What is Outsourced Head of Sales?
An outsourced Head of Sales is a senior sales leader, typically engaged on a fractional or contract basis through a specialist firm, who owns your B2B revenue strategy, sales development, and pipeline generation. Instead of hiring a full‑time VP of Sales, companies plug in this external executive to design, lead, and optimize SDR and inside sales teams.
Understanding Outsourced Head of Sales in B2B Sales
This model has gained traction because traditional VP of Sales hires are expensive and risky. As of 2025, the average VP of Sales in the U.S. earns around $225,000 in base salary alone, before bonuses and equitysalary.com. Yet new research across 14,000 SaaS executives shows VP of Sales roles average only about two years in tenuresaastr.com, and Bridge Group data indicates roughly 67% of VP Sales hires fail within the first 18 monthshustlex.io. For founders and growth‑stage companies, tying up that much capital in a role with such a high failure rate is often untenable.
An outsourced Head of Sales addresses this by combining senior‑level expertise with a flexible engagement model. They typically define your ICP, messaging, and go‑to‑market strategy; architect SDR and inside sales processes; select and operationalize tools like CRM, dialers, and sequencing platforms; and manage cold outbound channels (phone, email, and social). They work closely with SDRs (in‑house or outsourced), AEs, and RevOps to forecast pipeline, improve conversion rates, and continuously refine playbooks based on data.
Over time, the role has evolved from simple “sales coaching” into true outsourced commercial leadership, often paired with outsourced SDR teams. This shift mirrors the broader growth of the B2B sales outsourcing market, which has reached more than $100 billion globally and is projected to nearly double over the next decadeactivatedscale.com. Modern outsourced Heads of Sales are expected to be fluent in AI‑driven prospecting, multi‑channel outreach, and analytics‑driven decision making, and to plug seamlessly into existing tech stacks. In many organizations, they are used as a bridge-standing up a scalable sales development engine quickly while the company proves product‑market fit, before eventually hiring a permanent CRO or VP of Sales.
Key Benefits
Senior Sales Leadership Without Full-Time Cost
An outsourced Head of Sales gives you VP-level strategy and leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive. This lets growth-stage B2B companies access top talent earlier, when they can't yet justify a permanent seven-figure total compensation package.
Faster Ramp and Proven Playbooks
Because outsourced Heads of Sales work across many clients, they bring ready-made outbound sequences, qualification frameworks, and SDR management practices. This dramatically shortens the time it takes to stand up a functioning sales development motion and start generating qualified meetings.
Reduced Execution Risk
With high failure rates among first-time VP Sales hires, using an outsourced leader reduces the risk of a mis-hire derailing your growth plan. You can test, iterate, and scale your go-to-market model with a flexible engagement, and only later codify it into a permanent in-house leadership role.
Access to Modern Tools and Market Insights
Outsourced Heads of Sales are usually fluent in contemporary B2B tech stacks-Salesforce or HubSpot, Outreach or Salesloft, Gong, ZoomInfo, and more. They bring benchmark data, tool best practices, and current market insights that an internal leader might need months or years to acquire.
Scalable Sales Development Engine
When paired with outsourced SDR teams, an outsourced Head of Sales can quickly scale outbound calling, email, and LinkedIn outreach into new segments or regions. This is particularly valuable for international expansion or testing new ICPs before committing heavy internal resources.
Common Challenges
Limited Authority and Internal Alignment
If the outsourced Head of Sales isn't granted clear decision-making authority on pricing, territories, or hiring, they can't fully execute the strategy they design. Misalignment between founders, product, and outsourced leadership frequently leads to stalled initiatives and inconsistent messaging in the market.
Integration With Existing Team and Culture
Introducing an external leader into an existing sales or SDR team can create friction if roles and expectations aren't clearly communicated. Reps may resist new processes or tools, which slows adoption of improved playbooks and undermines performance gains.
Data, Reporting, and Tech Stack Complexity
Outsourced leaders depend on accurate CRM and engagement data to diagnose pipeline issues and optimize outreach. Poor CRM hygiene, fragmented systems, or limited admin access make it hard for them to build reliable forecasts and test campaigns, which can delay impact.
Over-Scoping the Role
Companies sometimes expect an outsourced Head of Sales to be strategist, frontline manager, closer, and RevOps lead all at once. When the scope becomes unrealistic, important work like SDR coaching, messaging iteration, and funnel analysis gets deprioritized, reducing results.
Continuity and Knowledge Transfer Risk
If there's no structured handoff plan, critical knowledge-ICP insights, winning talk tracks, and process nuances-can leave with the outsourced leader. This makes it harder for future in-house leadership to maintain momentum and may require rebuilding playbooks from scratch.
Key Statistics
Best Practices
Define Scope, Decision Rights, and KPIs Up Front
Before engaging an outsourced Head of Sales, clearly define what they own: SDR leadership, forecasting, hiring, comp design, and tech stack decisions. Agree on concrete KPIs (meetings booked, pipeline created, conversion rates) and reporting cadence so everyone knows how success will be measured.
Embed Them in Your Leadership Rhythm
Treat the outsourced leader like a true executive: include them in weekly pipeline reviews, product roadmap discussions, and board prep. This context helps them align sales development with company strategy, and ensures their decisions aren't made in a vacuum.
Ensure Deep CRM and Tool Access
Grant the outsourced Head of Sales admin-level visibility into your CRM, sequencing tools, and call recordings so they can diagnose issues quickly. Pair this with a RevOps resource (internal or external) to implement changes fast-new fields, dashboards, and routing rules.
Pair Strategy With High-Quality SDR Execution
A great strategy without consistent outbound execution won't move the needle. Combine your outsourced Head of Sales with a proven SDR partner-like SalesHive-for cold calling, email outreach, and list building, so strategic decisions are rapidly tested in live campaigns.
