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    Vs / Hire an SDR

    $200K fully loaded. 3-6 month ramp. ~50% attrition.

    Hiring an in-house SDR is a real option — and the right call for some MSPs at the right size. For most, the economics don't pencil out. Honest math on both sides.

    You own all assetsUS · CA · UK · EU · AUFully managed · we run it
    Honest take

    What hiring an SDR actually costs

    • •Base salary $60-85K + variable comp $20-40K + benefits ~30% + tools (Apollo, Sales Nav, etc.) = $120-200K fully loaded per year.
    • •3-6 months to ramp. Productive output (booked meetings) typically doesn't start until month 4.
    • •Annual attrition in the 40-60% range across the SDR profession. Average tenure: 14-18 months.
    • •Management overhead: 5-8 hours/week of someone (you) doing 1:1s, pipeline reviews, coaching, ride-alongs.
    • •Sourcing cost: recruiting fees (~$20K) or 6-8 weeks of your time to fill the role.
    What we do differently

    Side by side, plain language.

    Hire an in-house SDR

    AutomatedMSP

    Time to first booked meeting

    Month 4-5. Months 1-3 are training + ramp, not pipeline.

    Time to first booked meeting

    Month 2. We warm domains for 6 weeks, then meetings begin in weeks 7-10.

    Annual fully-loaded cost

    $120-200K (salary + variable + benefits + tools + management).

    Annual fully-loaded cost

    $18-45K (Launch $1,500/mo through Dominate $3,750/mo).

    Continuity

    When the SDR quits, you reset to month 0. Pipeline drops to zero, you hire and ramp again.

    Continuity

    The system doesn't quit. Continuity is the default; you don't lose a week of pipeline ever.

    Coverage

    1 person. 1 set of outreach. Bandwidth-limited.

    Coverage

    Multi-domain, multi-persona, multi-region. Scales sending volume without adding headcount.

    Deliverability engineering

    SDR uses whatever tools you set up. Domain reputation is your problem.

    Deliverability engineering

    Isolated sending domains, 6-week warmup, daily monitoring built in. Your main domain never touches outbound.

    Deal coaching after the reply

    Depends on the SDR's experience. Most have limited closing experience.

    Deal coaching after the reply

    Lead Manager walks every deal from reply to close. Designed for MSP owners who've never run a sales process.

    International coverage

    Hire per region or use one US-based SDR for everywhere.

    International coverage

    US · CA · UK · EU · AU/NZ built in. Region-aware compliance configured per market.

    Total cost · honest math

    What this actually costs.

    Hire an in-house SDR

    $120-200K / year

    Fully-loaded cost of an in-house SDR (salary + variable + benefits + tools + management). Plus 3-6 month ramp before productive output. Plus 40-60% annual attrition risk.

    AutomatedMSP

    $18-45K / year

    Launch $1,500/mo through Dominate $3,750/mo. All-in: tools, infrastructure, sequences, replies, weekly tuning, platform. Deliverability and continuity guaranteed by infrastructure, not headcount.

    Switching

    Common asks when you're considering a move.

    When does hiring an SDR actually make sense?

    When you have (a) a defined sales playbook that works, (b) management bandwidth to coach the role, (c) a tolerance for ramp time and attrition, and (d) revenue per closed customer high enough to absorb $150K+/yr in fully-loaded cost. Most $1-15M MSPs hit AutomatedMSP economics first; $25M+ MSPs often run both.

    Can I do this and still hire an SDR later?

    Yes — many MSPs use AutomatedMSP to build the playbook and prove ICP economics, then hire an SDR to layer on top once the model is proven. The SDR's job becomes deal-stage management, not sourcing.

    What if my SDR is already in seat?

    Two options. (1) Layer AutomatedMSP on top — the SDR works qualified replies from our pipeline instead of doing top-of-funnel sourcing. (2) Replace the SDR's outbound responsibilities and re-assign them to account management / customer success.

    Doesn't a 'real human' outreach get better response rates than automated email?

    Yes — but the gap is smaller than people think, and the cost difference is enormous. Our personalization comes from real research (Apollo + ZoomInfo + LinkedIn + news + 12 other sources per contact), not template variables. A well-tuned MSP outbound sequence gets 2-5% reply rates, comparable to mid-tier SDR cold outreach.

    Want the honest comparison for your MSP?

    20-minute call. No pitch. We'll show you whether AutomatedMSP is actually a fit for your specific size, ICP, and growth stage — or tell you it isn't.