Hiring Outsourced Cold Callers: Tips from the Philippines

Introduction

Outsourcing cold calling has gone from "nice experiment" to a core part of modern B2B go-to-market. And when companies look offshore for SDR and BDR horsepower, one country comes up over and over again: the Philippines.

There’s a reason for that. The Philippine contact center industry generated roughly $31.5B in revenue in 2024 and employed about 1.62M people, accounting for about 83% of the country’s IT-BPM revenue. That’s not a niche-it’s a global engine for customer-facing work, including sales development.

If you’re considering hiring outsourced cold callers, especially in the Philippines, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through:

• Why the Philippines is such a powerful hub for outbound SDR work
• When it actually makes sense to offshore cold calling (and when it doesn’t)
• How to evaluate and hire the right Philippine partner
• How to build and manage a high-performing offshore cold calling program
• How this all fits into your broader sales development strategy

We’ll keep it straight: what works in the real world, where teams actually have quotas, messy CRMs, and AEs who hate bad meetings.

Why the Philippines Became the Capital of Outsourced Cold Calling

A massive, mature contact center ecosystem

The Philippines isn’t "emerging" anymore-it’s already at the center of global outsourcing. Estimates put the country at around 16% of the global outsourcing market, with about 1.8M professionals in customer support and BPO roles and annual revenues near $38B. Within that, contact centers are the heavyweight, driving the bulk of IT-BPM revenue.

For you, that means:

• Huge talent pool of experienced phone-based agents who already know how to work US hours.
• Mature management layer-team leads, QA managers, and ops folks who’ve spent years in the trenches.
• Established infrastructure: redundant internet, power backup, secure facilities-this isn’t a few freelancers on cell phones.

Strong English and cultural compatibility

English is one of the Philippines’ official languages, and it shows up in the data. In the EF English Proficiency Index 2023, the Philippines ranked 20th of 113 countries globally and second in Asia behind only Singapore, with a "high proficiency" rating.

Pearson’s 2024 Global English Proficiency Report found Filipino corporate employees scoring an average of 63 on its Versant test versus a global average of 57, with higher-than-average scores in speaking and writing.

Translation for sales leaders: you can absolutely find reps who can sound natural on the phone with US decision-makers.

Combine that with decades of exposure to US media, business culture, and consumer brands, and Philippine reps are generally comfortable talking to North American and European buyers without awkward cultural gaps.

Labor arbitrage that actually moves the needle

Let’s talk money.

Analyses of real call center labor costs peg the average Philippine call center agent salary at about PHP 261,800 per year-roughly $4.7-5K depending on the exchange rate. In contrast, the average US call center rep earns around $18-21 per hour, which lands near $38-44K per year for a full-time role.

Industry sources regularly highlight up to 70% savings on staff costs by outsourcing roles to the Philippines, depending on how you structure the engagement. That’s not small change-that’s budget you can reallocate into better tooling, more marketing air cover, or additional senior AEs.

US-heavy demand and experience

This isn’t theory. One analysis notes that about 85% of outsourcing work in the Philippines historically came from US companies, across everything from customer support to marketing and back office. Philippine BPOs are used to US buyers’ expectations, compliance requirements, and calendar rhythms.

So when you stand up a Philippine cold calling team, you’re not teaching them what "VP of Operations" means or why Q4 calendar crunch matters. They’ve seen this movie before.

When It Makes Sense To Outsource Cold Calling To The Philippines

Outsourcing isn’t magic. It amplifies whatever GTM motion you already have-good or bad. Here’s when it tends to work really well.

1. Your AEs are drowning in prospecting

If your AEs are spending more time hunting than closing, you’re burning expensive talent on lower-value work. Offshore SDRs in the Philippines can take on:

• Raw list grinding and dialing
• First-touch discovery and qualification
• Recycle/"wake the dead" campaigns on old opps

That lets AEs stay in their zone-running deep discovery, multi-threading deals, and negotiating contracts.

