Most B2B founders and sales leaders assume that building a real outbound function requires hiring a full-time BDR team. You need headcount, you need dedicated people, you need a full SDR organization. That assumption is wrong, and it costs companies time and money that they do not have.
You can build a fully functional, scalable outbound operation using fractional talent, the right tools, and a documented playbook. Here is how to do it.
What a BDR Function Actually Requires
Strip away the org chart thinking and a BDR function is just these five components:
- A documented ICP with account and contact prioritization criteria
- A target account list that is refreshed weekly or monthly
- An outreach sequence for each major buyer persona
- A tool stack for sequencing, CRM, and data enrichment
- A reporting cadence that tracks leading and lagging indicators
None of these require a full-time employee to build or maintain. All of them can be built and run by an experienced fractional BDR working 20 to 40 hours per month.
The Tool Stack You Need
Building an outbound function requires four categories of tooling:
CRM: HubSpot Starter or Professional is the best choice for most companies under $10M ARR. It handles contact management, deal tracking, and basic reporting without the complexity and cost of Salesforce.
Sequencing tool: Apollo.io is the best value option for most companies. It handles email sequencing, contact enrichment, account research, and basic analytics in one platform. Outreach or Salesloft are more powerful but significantly more expensive and complex.
Data enrichment: Apollo covers basic enrichment. For accounts that need deeper enrichment, Clay is excellent but adds cost. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is essential for account-based targeting and LinkedIn outreach.
Calling tool: If phone is part of your channel mix, Aircall or Orum integrate well with Apollo and HubSpot. If you are starting with email and LinkedIn only, you can defer calling infrastructure until you have validated the motion.
The Playbook That Makes the Function Scalable
The difference between a BDR function that scales and one that collapses when your fractional person is unavailable is documentation. Every process, every sequence, every targeting criterion needs to be written down in a playbook that a new person could pick up and execute.
A proper BDR playbook includes: ICP definition with firmographic and technographic criteria, target account selection methodology, contact identification and prioritization approach, email sequences for each major persona with subject line variations, LinkedIn outreach templates, cold call script and objection handling, qualification criteria and discovery question bank, and handoff process to account executives.
Building this playbook is part of what a good fractional BDR does in the first 60 days of an engagement. By the end of month two, you should have a documented system, not just a person executing. The person is replaceable. The system compounds over time.
Scaling the Function Over Time
Starting with one fractional BDR generating 8 to 15 qualified meetings per month is the foundation. Once the playbook is proven and the tool stack is configured, you have several scaling options:
- Increase the fractional BDR's hours from 20 to 40 per month to roughly double output
- Add a second fractional BDR focused on a different ICP segment or geographic market
- Transition a successful fractional BDR to a full-time role with a proven motion already in place
- Hire a full-time BDR into the proven system, dramatically reducing ramp time
Option four is often the best outcome. You have used the fractional model to build and prove the system, and now you can hire a full-time BDR who executes a working playbook rather than building from scratch. For more on structuring a fractional BDR engagement, visit the fractional BDR page or book a call.