Outsourcing Cold Calling to the Philippines: A Guide

Introduction

If you’re leading a B2B sales org right now, you’re probably feeling the squeeze.

Your board wants pipeline up and CAC down. SDR salaries keep creeping north. Reps churn just when they finally get good. And every week somebody in finance asks why you’re paying six figures for people to dial phones.

That’s why so many teams are looking at outsourcing cold calling to the Philippines.

Done right, it’s one of the fastest ways to add outbound capacity, lower your cost per meeting, and keep your AEs’ calendars full. Done wrong, you get burned lists, awkward calls, and a leadership team that declares “offshore doesn’t work” for the next five years.

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to make it work:

• Why the Philippines is such a strong market for B2B cold calling
• The real cost and ROI compared to hiring SDRs in the US
• How to structure roles, workflows, and metrics with a Philippine team
• Common pitfalls (data privacy, quality, culture) and how to avoid them
• A practical framework for piloting an outsourced SDR program

We’ll also touch on how SalesHive uses both US‑based and Philippines‑based SDR pods to blend cost efficiency with high‑quality sales development.

Grab a coffee and let’s break this down like we would in a sales ops war room.

Why So Many B2B Teams Are Looking to the Philippines

If you think of the Philippines as “cheap call centers reading scripts,” you’re about a decade behind.

The country has turned business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT‑BPM into a cornerstone of its economy. In 2024, the Philippine IT‑BPM industry generated around $38B in revenue and employed 1.82M people, growing roughly 7% year‑over‑year. A huge chunk of that is contact-center and voice work.

Globally, the contact and call center outsourcing market itself is on a tear. One recent outlook pegs the market at about $97.3B in 2024, expected to reach $163.9B by 2030-roughly 9% CAGR. Asia already holds about 45% of the global contact and call centre outsourcing market, with India and the Philippines leading the way.

That’s the macro story. Let’s talk about the pieces that matter directly to B2B sales.

Scale and Maturity of the BPO Industry

Within that IT‑BPM umbrella, the contact center/BPO subsector is the workhorse:

• It generated $29.5B in revenue in 2023 and is projected to hit about $32B in 2024.
• That’s roughly 83% of the entire IT‑BPM industry’s revenue.

Translation: the country has spent the last two decades industrializing voice work. Recruiting, training, QA, workforce management, 24/7 operations-that muscle is already built. You’re not asking a greenfield market to figure out how to handle your cold calling; you’re plugging into a mature ecosystem.

For B2B teams, that means you can:

• Scale up or down much faster than hiring in‑house
• Tap managers who’ve already run large phone teams
• Leverage proven processes for scheduling, QA, and coaching

English Proficiency and Cultural Fit

The other big reason Western companies love the Philippines: language.

In the 2023 EF English Proficiency Index, the Philippines ranked 20th out of 113 countries and 2nd in Asia (after Singapore), placing it in the “high proficiency” band. Separate research from Pearson’s Global English Proficiency Report found Philippine corporate employees scoring 63 on a four‑skills English test vs 57 globally, again above average across speaking and writing.

In plain English (no pun intended): you get reps who can comfortably handle professional conversations with US and European buyers.

On top of that:

• The Philippines is heavily influenced by US media and culture.
• Business hours commonly align with US time zones (night shift there).
• There’s a long history of US brands running support, sales, and collections from Manila and Cebu.

For cold calling, that cultural familiarity and accent neutrality matter. Prospects may not even realize they’re speaking to someone offshore-and more importantly, they’ll care far more about whether the conversation is relevant than where the rep sits.

Cost Efficiency Without Going “Cheap”

Now to the elephant in the room: cost.

According to Indeed’s aggregated salary data, the average call center representative in the Philippines earns about ₱21,403 per month (roughly $380 at current exchange rates). In contrast, recent SDR compensation data shows US SDR median base salaries around $55k and median OTE near $80k.

Across industries, a major call‑center market report notes that around 65% of enterprises cite cost optimization and efficiency as their primary reason for outsourcing, often realizing labor cost savings of more than 40% in offshore markets like the Philippines.

For B2B sales leaders, those savings translate into options:

• More headcount for the same budget
• Lower cost per meeting or per opportunity
• Ability to reinvest savings into better data, tools, or AE talent

The key is to use that arbitrage to increase quality and coverage, not just to get “cheap dials.”

Time-Zone Coverage and 24/7 Prospecting

Philippine BPOs are built around US and European hours. Night shift is standard, not an exception.

That means you can:

• Have SDRs calling East Coast at 9am ET and West Coast at 3pm PT without crushing anyone’s work‑life balance.
• Run follow‑the‑sun coverage when combined with other regions.
• Use early morning or late evening local hours for EMEA or APAC plays.