2. You’ve validated your ICP and message (at least a little)

If you haven’t closed any deals yet, offshoring your entire top-of-funnel is risky. You’ll just scale confusion faster.

Outsourced cold calling shines when:

• You know who you sell to (ICP, personas, industries)
• You have at least one or two messages and offers that already resonate
• You can define what a qualified meeting looks like in clear, checklist form

Then you can hand that playbook to a Philippine team and say, "Do more of this, at scale."

3. You need more coverage, but can’t justify more US headcount

Hiring one more US SDR is a big, relatively fixed cost. By contrast, Philippines-based teams give you:

• Lower marginal cost per SDR
• Flexibility (month-to-month or project-based models)
• 24/5 coverage across US and EU time zones if you structure shifts well

For many growth-stage companies, that’s the difference between "we can’t afford more outbound" and "we can own this segment before our competitor does."

4. You want to test new markets or segments

Philippine callers are great for structured experiments:

• New verticals you haven’t touched
• New personas within existing accounts
• New offers (e.g., pilot programs, workshops, assessments)

Because your cost per dial and per meeting is lower, you can afford to run more tests and still hit your CAC targets.

How To Evaluate And Hire A Philippine Cold Calling Partner

There are hundreds of Philippine BPOs that say they can do outbound calling. Here’s how you separate the real sales development partners from the generic call centers.

Step 1: Get clear on your model and budget

Before you talk to vendors, decide:

• Ownership model: fully managed SDR team vs. "staff augmentation" reps you manage day to day
• Scope: cold calling only, or multi-channel (calling + email + LinkedIn)
• Volume expectations: dials per day, meetings per month, target geos
• Budget bands: what you can spend per month and per qualified meeting

Remember that B2B appointment setting benchmarks often cite $500–$2,000 per quality appointment and 2-5% lead-to-customer conversion as typical. If a proposal promises "10x cheaper" than that, dig very deeply into what they call a "qualified meeting."

Step 2: Demand real sales-development experience

Cold calling for support or collections is not the same as outbound B2B prospecting. Ask for references and case studies specifically around:

• B2B appointment setting into your target markets (US, UK, ANZ, etc.)
• Your deal size band (SMB, mid-market, enterprise)
• Your sales motion (transactional vs. complex consultative)

If they can’t show results in a similar context, you’ll be teaching them on your dime.

Step 3: Listen to real call recordings (or live calls)

This is non-negotiable.

Ask every provider for:

• Recent live recordings of prospecting calls into North America/Europe
• A chance to sit in on a live block of dials for another client (with redacted details)

Score what you hear on:

• Opener: Do they sound confident and clear, or scripted and timid?
• Discovery: Are they asking smart questions, or just plowing through a list?
• Objections: Do they handle "not interested" and "send me an email" well?
• Call control: Do they guide toward next steps or let prospects lead them in circles?

If you wouldn’t be proud to have that rep represent your brand, move on.

Step 4: Inspect their talent strategy and management

Great front-line reps require a solid management layer. Ask:

• How do you recruit and screen SDRs (tests, mock calls, experience thresholds)?
• What’s your training program for new reps and new client programs?
• How do you coach and QA (call review cadences, scorecards)?
• What’s your annual turnover in SDR roles?

You’re not just buying people-you’re buying their process for building and keeping a strong team.

Step 5: Verify tools, data security, and compliance

For modern B2B outbound, your partner should be comfortable with:

• Power or parallel dialers integrated with CRM
• Call recording and conversation intelligence tools
• Secure handling of PII (data processing agreements, access controls, encryption)
• Regulatory awareness around DNC, TCPA, GDPR, and CCPA when relevant

Given that cost reduction remains the top objective for many shared services and outsourcing programs, companies are increasingly relocating to lower-cost locations-but they’re doing it while tightening compliance and data standards. Don’t compromise here.

Building A High-Performing Philippine Cold Calling Program

Once you’ve chosen a partner, the real work starts. Here’s how to make sure your outsourced callers actually move pipeline.

