Statistics
UK SDR statistics, 2026: cost, ramp, activity and the rules.
The numbers buyers ask about before hiring or outsourcing sales development in the UK, gathered in one place, each with its source and what the sample is. Where a figure is our estimate or from our own clients, it says so.
A mid-level UK SDR costs around £85,000 in the first year once everything around the salary is added, takes about three months to reach full productivity, and stays in the role for a little under two years. The figures behind that sentence, and the others buyers ask for, are below.
Cost of an in-house SDR in the UK
| Figure | 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary, entry level | £28,000 to £32,000 (on-target £34,000 to £42,000) | Skipcall UK SDR salary guide, 2026 |
| Base salary, mid level | £35,000 to £40,000 (on-target £45,000 to £55,000) | Skipcall UK SDR salary guide, 2026 |
| London weighting | 15 to 20 per cent on top | Skipcall UK SDR salary guide, 2026 |
| Employer’s National Insurance | 15 per cent above £5,000 a year | HMRC, 2026/27 |
| Employer pension, minimum | 3 per cent of qualifying earnings | Automatic-enrolment rules |
| Recruiter fee | 15 to 25 per cent of base salary | Standard agency terms (our estimate) |
| Tools: data, dialler, sequencing, Sales Navigator | £6,000 to £10,000 a year | Current list prices (our estimate) |
| First-year total, one mid-level rep outside London | Around £85,000; nearer £100,000 in London | Our worked example, line by line |
The line-by-line arithmetic, including the management time that rarely makes the spreadsheet, is in how much an SDR costs in the UK. To run it with your own figures, use the SDR cost calculator.
Ramp, tenure and quota
| Figure | Median or average | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Time to full productivity | 3.0 months | The Bridge Group, 2025 |
| Average tenure in the role | 1.9 years | The Bridge Group, 2025 |
| Reps hitting quota | 60 per cent | The Bridge Group, 2025 |
| Monthly quota | 10 held meetings (9 where meetings must be fully qualified) | The Bridge Group, 2025 |
The Bridge Group surveyed 351 B2B companies, 78 per cent of them North American and 83 per cent SaaS. Read it as a direction, not a UK standard. Its quota counts meetings held, not booked.
A day’s activity
| Figure | Median | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Activities a day | 112: 44 calls, 41 emails, 19 LinkedIn touches | The Bridge Group, 2025 |
| Quality conversations a day | 4.1 | The Bridge Group, 2025 |
| Phone-led teams | 56 dials and 4.6 conversations a day | The Bridge Group, 2025 |
Cold calling
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average cold calling success rate | 2.7 per cent (2.3 per cent the year before) | Cognism, 2026 (200,000+ calls) |
| Average call duration | 82 seconds | Cognism, 2026 |
| Calls needed to reach a prospect | 1.55 on average | Cognism, 2026 |
| Strongest hours | 10 to 11am, then 2 to 3pm | Cognism, 2026 |
| Strongest and weakest days | Thursday strongest, Friday weakest | Cognism, 2026 |
| Stating the reason for the call | Roughly doubled the meeting rate | Gong, 90,380 calls (2018) |
| Opening with “Did I catch you at a bad time?” | A meeting 40 per cent less likely | Gong, 90,380 calls (2018) |
Cognism does not define exactly what its success rate measures, so treat it as a rough floor rather than a target. How we build a call around the Gong findings is in the B2B cold call: a structure, not a script. To turn these rates into the dials and reps your own meeting target needs, use the outbound pipeline calculator.
The UK rules, in numbers
| Rule | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A new TPS or CTPS registration takes effect after | 28 days | ICO, telephone marketing |
| Maximum fine for breaking the marketing rules, since 5 February 2026 | £17.5m or 4 per cent of global annual turnover, whichever is higher | Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 |
| Silent-call message, when no one is free to take a connected call | Within 2 seconds | Ofcom, persistent misuse policy |
The full set, with what each rule means for a sales call, is on outsourced cold calling. It is a summary, not legal advice.
Outsourcing
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS leaders who say outsourced SDRs really worked for them | 7 per cent (26 per cent “sort of”) | SaaStr poll, 2023, 1,200+ respondents |
| Set-up or onboarding fees | Commonly £3,000 to £5,000 | Providers’ published UK pricing, 2026 |
| Minimum terms | Often six to twelve months | Providers’ published UK pricing, 2026 |
The three pricing models and what each one pays a provider to do are in outsourced SDR pricing in the UK; who provides it is on the UK outsourced SDR agencies list; and what the 7 per cent did differently is in why outsourced SDRs fail.
From our own clients
These are results from named engagements, published with the clients’ agreement. They are not an average and not a promise.
- GP Triage: fifteen qualified decision-maker meetings a month on average.
- 3media: three meetings a week.
- LGN.AI: 87 per cent of the meetings booked were attended.
How much does an SDR cost in the UK?
Around £85,000 in the first year for one mid-level rep outside London, and nearer £100,000 in London, once National Insurance, pension, the recruiter, tools and management time are added to a salary of about £47,000 at target.
How long does a new SDR take to ramp?
About three months to full productivity, on The Bridge Group’s 2025 figures.
How many meetings should an SDR book a month?
The Bridge Group’s median quota is ten held meetings a month, nine where meetings must be fully qualified. The right number depends on the market and on what counts as a meeting.
What is a good cold calling success rate?
Cognism’s 2026 report puts the average at 2.7 per cent across more than 200,000 calls. It does not define the rate exactly, so use it as a floor.
How long do SDRs stay in the role?
1.9 years on average, according to The Bridge Group, which is why the cost of hiring is often paid twice inside two years.
Sources: Skipcall, UK SDR salary guide 2026; The Bridge Group, 2025 SDR Models and Metrics report (351 companies); Cognism, Cold Calling Report 2026; Gong, cold call opening lines; SaaStr, 2023; Air Marketing, Whistle and ORRJO published pricing; ICO, telephone marketing; ICO, business-to-business marketing; PECR regulation 21; Ofcom, persistent misuse policy statement; Clifford Chance on the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 commencement. Last checked 28 September 2026.
Numbers are a start. Your market is the answer.
Fifteen minutes on what these figures would look like for your buyers. No pitch.
Book a call →