Before you sign an SDR agency: 15 questions, including who owns the connections, conversations, and data
Before you sign an SDR agency, get fifteen answers in writing. Start with the ones most contracts skip: whose LinkedIn profiles and email domains the outreach runs from, who keeps the connections, threads, and records when it ends, and whether every touch lands in your own CRM as it happens. Then check people, method, measurement, cost, and exit.
The 15 questions at a glance
Send these in writing to 2-3 finalists. Score each answer 0 (no or vague), 1 (partly, or verbal only), 2 (yes, in writing, with evidence).
| # | Question | Group |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whose LinkedIn profiles, email domains, and phone numbers will the outreach come from? | Ownership |
| 2 | When the contract ends, who keeps the connections, conversation threads, contact records, and messaging, and in what format? | Ownership |
| 3 | Will the work happen inside our CRM, or in yours with a sync or export? | Ownership |
| 4 | Will every touch (connection requests, messages, emails, calls, replies, meetings) be written to our CRM as it happens? | Visibility |
| 5 | What will each record show about why that prospect was chosen and where it came from? | Visibility |
| 6 | Who writes and approves new messages before they go out under our name? | Visibility |
| 7 | Who exactly will do the work day to day, and how many other clients do they handle? | People and method |
| 8 | How do you decide who to contact and why now? | People and method |
| 9 | Which channels and volumes will you use, and how will you protect our domain, our profiles, and our reputation? | People and method |
| 10 | What counts as success: a booked meeting, a held meeting, or an opportunity our team accepts? | Measurement |
| 11 | What happens when a meeting or opportunity doesn't meet that definition? | Measurement |
| 12 | What will the first 90 days look like, and what do you need from us? | Measurement |
| 13 | What is the all-in cost, and how often are we billed? | Cost, term, and exit |
| 14 | What are the minimum term, notice period, renewal terms, and renewal pricing? | Cost, term, and exit |
| 15 | What exactly happens on the way out? | Cost, term, and exit |
How to use this checklist
Send these questions in writing to 2-3 finalist agencies. Score each answer:
- 0: No answer, or vague
- 1: Partly addressed, or verbal only
- 2: Yes, in writing, with evidence
Anything that matters goes in the contract. Compare finalists on the same sheet. This checklist is a starting point, not legal advice—have counsel review the contract before you sign.
Who owns the relationships and the records? (Q1-Q3)
Q1: Whose LinkedIn profiles, email domains, and phone numbers will the outreach come from?
Why it matters: Every accepted connection and every reply thread builds up on the sending profile or inbox. If the agency's reps send from their own profiles, that network sits with them. If they send from lookalike domains, ask who registers and owns the domains.
A good answer: Names the exact sending identities (whose profile, which domain) and who owns each one.
Red flag: "We handle all of that."
Contract: List the sending identities, and state who owns each domain and account at the end.
Neither model is wrong in itself. You just need to know which one you're buying.
Q2: When the contract ends, who keeps the connections, conversation threads, contact records, and messaging, and in what format?
Why it matters: Default agency contracts often classify the prospect database, sequence content, and reply data as agency IP. Ask for a clause giving you all contact data, CRM records, reply threads, recordings, and notes, with a machine-readable export at termination.
Note: Connections made on someone else's LinkedIn profile can't be exported. Only the records about them can.
A good answer: "Everything created for you is yours, and here's the export format and timeline."
Contract: The ownership list, the export format and deadline, and deletion of the agency's working copy.
Q3: Will the work happen inside our CRM, or in yours with a sync or export?
Why it matters: Work kept in the agency's own system reaches you as a summary. Running the campaign out of the agency's own CRM instead of yours is a common red flag.
A good answer: They work in your instance, or write to it natively, and you control their user roles.
Contract: CRM access and role, and a named system of record.
What will you actually be able to see? (Q4-Q6)
Can I see all agency activity in my CRM?
You should be able to. Ask for it in writing, and ask them to show you a live client record.
Q4: Will every touch (connection requests, messages, emails, calls, replies, meetings) be written to our CRM as it happens?
Why it matters: If everything is in your CRM, you don't need their report to know what happened. That's what "transparent" should mean.
