Sales Outsourcing vs. In-House Sales: What Does It Really Cost?
A mid-level in-house business developer in Europe costs roughly €85,000–€125,000 or more in year one once you add salary, overhead, recruitment, tools and management time. They usually take 3–6 months to become productive.
Sales outsourcing costs typically range from €4,000 to €15,000 per month. Most providers use a hybrid of a monthly retainer plus a commission of around 8–15%.
Compare cost per productive month, not salary against retainer. On that measure, outsourced sales is often around half the cost of an in-house hire in year one.
Build in-house once a market is proven. Outsource when you need speed, flexibility or a low-risk market test.
Comparing a salary with a monthly retainer is misleading. The real sales outsourcing cost question is how much you pay before revenue starts, and how much risk you carry meanwhile. Below, we break down both sides of in-house vs outsourced sales and give you a simple calculator.
What an in-house sales hire really costs
Salary is only the visible part. A realistic year-one budget for one mid-level business development manager in Europe looks like this:
| Cost item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Base salary | €60,000–€80,000 |
| Benefits and overhead (25–35% of salary) | €15,000–€25,000 |
| Recruitment fees (15–25% of salary) | €9,000–€20,000 |
| CRM, data and sales tools | Varies; add your own |
| Management and onboarding time | Varies; add your own |
| Variable pay / commission | On top of the above |
Then there's time. A new hire typically needs 3–6 months to ramp up, at full cost and with little pipeline. The Bridge Group's 2025 SDR report shows how fragile this is: median tenure is 1.9 years, annual attrition is 40% and only 60% of reps hit quota. Hire twice, and you pay recruitment and ramp-up twice.
What outsourced sales costs
Outsourced sales cost depends on scope, team size, market complexity and the number of countries covered. Lead generation costs less than full-cycle sales; multiple countries cost more than one.
There are three common pricing models:
- Retainer. A fixed monthly fee, typically €3,000–€15,000 depending on team size and complexity. Your budget is predictable, and the provider can invest in the slow early work of market entry.
- Commission-only. Typically 10–25% of closed deal value. Upfront risk is low, but it is hard to sustain over long B2B sales cycles, so commitment can drop.
- Hybrid. A reduced retainer plus a lower commission, for example €5,000 per month plus 8% instead of €10,000 per month. This is the most common model because it shares the risk.
Check when commission is paid: good contracts pay it after your customer pays you, not on signature.
The calculator: cost per productive month
To compare fairly, divide the total year-one cost by the number of months in which the seller is actually producing pipeline.
- In-house year-one cost (A) = salary + overhead + recruitment + tools + management time
- In-house productive months (B) = 12 − ramp-up months
- Outsourced year-one cost (C) = (monthly fee × 12) + expected commissions
- Outsourced productive months (D) = 12 − onboarding months
Compare A ÷ B with C ÷ D.
Worked example (illustrative, before variable pay on either side):
| In-house BDM | Outsourced team | |
|---|---|---|
| Year-one cost | €112,000 (€70k salary + €20k overhead + €14k recruitment + €8k tools/management) | €96,000 (€8,000 × 12) |
| Ramp-up | 5 months | 1 month |
| Productive months | 7 | 11 |
| Cost per productive month | €16,000 | ≈ €8,700 |
Before turnover risk, the outsourced option costs about half as much per productive month, and it brings an existing network and a tested process.
Costs that don't show up on the invoice
- Opportunity cost. Every month without pipeline in a new market is revenue not yet earned.
- Exit cost. An employment contract is fixed whether the market works or not. Outsourcing contracts usually run 12–18 months with clear termination terms.
- Management cost. A remote hire in a country without an office often needs a founder's time.
- Knowledge cost. Make CRM access and reporting a contract requirement, so customer insight stays with you.
When in-house wins
Once a market is proven and you expect years of steady demand, building your own team usually becomes the better investment. Many technology companies outsource to prove a market first, then hire locally, keeping the relationships and playbook already built.
How Aexus approaches pricing
Since 2000, Aexus has helped technology companies enter Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific. In our experience, a low retainer combined with performance-based success fees works best for market entry. It funds real market development and ties a meaningful part of the fee to results.
Want to compare your own numbers? Contact the Aexus team for a cost comparison based on your market, deal size and sales cycle.
FAQ
Everything you need to know
Most B2B providers charge between €4,000 and €15,000 per month. The price depends on team size, scope (lead generation or full-cycle sales), sales cycle complexity and the number of markets covered. Hybrid models usually add a commission of around 8–15% on closed deals.
In year one, it usually is when you compare cost per productive month. An outsourced team skips recruitment fees and a 3–6 month ramp-up. Over several years in a proven market, an in-house team can become more cost-effective.
Commission-only arrangements typically range from 5% to 25% of deal value. Complex enterprise deals sit at the higher end. Hybrid models use lower rates, often 8–15%, because part of the fee is covered by the retainer.
An experienced provider can usually start outreach within weeks and set up a presence in a new market within about 90 days. In long B2B sales cycles, closed revenue takes longer. Track qualified meetings and pipeline value in the first months.