If your in‑house team is small, this alone can be worth it: you unlock full‑day calling windows instead of fighting over a few golden hours.

What Outsourced Cold Calling from the Philippines Actually Looks Like

Let’s get concrete. What does it actually look like when you outsource cold calling there for B2B?

Think of it as spinning up an external SDR pod rather than “renting callers.”

Typical Roles and Workflows

Most mature providers will structure a B2B cold‑calling program with:

• SDRs/BDRs (Philippines-based), Doing the actual dialing, research, and qualification.
• Team Lead / SDR Manager, Handling coaching, QA, and performance management.
• Account Manager / Client Success, Your main liaison for strategy, reporting, and adjustments.

Day‑to‑day, their workflow should look a lot like your internal SDRs:

1. List building & segmentation, Pulling targets based on your ICP (often with help from your data provider or the vendor’s research team).
2. Pre‑call research, Light research on accounts and contacts, often supported by tools and AI summaries.
3. Outbound sequences, Multi‑touch cadences mixing cold calls, emails, and sometimes LinkedIn.
4. Live qualification, Asking defined questions to establish fit, pain, timing, and interest.
5. Scheduling & handoff, Booking meetings on your AEs’ calendars and logging detailed notes in your CRM.
6. Feedback loop, Reviewing accepted/declined meetings and downstream opportunity quality.

When done well, they’re indistinguishable from your internal SDRs from a process standpoint-except your org chart and payroll are a lot lighter.

Cost and ROI Compared to In‑House SDRs

Let’s put some simple (but directionally correct) math around this.

In‑house US SDR (typical scenario)

• Base salary: $55,000
• Variable / OTE: $25,000 (for ~$80,000 OTE)
• Benefits, taxes, tools, management overhead: easily $15,000–$25,000+

All‑in, you’re often around $95,000–$105,000 per SDR per year for a reasonably competitive package.

Philippines-based SDR via a specialist vendor

The underlying local salary might be ~$380/month on average for a call center rep, but you’re not paying that directly. You’re paying for:

• Wages plus benefits
• Office or WFH infrastructure
• Management and QA
• Tools (dialer, QA, call recording)
• Vendor margin

In practice, seat rates for proper B2B SDR work will usually be in the $2,000–$4,000/month per rep range depending on scope and specialization.

That still often puts you in the $24,000–$48,000 per rep per year band all‑in-versus ~$100k for a US hire. Even at the high end, you’re looking at ~50-75% of the in‑house cost.

Now convert that to cost per qualified meeting.

Say:

• US SDR books 15 qualified meetings a month at $100k fully loaded → ~$555 per meeting.
• Philippine SDR books 12 qualified meetings a month at $36k fully loaded → ~$250 per meeting.

The offshore SDR is delivering similar output at less than half the cost per meeting. And that’s before you factor in ramp time, office space, recruiting fees, and attrition on the in‑house side.

Is this always the case? No. But it’s a very realistic outcome if you pick the right partner and manage the program.

Metrics You Should Hold a Philippine Team To

If the only numbers you see from your vendor are “dials” and “talk time,” run.

For B2B sales development, your Philippine SDRs should be measured like any serious SDR org:

• Inputs
• Dials per rep per day
• Email touchpoints / LinkedIn touches
• Accounts touched per week

• Conversion metrics
• Connect rate (live conversations / dials)
• Conversations → meetings booked
• Meetings → accepted by AEs
• Meetings → pipeline/opportunities created

• Outcome metrics
• Pipeline value sourced per month/quarter
• Opportunities closed‑won sourced by the team
• Cost per qualified meeting and per opportunity

This is also where strong partners differentiate. Some reports show that 45% of contact centers already outsource part of their workloads, but half of those leaders say outsourcing makes it harder to keep the organization’s mission and values intact. The vendors who stay aligned with you are the ones transparent enough to show you the real funnel-and willing to be judged by it.

Key Risks, Myths, and How to De‑Risk Your Program

Outsourcing cold calling to the Philippines is not magic. There are very real risks you need to manage. Let’s hit the big ones.

Data Privacy, Security, and Compliance

You’re giving another company access to your prospect and customer data. That’s a big deal.

The good news: the Philippines has its own comprehensive privacy regime, the Data Privacy Act of 2012, and detailed implementing rules that address outsourcing. The law makes a clear distinction between the personal information controller (you) and the personal information processor (your provider), and requires controllers to use contractual and other safeguards when subcontracting processing.

