer to find the messaging that works best for your market. Be wary of anyone who guarantees meetings before they have tested your market.
The funnel to measure
| Stage | What to track |
|---|---|
| Accounts | Accounts researched and contacts found |
| Contacted | Calls, emails and messages sent |
| Interested | Replies and conversations |
| Qualified | Leads meeting your definition |
| Meetings | Meetings booked and held |
| Closed | Deals your team wins from those meetings |
Track conversion between each stage, not just meetings booked. A meeting that never shows up is not pipeline.
Coaching keeps quality high
A sales team lead should review calls weekly, coach on objection handling and update scripts based on what prospects say. Feedback from your closers about meeting quality should go straight back into targeting and qualification.
Frequently asked questions
Do you guarantee meetings?
No upfront guarantee. Targets are set after testing your market, so they are realistic.
Will the team work in our CRM?
Yes. Every activity is logged in your CRM, such as Salesforce, HubSpot or Pipedrive.
Learn more about our sales and lead generation service.
Topics
- sales
- lead generation
- SDR
Maxed BPO team
Outsourcing specialists in Nairobi
Written by the people who recruit, train and run outsourced teams at Maxed BPO every day.