A good answer: Shows a sample (anonymized) contact timeline from a current client.
Red flag: "We use our own platform and send you reports" or middleware syncs with delays.
Evaluating an agency instead? See all prospecting activity in your own CRM
Meetings with the right people. Opportunities Knit could work.
The prospects and their activity were recorded in Knit's HubSpot, so Matt and his team could see the work and advance the relationships.
“The meetings were with the right people, and they became opportunities in our pipeline.”
Matt Glenn, CEO, Knit
Q5: What will each record show about why that prospect was chosen and where it came from?
Why it matters: Without a source and a reason on each record, you can't tell which lists, signals, or messages worked, and you can't compare the agency with your own team.
A good answer: Consistent fields on every record: source, reason or signal, booked, held, accepted, rejected.
Contract: The required fields.
Q6: Who writes and approves new messages before they go out under our name?
Why it matters: Your brand, your profiles, your market.
A good answer: A named approval step for new messaging, and a way to see drafts.
Contract: Approval rights, and ownership of the messaging created.
Who does the work, and how do they choose prospects? (Q7-Q9)
Q7: Who exactly will do the work day to day, and how many other clients do they handle?
Why it matters: The person on the sales call is rarely the person sending. Watch for proposals that don't make clear who runs the account.
Contract: Named roles, and notice if they change.
Q8: How do you decide who to contact and why now?
Why it matters: An ICP built only on firmographics misses timing. Ask for the written reason for each segment: what situation makes this buyer likely to care now, and how they'll spot it.
A good answer: A worked example showing signal, role, and reasoning.
Learn more: What buyer signals are and how to use them
Q9: Which channels and volumes will you use, and how will you protect our domain, our profiles, and our reputation?
Why it matters: Deliverability and platform rules. LinkedIn restricts third-party software that automates activity on its platform.
Ask: How the agency's tooling fits LinkedIn's rules, and who carries the risk if an account is restricted.
This applies to every provider that works through LinkedIn accounts, Audienti included.
What counts as success? (Q10-Q12)
Q10: What counts as success: a booked meeting, a held meeting, or an opportunity our team accepts?
Why it matters: Activity-heavy KPIs look good and prove little.
A good answer: A written definition, with booked, held, and accepted counted separately.
A neutral template you can adapt: Use a six-point accepted-opportunity definition: (1) the account fits an agreed ICP, (2) a real buyer participates, (3) a real problem or project is confirmed, (4) the buyer wants to take a next step, (5) evidence is in your CRM, (6) your team accepts it. See one definition you can adapt.
Q11: What happens when a meeting or opportunity doesn't meet that definition?
Why it matters: The dispute process decides what you actually pay for.
Contract: A dispute window and a process for disagreements, reviewed jointly.
Q12: What will the first 90 days look like, and what do you need from us?
Why it matters: Promising qualified meetings within thirty days can be aggressive for senior, multi-stakeholder sales.
A good answer: A dated launch plan and a list of what they need from you (ICP, messaging approval, fast follow-up).
What will it cost, and how do you get out? (Q13-Q15)
Q13: What is the all-in cost, and how often are we billed?
Why it matters: Setup, data, tools, mailboxes, and per-meeting fees change the real number. Ask whether billing is monthly or per 4-week period.
Comparing options? Compare hiring, an agency, and an AI SDR side by side
Q14: What are the minimum term, notice period, renewal terms, and renewal pricing?
Why it matters: Terms vary. Some agencies require annual commitments; others offer shorter initial terms. Neither is standard—ask for what works for you.
Contract: The term start date (kickoff vs first send), notice, auto-renewal, and a cap on price increases.
Q15: What exactly happens on the way out?
Ask about: The export (see Q2), domain and account handover, deletion and certification of their copies, no outreach to your prospects after exit, and a handoff of open conversations.
A good answer: A written exit plan before you sign.