In practice, that means you should:

• Map out who is controller vs processor for each data set.
• Sign a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) that covers:
• Purpose and duration of processing
• Types of personal data
• Security measures and breach processes
• Sub‑processing rules
• Data retention and deletion
• Align with your home‑market regulations (TCPA, CAN‑SPAM, GDPR if applicable).
• Clarify call recording policies and consent language.

Treat this as non‑negotiable table stakes. Any serious Philippine SDR provider should already have this dialed in and be able to walk your security team through it.

“Accent Issues” and B2B Sales Complexity

Accent is one of those things buyers worry about more than customers do-especially in 2025, when global teams are the norm.

Remember:

• The Philippines ranks in the high‑proficiency band for English and 2nd in Asia on the EF EPI.
• The country built its early call‑center dominance precisely because of accent neutrality and cultural alignment.

That said, for B2B cold calling you do want to:

• Screen for clarity, Listen to sample recordings before you commit to a team.
• Localize scripts, Phrases your US reps use casually might be harder for others to deliver naturally.
• Train on industry jargon, Acronyms, product names, and tech stacks all need practice.

The bigger determinant of success isn’t accent-it’s whether reps understand who they’re calling, what problems you solve, and how to run a tight discovery call.

Culture, Alignment, and Turnover

This is where a lot of outsourcing efforts die quietly.

ICMI’s 2024 State of the Contact Center report notes that 45% of respondents outsource some of their workload, primarily to cut costs and expand service coverage. But 50% of those who outsource say it’s harder to keep their organization’s mission and values intact.

In other words: dumping work on a vendor without integrating them into your culture backfires.

To avoid that:

• Onboard Philippine SDRs like internal hires. Give them product training, competitor briefs, and access to your knowledge base.
• Invite them to sales standups and pipeline reviews. Let them hear deal stories and objections firsthand.
• Set joint goals with your AEs. If your AEs don’t respect outsourced meetings, they won’t work them-and your SDRs will stop trying.
• Push for continuity. Ask your partner about attrition and how they retain high performers. You don’t want your “team” turning over every three months.

When you treat them as a transactional call center, you get call‑center‑level outcomes. When you treat them as a remote SDR office, the results look very different.

How to Choose the Right Philippine Cold‑Calling Partner

Not all Philippine providers are built for B2B sales development. Many are optimized for customer support, collections, or high‑volume B2C campaigns.

Here’s how to separate the real SDR partners from the glorified telemarketing shops.

1. Strategic Fit: Are They Actually a B2B SDR Shop?

Ask blunt questions:

• What percentage of your work is B2B outbound sales development vs B2C or support?
• Which industries and deal sizes do you specialize in (SaaS, IT, manufacturing, mid‑market vs enterprise)?
• Can you share case studies where you booked meetings and sourced pipeline that looks like ours?

You’re looking for:

• Familiarity with multi‑step buying committees, not just single‑call closes.
• Experience selling into VP/C‑level personas, not just consumers.
• Comfort working from target account lists instead of just name‑generating campaigns.

SalesHive, for example, was built specifically around B2B outbound-cold calling, email outreach, list building, and SDR outsourcing for hundreds of B2B clients-rather than being a generic contact center that “also does sales.”

2. Operational Maturity and Tech Stack

If your vendor is running everything out of spreadsheets and a basic dialer, you’ll hit a ceiling fast.

Look for:

• Integration with your CRM, Activities and meetings should sync automatically.
• Modern dialer stack, Local presence, call recording, dispo tracking, and basic analytics.
• QA and coaching workflows, Regular call reviews, scoring rubrics, and coaching plans.
• Reporting cadence, Weekly or bi‑weekly reviews, not a once‑a‑month slide deck.

Ask to see sample dashboards and reports. If they can’t show you:

• conversion rates by list source,
• performance by rep, or
• pipeline attribution,

…they’re not running an SDR operation; they’re just making calls.

3. Talent Model and Management

Dig into how they hire, train, and retain SDRs:

• How many years of experience do your typical SDRs have?
• What does your onboarding program look like for a new client campaign?
• What’s your average tenure for SDRs on B2B accounts?

You want to hear about:

• Structured training (product, industry, objection handling)
• Clear promotion paths (e.g., Sr. SDR, team lead)
• Competitive compensation and recognition programs

High churn on their side = constant ramp on yours.

4. Pricing Models and What They Really Mean

You’ll typically see a few flavors:

• Seat-based (per‑rep, per‑month), You pay a flat fee per SDR pod.
• Pay‑per‑meeting, You’re charged only for meetings set (with lots of fine print).
• Hybrid models, A base fee plus a meeting bonus.

Seat‑based gives you more control and usually better quality, but you carry a bit more risk. Pure pay‑per‑meeting can work, but it often incentivizes quantity over qualification if not structured carefully.

