We went back through the recorded sales calls behind every client we signed in the last six months. Price came up in 43% of those deals. “I need to run this by someone” came up in 57%.
Usually it's the CEO. Sometimes it's the CFO, a board member, or a co-founder who controls the budget. Either way, the person on the call wants to move, and the person who signs hasn't heard a word of it yet.
That gap is where outbound projects go to die. The champion retells the pitch from memory, the approver asks five questions nobody prepared for, and three weeks later everyone is “still thinking about it.” If you're the person who has to sell this internally, this post is for you.
The five questions
What your approver will ask.
The CEOs, CFOs and board members with the final say kept coming back to the same five things. Very few cared about the tools.
“What does this cost compared to hiring someone?”
They aren't comparing you to another agency. They're comparing you to an SDR on payroll, and many have hired one that didn't work out. One company we spoke to had lost about $65K on each of three failed sales hires.
“When will we see results?”
A CEO who expects meetings in week one will call it a failure in week four, even when it's on track.
“How do we know the meetings will be real?”
They've seen calendars full of people who were never going to buy.
“Have they done this for companies like us?”
Logos don't answer this. A result from their own space does.
“What happens if it doesn't work?”
This is the one that decides it. They want to know the downside is capped before they think about the upside.
Walk in with a clear answer to all five and the conversation is short. Walk in without them and it becomes a project.
What to bring
A number, a date, a definition or a way out.
The answer that gets a yes is almost never a better adjective. Ask any agency you're evaluating for these before you take it upstairs.
| Their question | What to bring |
|---|---|
| What does it cost compared to a hire? | The agency's monthly cost next to a hire's full cost: salary, tools, data, a manager's time and the months before they're productive. Note that an agency team covers several channels, not one. |
| When will we see results? | A dated plan: launch date, when first meetings are expected, and when the meeting target gets set. Ours: live 14 days after signature, first meetings expected in week three, a target agreed by day 60. |
| How do we know the meetings are real? | A written definition of a qualified meeting, plus sample call recordings from the person who'll represent your brand. |
| Have they done this for companies like us? | One result from your industry or buyer, and the name of a client you can call. |
| What if it doesn't work? | The exit terms in writing: checkpoints, what the agency owes you if it misses, and what you keep when it ends. Seven questions to ask before you sign. |
The last row matters most. Approvers say yes faster to a capped downside than to a big upside.
Copy and forward
A one-page memo your approver will read.
Your approver won't read a deck. Copy this, fill in the brackets, and send it before the meeting, not after.
Subject: Outbound proposal for [quarter]: decision needed by [date] THE PROBLEM We booked [X] outbound meetings last quarter against a goal of [Y]. [What we tried: hires, an agency, tools] didn't close the gap. THE PROPOSAL [Agency] runs [channels] for [term], starting [date]. Campaigns go live [date]. First meetings are expected by [date]. COST $[X] a month for [number] specialists across [channels], versus about $[Y] all-in for one SDR covering one channel. WHAT WE GET A target of [range] qualified meetings a month from [month]. A qualified meeting means [definition, written into the contract]. PROOF [Result from a company like ours]. Reference: [name, title, company]. THE DOWNSIDE Checkpoint every [period]. If they miss, [remedy]. We keep the lists, scripts and recordings either way. Decision needed by [date] to launch by [date].
If the agency can't give you what you need to fill in every bracket, that tells you something too.
Better yet
Get them on the call.
The memo gets you a hearing. A 30-minute call with the approver in the room is what gets you a decision.
Deal one · signed 13 days later
A VP of Sales spent two weeks trying to brief his CEO while the CEO weighed another agency. When the CEO joined a call himself, he agreed in principle on that call.
Deal two · signed a week later
The CEO wanted proof from companies like his. He joined a call and was offered two former clients in his industry as references.
The deals that went quiet had the opposite shape: the person we spoke to liked the plan, took it upstairs alone, and the answer never came back. Asking the agency to present isn't a sign you couldn't sell it. It's how you stop being the middleman for questions you didn't write.
Invite the agency
to your internal meeting for the last 30 minutes, after you've discussed it among yourselves.
Book a decision call
with the approver before you hang up with the agency, not after the follow-up email.
Send the memo first
so the call is about the open questions, not the basics.
FAQ
Common questions.
What will my CEO ask before approving an outbound agency?
Cost compared to a hire, when results arrive, how you know meetings are real, whether the agency has done it for companies like yours, and what happens if it doesn't work.
How do I compare an agency's cost to hiring an SDR?
Put the agency's monthly cost next to a hire's full cost: salary, tools, data, a manager's time and the months before they're productive. An agency team covers several channels, not one.
When should we expect results from outbound?
Ask for a dated plan. BizDev Labs goes live 14 days after signature, expects first meetings in week three, and agrees a meeting target by day 60.
What matters most to an approver?
A capped downside. Get the exit terms in writing: checkpoints, what the agency owes you if it misses, and what you keep when it ends.
Should the agency present to my CEO?
Yes. A 30-minute call with the approver in the room is what gets a decision. Send the memo first so the call covers open questions, not the basics.
Make the yes easy
It isn't a no. It's a handoff.
Give your approver the five answers on one page, get them into the conversation early, and set a date for the decision. If you're building the case for outbound, book a call and bring your approver. We'll answer all five questions in 30 minutes, and if we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.