Which answers should make you walk away?
| What they say | Why it's a problem | Ask instead |
|---|---|---|
| "We'll send you weekly reports." | Reports aren't records. | "Show me a client's CRM timeline." |
| "Our reps use their own profiles; that's standard." | The connections stay with them. | "Who keeps them at the end?" |
| "The enriched list is our IP." | You start over at exit. | "What do we get in the export?" |
| "Qualified means the meeting was booked." | It measures activity. | "How many became opportunities we accepted?" |
| "You'll see meetings in the first couple of weeks" (with no plan). | The promise comes without a plan. | "Show me the dated launch plan." |
| "It's all included" (with no itemized quote). | The costs appear later. | "Itemize setup, data, tools, and fees." |
What should go in the contract?
This is a checklist, not legal advice. Have counsel review the contract.
- Sending identities, and who owns each at the end
- Ownership and export of contacts, records, threads, recordings, and messaging (format and deadline)
- A named CRM system of record, with required fields
- Message approval rights
- A written success definition, with booked, held, and accepted counted separately
- A dispute process
- Named roles and change notice
- The term start date, minimum term, notice, auto-renewal, and a renewal price cap
- Exit: handover, deletion certificate, no post-exit outreach
- Compliance responsibilities, including platform rules
How we answer these questions ourselves
Audienti's answers. Score us the same way.
Ownership
Outreach runs from your own team's LinkedIn profiles (three people on the standard plan), so the connections land on their accounts. Prospects and activity sync into your CRM (HubSpot today; other CRMs can be added on request). When you leave, you keep your data and your LinkedIn connections—they're on your profiles and in your CRM.
Visibility
Every prospect syncs to your CRM with the signal that surfaced it. New buyer-facing messages get human review until the messaging is dialed in; our operators do that review by default, and your team can review too.
Method
Each campaign starts from a written premise (signal → role → pressure → approach → result) plus live buying signals. LinkedIn first, from your team's own profiles. Email is a secondary channel, and it isn't volume-driven.
Measurement
Success is an opportunity your team accepts, using the six-point definition. Booked, held, and accepted are counted separately. We don't guarantee meetings, opportunities, or deals.
Cost and term
$7,500 a month for three people from your team, 90-day initial term, billed from kickoff (pricing). About $833 per accepted opportunity is a planning figure at the target of nine a month, not a guarantee.
Where we'll score low for some buyers
- No phone-led outreach
- No per-meeting pricing
- A fixed fee and a 90-day initial term
- It depends on your people being credible and available to take meetings
- It runs on your team's LinkedIn accounts, so platform rules apply to us too
Timing
It depends on how mature your positioning is. If your messaging and target list are clear, outreach starts once the premise is approved; if they need work, we build the premise with you first.
When is an SDR agency the right choice?
An SDR agency can be the right call when:
- You need speed and don't have a manager to ramp in-house SDRs
- Your motion is phone-led and needs cold calling at scale
- You're testing a new market or language and want to learn before committing headcount
- You don't have credible internal senders (the agency's reps may be more experienced)
Compare your options: Compare hiring, an agency, and an AI SDR side by side
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about evaluating SDR agencies.
What should I ask an SDR agency before signing?
Ask about ownership (whose profiles send, who keeps the connections), visibility (does everything sync to your CRM), measurement (what counts as success), cost (all-in pricing and billing), and exit (export format and timeline). Start with the questions most contracts skip: whose LinkedIn profiles and email domains the outreach runs from, and who keeps the connections when it ends.
Who owns the leads, data, and LinkedIn connections when I use an SDR agency?
It depends on the contract and on whose profiles send. Contact records can be exported; connections made on an agency rep's profile stay with that profile. Put ownership, export format, and deadline in writing before you sign.
Can I see all agency activity in my CRM?
You should be able to. Require every touch to be written to your CRM as it happens, with the same fields as your own team uses. Ask to see a live client record before signing.
What are the red flags in an SDR agency proposal?
Red flags include: 'We'll send you reports' instead of CRM records, sending from agency profiles with no ownership handover, qualifying success by activity not outcomes, vague timelines without dated plans, and all-inclusive pricing with no itemization.
Pay per meeting or retainer?
Both usually measure meetings, not outcomes. Whichever you choose, define an accepted opportunity and compare cost per accepted opportunity across your options.
Is there an SDR agency RFP checklist I can print?
Yes. This page includes all 15 questions, grouped by topic, and prints cleanly. Use your browser's print function or the Print button to save a PDF copy.
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