Hire an SDR or work with an outbound agency?
An honest comparison for IT services companies of 10 to 200 people: an in-house SDR, a generalist lead generation agency and Clasplight. Each can work. The right choice depends on your stage, your team and how fast you need pipeline.
Three ways to get outbound running.
| Criteria | Hire an SDR in-house | Generalist lead gen agency | Clasplight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to full speed | About 3 months of ramp for a new SDR (Bridge Group, 2025) | Depends on how well they learn your niche | Targeting and profile first, then sending once you approve |
| Knows your market | Learns it on the job | Works across many industries and channels | IT services companies selling to the US, UK and EU only |
| Channel | Whatever the hire knows | Usually email, calls and LinkedIn mixed | LinkedIn only, done carefully |
| Who sends | Your employee | Often their own accounts or yours | Real people from your team, never fake profiles |
| Your control | Full, but you manage the person | Varies by agency | You approve every message and own every conversation |
| What you manage | Salary, tools, training, turnover | A contract and reports | One short weekly update |
When each option makes sense.
Hire in-house when
Outbound is central to how you sell, someone on the team can manage and coach the SDR, and you can wait about three months for them to ramp.
A generalist agency when
You want several channels at once, such as email, calls and LinkedIn, and are ready to teach the agency your market.
Clasplight when
You sell IT services, want LinkedIn done carefully from your own team's profiles, and want to approve every message and own every conversation.
Already hiring an SDR? We can train them.
Our team training covers the ideal customer profile, lead lists, LinkedIn, copywriting, replies, CRM and the numbers, on your market and your tools.
Questions about hiring vs outsourcing
How long does it take a new SDR to reach full speed?
About three months on average, according to the Bridge Group 2025 SDR Metrics Report. During that time you pay salary and tools while the pipeline builds slowly.
When is hiring in-house the better choice?
When outbound is a core part of how you sell, you have someone to manage and coach the SDR, and you plan to run it for years. In that case our team training can shorten the ramp.
Can we start with Clasplight and hire later?
Yes. Many teams start with an agency to prove that LinkedIn works for their market, then hire. We hand over the targeting, messages and results so your hire does not start from zero.
Who owns the conversations and the data?
You do. Outreach runs from your team's profiles, every reply is forwarded to you, and the lead lists and messages are yours.
Want to see what outbound could look like for you?
Tell us about your company. We'll come back with who to target and how we'd approach them. No obligation.