Increasing Sales Velocity: Five Strategic Advantages of Extended SDR Teams

Leveraging outsourced Sales Development Representative teams can be a game-changer for companies looking to amplify their sales efforts, especially in competitive markets. This strategic move provides a buffer during resource constraints and introduces specialised expertise and tactics into the sales process.

As companies navigate through fluctuating sales landscapes, the ability to quickly adapt and scale becomes crucial.

Here, we explore the benefits of integrating an extended SDR team into your sales strategy on a permanent or campaign basis, ensuring a seamless extension of your in-house efforts while moving towards your sales targets.

1. Navigating Resource Constraints with Agility

There are moments when internal resources are stretched thin due to various factors—a decrease in the pipeline, staffing changes, strategic reallocations, or following a founder-led sales model. An experienced extended SDR team can inject much-needed energy and activity into your sales force during such times. Whether it's the start of the year, aiming for a robust pipeline build-up, or the vital end-of-year push to meet sales targets, outsourcing provides the flexibility and bandwidth necessary to maintain momentum.

2. Leveraging Specialised Expertise for Market Penetration

Entering new markets, especially those across borders, requires subtle understanding and localisation strategies. Extended SDR teams offer immediate access to a pool of talent well-versed in local languages, cultural fineness, and market dynamics. This advantage is pivotal for SaaS companies expanding their active sales outreach and IT consultancies exploring outbound strategies for the first time.

3. Strategic Focus on Core Competencies

Companies can reallocate internal focus towards core activities and strategic growth initiatives by partnering with outsourced SDR teams. This collaboration is especially beneficial in managing seasonal demands, reacting to changes in the market or legislation, reacting or recovering from a black swan event, or simply navigating fluctuating sales cycles. Outsourcing offers the flexibility to scale efforts without the commitment and overheads of expanding the internal workforce, thereby enhancing operational agility.

4. Experimental Approaches and Benchmarking

Experimentation is at the heart of innovation when developing sales strategies. Outsourcing is an experimental tool that allows companies to test new approaches and channels without diverting core resources or increasing headcount. This method benchmarks potential outcomes and enables the integration of successful teams, aligning with long-term strategies seamlessly. Note that some outsourcing partners are open to you hiring the whole team working for you (for a fee, of course), while others strongly oppose losing their skilled SDRs. Consider this when discussing commercial terms for extending an SDR team with potential partners.

5. Accelerating Campaigns and Go-To-Market Strategies

For initiatives requiring swift execution, such as partner sales boosts or launching new products, outsourcing can avoid the additional inertia associated with shifting focus from day-to-day operations. This strategic deployment of additional capacities ensures that sales efforts are optimised, risks are mitigated, and market opportunities are acted upon efficiently.

Integrating an extended SDR team should be a component of your overarching sales-led go-to-market strategy. Tailoring this approach to align with your company’s distinct needs and objectives ensures that outsourcing exceeds beyond a mere tactical move to become a strategic enabler of sales excellence and business growth.