


Saniya Sood
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.
Section 2
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
See Valley’s AI SDR Engine in Action
Valley delivers AI SDR performance—without the deliverability drama or dev burden.

