Recent data indicates that Australian companies struggle to keep their Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) on board. Why? At many companies, SDRs grapple with burnout, high pressure to hit targets and limited advancement opportunities.
For businesses, this isn’t great news. The financial implications of high SDR turnover are substantial. The average salary for an SDR in Australia is approximately $84,000 per year, with base pay ranging from $60,000 to $70,000. So, when factoring in recruitment, training, and lost productivity, the cost of replacing an SDR can be significantly higher.
In response, many Australian businesses are turning to managed appointment setting services. If you feel that your in-house SDR team might be struggling, outsourced SDR services might be the answer for you, too.
Common Challenges Facing In-House SDR Teams
In-house SDRs often find themselves grappling with a set of challenges–in and outside of their company–that can hinder their performance and morale. And whatever your SDRs are struggling with has a ripple effect on your business. These challenges are why many Australian companies are turning to managed appointment setting and hiring outsourced SDR services.
High Turnover and Training Costs
The SDR role is notorious for its high attrition rates. Many companies in Australia experience annual turnover rates for SDRs, with many leaving due to burnout or lack of career progression opportunities. Each departure sets off a costly cycle of recruitment, onboarding, and training.
The Australian HR Institute found that the cost to hire an employee in Australia was $23,860 per worker in 2021, and it took an average of 40 days to find a new hire.
Inconsistent Performance Metrics
A high SDR turnover inevitably impacts your lead conversion rates and sales development ROI. With new hires cycling in and out, the time and resources spent on training can significantly disrupt momentum. In an SDR team management effort, companies often pull experienced team members away from their core tasks to help onboard and train new recruits.
To mitigate these challenges, many businesses are exploring alternative strategies such as outsourcing appointment setting, which can help stabilise performance metrics and reduce the dependency on constantly onboarding new staff.
The Hidden Costs of Managing Internal SDR Operations
Aside from the cost of replacing SDRs, managing an in-house team brings a host of hidden expenses that can quickly add up. Because of these costs, the battle between in-house vs outsourced SDRs often has a clear winner: outsourced SDR services, managed appointment setting or B2B appointment scheduling.
Infrastructure and Technology Expenses
For starters, companies often need to invest in tools and technology, such as CRM systems, sales automation platforms, and lead generation software, to make sure that their SDRs can perform effectively. These costs can run into the thousands annually, and keeping systems updated requires continuous investment.
Management Overhead and Resource Allocation
SDR team management often involves significant overhead. Sales managers have to allocate time and resources to recruitment, training, performance monitoring, and coaching. Replacing every SDR that quits can incur significant costs, not to mention the time needed to train them, as well as reduced lead conversion rates and overall sales development ROI before they learn the ins and outs of the job.
Benefits of Outsourced Appointment Setting Services
In the battle of in-house vs outsourced SDRs, managed appointment setting often wins. Why? For starters, it’s more manageable and often turns out to be the most cost-effective solution in the long term. While in-house SDR team management struggles with many challenges, outsourced SDR services are designed to streamline the sales process and deliver consistent results without the headaches of hiring, training, and retaining talent.
Scalability and Flexibility Advantages
Managed appointment setting essentially allows companies to have a team of SDRs on demand. This means that you can scale your team fast when business is booming and shrink it equally fast when adjusting to seasonal fluctuations in sales.
Access to Proven Systems and Processes
Whether you’re scaling or adjusting your SDR team, you get a high sales meeting quality from trained SDRs who specialise in bringing high lead conversion rates to the table at all times. This translates into proven systems and processes that are almost guaranteed to bring you the sales development ROI you’re expecting (as long as you hire reputable outsourced SDR services).
Measuring the ROI of Managed SDR Services
When deciding between in-house vs outsourced SDRs, you might be asking yourself what sales development ROI, KPIs and benchmarks you can expect from outsourced SDR services.
While the actual numbers vary greatly depending on your industry, product, processes and team, let’s take a look at a few factors.
Key Performance Indicators and Benchmarks
B2B appointment scheduling often focuses on metrics such as lead generation volume, conversion rates, average deal size and sales cycle length. Typically, the ROI of a managed appointment setting is higher than that of an in-house SDR team. In fact, companies using outsourced SDR services report higher lead conversion rates and shorter sales cycles.
Cost Comparison Analysis
Outsourced SDR services typically offer varying pricing structures that bring in more flexibility in terms of costs. For instance, you can opt for pay-per-lead, pay-for-performance, or fixed-fee contracts, depending on how much risk you want to tolerate and your KPIs.
So, if leads are the most important metric you’re going after, you may choose to pay your SDRs per lead. Plus, managed appointment setting eliminates all the additional costs of in-house SDR team management, such as onboarding and training costs.
Making the Transition: Implementation Strategy
If, at this point, you’re considering hiring outsourced SDR services for your Australian company, there are a few things you might want to take into account before you select your managed appointment setting agency.
Selecting the Right Managed Service Provider
It goes without saying that the right B2B appointment scheduling services are crucial for achieving the sales goals you’re after. You’ll want to choose a managed appointment setting agency that has experience serving companies within your industry, knows the best sales practices in said industry, and offers transparent pricing models.
Integration with Existing Sales Processes
Another important thing when choosing outsourced SDR services is to select a team that can integrate with your existing sales processes rather than impose new ones. While you want their expertise in managed appointment setting, you also want to establish clear processes, communication channels, and KPIs for them to stick to. If their workflows don’t complement your existing processes, there may be a bit of internal chaos that can hinder the results of your collaboration.
Set Your Appointments With Us
Looking for outsourced SDR services or B2B appointment scheduling services? At J2 Group, we help Australian businesses grow with managed appointment setting. Our Melbourne-based team offers services like personalised lead generation, outsourced SDR services, managed appointment setting and professional telemarketing.
If you’re looking for a team of professionals to help you find new customers and close more deals, contact us.