Build a real outbound playbook (not just a script)

A good playbook for your Philippine team should include:

• ICP & persona docs: firmographics, pain points, triggers, and "what we’re listening for" on calls
• Talk tracks: opener, 2-3 discovery flows, tailored value props for each persona
• Objection handling: top 10 objections and 2-3 tested responses for each
• Qualification criteria: your definition of a qualified meeting/SQL in checklist form
• Follow-up sequences: what happens after a connect, no-show, or "not now"

Treat this as a living document, not a PDF you send once.

Localize for Philippine reps and US buyers

You don’t want your reps reading Silicon Valley slang they’d never say in real life. Sit down with your partner’s team lead and:

• Remove idioms or references that don’t translate ("pencils down," "Monday morning quarterbacking," etc.)
• Adjust small talk and intros so they sound natural for your reps
• Clarify any technical jargon so reps aren’t just sounding out words they don’t understand

The goal: reps sound like themselves while staying on-message.

Set up clean data and list strategy

Your callers are only as good as the lists you give them.

• Start with a tight, high-intent segment (e.g., US mid-market manufacturers, 200-2,000 employees, using specific technologies).
• Use verified contact data-bad numbers will crush morale and your connect rate.
• Tag lists in your CRM by campaign and segment so you can see performance by slice.

Given that the global outsourcing market is over $1T and growing, with an estimated 66% of US companies outsourcing at least one department, you’re competing with a lot of outbound noise. Clean, precise targeting is how you rise above it.

Define KPIs and reporting cadences

Don’t just ask, "How many meetings did we get this week?" Instrument the full funnel:

• Activity: calls per day, connection attempts per account
• Connect: connects per 100 dials, conversation length
• Outcome: meetings per 100 connects, "future interest" vs. "hard no" ratio
• Downstream quality: show rate, SQL rate, opportunity creation, and pipeline value

Share these dashboards with your partner and your AEs. Make adjustments weekly:

• Lists not working? Swap segments.
• Objection killing calls? Update talk tracks.
• Specific rep struggling? Add coaching time or shift them to a different motion.

Managing Quality, Compliance, And Culture Across Borders

Outsourced doesn’t mean "out of sight, out of mind." The best programs feel like one integrated revenue team.

Run a tight QA loop

Set up a recurring rhythm:

1. Weekly call review (60 minutes)
• Listen to 3-5 calls across different outcomes (booked, soft no, hard no)
• Score them against a rubric: opener, discovery, value articulation, objection handling, and close
2. Monthly calibration
• Reps, QA, and your in-house leader listen to one call and score it independently
• Compare scores to keep everyone aligned on "good"

Tie bonuses and performance plans to QA scores, not just raw volume.

Align on compliance and brand standards

Make your expectations explicit:

• What can’t reps say? (Guarantees, pricing, competitor claims)
• What data can they collect on a first call?
• How should they handle DNC requests and data deletion questions?

Given growing scrutiny around outsourcing and data privacy, this is one place you don’t want surprises.

Integrate teams culturally

Philippine reps aren’t robots-they’re teammates who just happen to sit a few time zones away. Simple moves go a long way:

• Include them in sales all-hands, product updates, and win celebrations.
• Create shared Slack channels for AE–SDR handoff and feedback.
• Rotate AE ride-alongs, where reps can shadow discovery and demo calls.

Remember, outsourcing is mainstream now-roughly 66% of US companies report outsourcing at least one department, and many plan to keep increasing their use of third-party providers. The differentiator is whether your outsourced team feels like part of the revenue org or a bolted-on vendor.

How This Applies To Your Sales Team

Let’s ground this in a few practical use cases.