Start With a 90-Day Plan and Iterate
Ask your outsourced leader to build a 30-60-90 day plan focused on quick diagnostic wins (fixing data and messaging) and early pipeline creation. Review results monthly, and expand scope only after you see traction in leading indicators like meeting volume and opportunity quality.
Plan for Transition to In-House Leadership
From day one, document processes, playbooks, and dashboards so they can be handed off to a future VP Sales or CRO. This ensures you retain institutional knowledge and can scale beyond the initial outsourced engagement without losing momentum.
Expert Tips
Start With a Clear Problem Statement
Before hiring an outsourced Head of Sales, define the specific problems you want solved-e.g., lack of qualified meetings, weak SDR management, or poor forecasting. A tightly scoped mandate lets the leader design focused initiatives and makes it easier to judge whether the engagement is successful.
Give Immediate Access to Customers and Calls
In the first 30 days, have your outsourced leader listen to recorded discovery calls, join live demos, and interview a few key customers. Direct exposure to buyer language and objections accelerates the creation of effective outbound messaging and qualification criteria.
Align Compensation or Fees to Leading Indicators
Where possible, structure part of the engagement around leading indicators such as qualified meetings booked, sales-accepted opportunities, or pipeline generated-not just closed-won revenue. This ensures the outsourced Head of Sales is incentivized to build a strong sales development engine, not just chase late-stage deals.
Pair Them With a Strong SDR Partner
Even the best strategy fails without consistent outreach volume and quality. Give your outsourced leader a dependable execution arm-like SalesHive's SDR teams for cold calling and email outreach-so they can iterate on scripts and cadences quickly and prove what works.
Insist on Transparent, Actionable Dashboards
Require your outsourced Head of Sales to build dashboards that your leadership team can understand at a glance: meeting volume by SDR, pipeline by segment, and conversion by channel. This shared visibility builds trust and enables faster decision-making about where to invest or pivot.
Related Tools & Resources
Salesforce Sales Cloud
Enterprise CRM platform used by outsourced Heads of Sales to centralize accounts, contacts, opportunities, and SDR activity, and to build standardized forecasting and reporting.
HubSpot Sales Hub
CRM and sales engagement suite that supports pipeline management, email sequences, and call tracking for lean B2B teams working with outsourced leadership.
Outreach
Sales engagement platform for orchestrating multi-step email, call, and social sequences, enabling outsourced Heads of Sales to standardize and scale SDR playbooks.
Salesloft
Revenue workflow and sequencing tool that helps manage SDR cadences, call recording, and performance analytics across outsourced and in-house teams.
Gong
Conversation intelligence platform that records and analyzes sales calls and meetings so outsourced leaders can coach reps and refine messaging based on real customer conversations.
ZoomInfo SalesOS
B2B data platform providing firmographic, technographic, and contact data that outsourced Heads of Sales use to define ICPs and fuel targeted outbound lists.
Partner with SalesHive for Outsourced Head of Sales
Because SalesHive has booked 100,000+ meetings for 1,500+ B2B clients, outsourced Heads of Sales can plug into proven outreach frameworks instead of starting from scratch. We collaborate closely on KPI design, CRM workflows, and multi‑channel cadences, then provide transparent reporting on meetings set, pipeline generated, and win‑rate impact. With no annual contracts and risk‑free onboarding, SalesHive gives outsourced sales leaders a low‑friction way to validate and scale a sales development strategy before a company commits to building the entire function in‑house.
Related Services:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an outsourced Head of Sales actually do day to day?
Day to day, an outsourced Head of Sales reviews pipeline and SDR activity, adjusts outbound messaging and cadences, coaches SDRs and AEs, and collaborates with founders on strategy and forecasting. They also work with RevOps or CRM admins to improve data quality, build dashboards, and run experiments to increase meetings and opportunities created.
When is an outsourced Head of Sales better than hiring a full-time VP of Sales?
An outsourced Head of Sales is ideal when you're still validating product-market fit, don't yet have a repeatable sales motion, or can't justify the cost and risk of a full-time VP. In these scenarios, a fractional leader can design and test your sales development engine quickly, then help you determine when it's time to bring on a permanent VP or CRO.
How does an outsourced Head of Sales work with SDR outsourcing partners like SalesHive?
Typically, the outsourced Head of Sales owns strategy-ICP definition, messaging, KPIs, and process-while a partner like SalesHive owns execution through SDR teams running cold calling, email outreach, and list building. The leader sets the playbook and targets, and SalesHive operationalizes it at scale, with tight feedback loops through shared dashboards and weekly performance reviews.
How long should an outsourced Head of Sales engagement last?
Most companies see meaningful impact within 3-6 months, especially around SDR performance, pipeline generation, and process clarity. Many engagements then extend to 9-18 months to refine the model, hire or upskill internal managers, and transition ownership smoothly to an in-house VP Sales or CRO once the motion is proven.
How do I measure the success of an outsourced Head of Sales?
Success should be evaluated on both leading and lagging indicators: improved SDR activity quality, meetings and opportunities created, pipeline coverage versus targets, and clearer forecasting. You should also see qualitative improvements such as better messaging, cleaner CRM data, and more confident reps-all of which make it easier for your next permanent sales leader to succeed.
What's the difference between an outsourced Head of Sales and a typical SDR agency?
A typical SDR agency primarily focuses on execution-running outreach campaigns and booking meetings-often with limited influence over your broader sales strategy. An outsourced Head of Sales, by contrast, operates as an executive, owning strategy, process design, metrics, and cross-functional alignment, and may then choose to pair with an SDR agency like SalesHive for scalable execution.
