2025 Cost & Performance Reality Check

The Human SDR Model Is Financially Broken

In 2025, the average U.S. SDR costs $98,500/year fully loaded—and only 15.5% hit quota. With 78% annual attrition, most reps burn cash for 7 months before breaking even.

Yet outbound pipeline is non-negotiable. So what’s the alternative?

AI SDRs for LinkedIn outreach promise 80% cost savings and 2X activity volume. But real-world execution reveals hidden pitfalls and complex tradeoffs.

The Case Against Human SDRs

Expense Category	Avg. Cost (USD)
Base Salary	\$55,000
Commissions & Benefits	\$30,000
Tech Stack (avg. 6 tools)	\$13,500
Total per SDR	\$98,500

Only 5.1% of daily human SDR touches convert. That’s $23.47 per touch and $459.80 per conversation.

And generic messaging has consequences—68% of buyers say it damages brand perception.

Performance Benchmarks (2025)

AI SDR platforms slash monthly spend to $1,200–$5,000, with daily activity volumes 10–20X higher than human SDRs.

But the real total cost of ownership includes:

$1,800/mo for IP warming & inbox repair
$950/mo in third-party enrichment
22 dev hours/month for integration upkeep

And poor AI personalization? It backfires hard.

“When AI referenced my college in a cold email, it felt creepy. I blocked the sender.” — SaaS CMO

Performance Benchmarks (2025)

Metric	Human SDR	AI SDR	Hybrid Model
Daily Emails	127	2,300	1,800
Connect Rate	5.1%	8.3%	9.7%
Meetings Booked/Month	10.4	15.1	18.7
Opps Created/Month	3.2	2.1	5.4
CAC (SQL)	\$4,800	\$3,100	\$2,700

Source: 11,000+ campaigns (2023–2025)

Why Hybrid > AI or Human Alone?

The best-performing B2B SaaS GTM teams use:

AI for mass sequencing, research, and firmographic personalization
Humans for high-touch messages and sales conversations

This combo achieves 43% higher win rates and 68% faster SDR payback periods.

“AI does the what. Reps bring the why.”
— VP of Sales, Series B SaaS

Valley = AI SDRs Without the Complexity

Most AI SDR tools force GTM teams to cobble together 5–7 point solutions. Valley is different.

✅ Signal-based triggers from job changes, funding, tech installs
✅ LinkedIn, email, SMS orchestration with smart timing
✅ No engineering lift — prebuilt sequences, automated IP rotation
✅ Advanced guardrails for GDPR, deliverability, and compliance

Valley users report 59% lower tool overhead vs traditional stack