Scenario 1: Series B SaaS company with overwhelmed AEs

You’ve got 6 AEs, 2 in-house SDRs, and a marketing engine that’s good but not enough. AEs are doing their own prospecting and complaining about spending half their week in LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

Play:

• Stand up a Philippines-based SDR pod of 3-4 reps focused on one or two verticals.
• Keep your in-house SDRs focused on strategic accounts and Tier 1 logos.
• Use Philippine callers to cover Tier 2/3 accounts and high-fit inbound leads that haven’t been worked.

Measure:

• Meetings per rep per month vs. in-house SDRs
• Pipeline created per dollar spent
• AE time recaptured for late-stage selling

Scenario 2: Mid-market manufacturer entering the US

You’re successful in Europe and APAC, but the US is new territory. You have limited brand recognition and a small US sales team.

Play:

• Use a Philippine team to validate ICPs and messaging across a few US regions.
• Run structured tests: VARs vs. end users, East vs. West, ops vs. finance personas.
• Use call recordings and qualitative notes to adjust your positioning.

Once you find traction, you can layer in more in-region AEs while keeping the Philippine engine as your scalable top-of-funnel.

Scenario 3: Established enterprise vendor looking to cut CAC

You already have a mature US SDR org, but acquisition costs are climbing and finance is breathing down your neck.

Play:

• Move part of your mid-market or long-tail segment to a Philippine SDR team.
• Keep enterprise, strategic accounts, and complex motions in-house.
• Use offshore SDRs for reactivation campaigns and event follow-up, where context is simpler.

Track cost per opp and cost per dollar of pipeline created, then reallocate budget accordingly.

Where SalesHive Fits In

If all of this sounds like a lot to orchestrate, that’s where a specialist partner earns its keep.

SalesHive is a B2B lead gen agency focused on one thing: outbound that actually turns into pipeline. Since 2016, we’ve combined cold calling, email outreach, SDR outsourcing, and list building to book 100,000+ meetings for 1,500+ clients across virtually every B2B industry.

We run remote SDR teams in both the US and the Philippines, so you can decide whether you want:

• US-based callers for brand-sensitive or highly technical motions, or
• Philippines-based teams for cost-efficient scale and broader coverage

Either way, you get:

• A full outbound playbook: scripts, cadences, and objection handling
• Our eMod AI engine that auto-personalizes cold emails at scale
• Integrated reporting on activity, meetings, and pipeline generated
• Month-to-month flexibility and risk-free onboarding (no annual lock-ins)

If you want outsourced cold callers but don’t want to build the machine yourself from scratch, plugging into a proven engine like SalesHive lets you skip the painful parts and go straight to booked meetings.

Conclusion + Next Steps

Outsourcing cold calling to the Philippines isn’t some experimental hack-it’s a mature, proven way to scale your outbound motion.

The country brings:

• A massive, experienced contact center workforce
• Strong English skills and cultural alignment with US buyers
• Cost savings that can hit 60-70% on labor without sacrificing quality

But success doesn’t come from just hiring "some people in Manila" and hoping for the best. It comes from:

1. Clear strategy, knowing why you’re offshoring and what success looks like.
2. Smart partner selection, listening to real calls, validating references, and checking tools and compliance.
3. Solid enablement, giving offshore SDRs the same ICP clarity, training, and feedback you’d give an in-house team.
4. Relentless QA, reviewing calls, tweaking scripts, and watching the right metrics weekly.
5. Cultural integration, treating Philippine reps as part of your revenue team, not a separate vendor.

If you’re ready to explore this path, start small: pick one segment, build a tight playbook, and launch with a pod you can heavily support for 60-90 days. Learn fast, iterate, and then decide how big you want to go.

And if you’d rather not reinvent the wheel, talk to a team that lives and breathes this stuff every day. SalesHive has already done the hard part-building and scaling high-performing cold calling teams in both the US and the Philippines-so you can plug in and start seeing meetings on your AEs’ calendars.

At the end of the day, more quality conversations with the right buyers is what moves the needle. Where those SDRs sit is just an implementation detail. When you get the model right, outsourced cold callers in the Philippines can quietly become one of the highest-ROI parts of your entire GTM.