Whichever model you pick, do this:

• Tie incentives to qualified meetings that your AEs accept.
• Cap no‑show exposure and define replacement rules.
• Make sure you get visibility into activity and pipeline, not just a count of meetings.

5. Cultural and Process Alignment

Finally, feel out whether they operate like a sales org or a ticket queue.

Look for partners who:

• Have sales leaders involved in your account, not just project managers.
• Are comfortable talking about ICP, messaging tests, and pipeline, not just SLAs.
• Are willing to adjust scripts, targeting, and cadences based on what your AEs are seeing.

You’re not buying a call center-you’re extending your sales development function.

How This Applies to Your Sales Team

So how do you actually plug a Philippine cold‑calling team into your existing sales machine without chaos?

When Outsourcing to the Philippines Makes Sense

You’re a strong candidate if:

• You have a clear ICP and repeatable deal pattern.
• You’re struggling with SDR hiring, ramp, or retention in your home market.
• Your AEs are spending too much time prospecting vs running deals.
• You want to increase market coverage (more accounts, more personas) without doubling your SDR budget.

You’re not ready if:

• You’re still figuring out who you sell to or what problem you actually solve.
• You don’t have at least a basic CRM process for tracking leads and opportunities.
• You can’t commit internal time for training and feedback.

Offshore SDRs are force multipliers, not miracle workers.

Hybrid Models That Work in Practice

Some proven patterns we see across B2B teams:

1. Philippines for net‑new, US for strategic/late stage
• Philippine SDRs handle new logo prospecting across mid‑market accounts.
• US SDRs focus on strategic accounts, complex buys, and expansion.

1. Philippines for volume, in‑house for vertical specialists
• Offshore team covers broad horizontal ICP.
• Internal team owns a few high‑value verticals where deep domain knowledge is key.

1. Philippines as event and campaign follow‑up engine
• Internal marketing runs webinars, events, or big content launches.
• Philippine SDR pod handles all follow‑up calls and reactivation of old leads.

All three take advantage of the Philippines’ cost and scale benefits without putting your entire outbound motion in one external basket.

A Simple 90‑Day Pilot Blueprint

Here’s a no‑nonsense way to test this without betting the farm.

Weeks 0-2: Design & onboarding

• Define target segments, personas, and geo coverage.
• Build or clean a starter list (a few thousand accounts/contacts).
• Finalize qualification criteria (BANT‑style or your own variant).
• Co‑create talk tracks and objection‑handling guides.
• Connect your CRM and agree on data fields/dispositions.

Weeks 3-6: Launch & stabilize

• Start with 1-3 SDRs and a realistic activity target (e.g., 60-80 dials/day).
• Meet weekly to review: connect rates, early meetings, call recordings.
• Adjust lists, scripts, and cadences based on feedback.

Weeks 7-12: Optimize & decide

• Lock in your baseline performance (meetings/month, acceptance rates, early pipeline).
• Identify 2-3 winning segments where conversion looks best.
• Decide whether to:
• scale SDR headcount,
• narrow focus to top segments, or
• pivot messaging before scaling.

Measure the pilot against a simple scorecard:

• Meetings per month per SDR
• Meetings accepted and attended by AEs
• Pipeline created and influenced
• Cost per qualified meeting

If the numbers beat your in‑house benchmarks (or achieve your target cost per meeting), you’re ready to roll out more seats.

Conclusion + Next Steps

Outsourcing cold calling to the Philippines isn’t a silver bullet-but it is one of the most powerful levers you’ve got if:

• Your AEs need more conversations.
• Your SDR budget is under pressure.
• You’re ready to treat offshore reps as a real extension of your sales team.

The macro tailwinds are strong: a $38B IT‑BPM industry with millions of experienced workers, a global contact‑center outsourcing market growing near double digits annually, and enterprises reporting 40%+ labor cost savings when they tap offshore talent.

Your job is to turn those macro advantages into pipeline. That means:

1. Picking a partner built for B2B sales development, not just generic customer support.
2. Plugging them into your CRM, sales process, and culture like you would internal SDRs.
3. Managing the relationship based on funnel metrics and revenue, not just activity.

If you want an easier path, work with a specialist like SalesHive that already runs both US‑based and Philippines‑based SDR pods, integrates AI‑driven email personalization with calling, and has booked 100,000+ meetings for 1,500+ B2B clients across industries.

Either way, the playbook is the same: start small, instrument everything, coach hard, and scale what the numbers prove.

You don’t need more opinions about whether offshoring “works.” You need a 90‑day experiment, real metrics, and the willingness to double down when the economics and pipeline line up.