How to choose an SDR recruitment agency in London

Check for SaaS specialism, how candidates are actually assessed before they reach you, and what an agency can show for time to hire and probation retention. The fee percentage alone tells you very little; what you get for it tells you much more. Here is what to check, in roughly the order it matters.

SaaS specialism, not a generalist book of business

A generalist agency recruiting across ten sectors does not know what a good SDR call sounds like, what OTE structure is competitive this quarter, or which SaaS environments suit which candidates. Ask how much of the agency's placement volume is SaaS GTM specifically, and how long they've specialised in it, rather than taking "we do sales recruitment" at face value.

How candidates are actually assessed

Ask what happens between a CV landing on the agency's desk and it landing on yours. A CV review alone tells you almost nothing about whether someone can actually sell. Timberseed's own process, for example, includes a structured screening interview and a live cold-call role-play with every SDR before we put them forward, not just a conversation about their CV.

Time to hire, and what it's measured from

Ask for a specific, recent figure measured from brief to offer accepted, not from first conversation to interest expressed. Timberseed's own average for SDR and entry-level hires is 10 days, brief to offer accepted, which only holds because of direct network reach rather than posting a job and waiting.

Probation retention, not just placement volume

A fast hire who leaves within three months has cost you more than a slower one who stays. Ask what percentage of an agency's placements pass probation, not how many people they've placed in total. 96% of Timberseed's placements pass probation.

Multilingual reach, if you're hiring across Europe

If you're expanding into DACH, the Nordics, France, or Benelux, ask specifically about the agency's multilingual network rather than assuming an English-speaking book of candidates covers it. Timberseed holds 15,000+ German, French, Nordic, and Dutch-speaking GTM professionals in its network; roughly one in three of our placements is a language specialist.

The path from SDR to AE

A good SDR agency should be able to tell you what typically happens to a strong SDR after 12 to 18 months, because that's usually when they're ready to move to AE. If the agency only thinks about the seat you're hiring for and not what happens after, you'll be back in the market sooner than you expect.

Fee model

Ask whether the fee is contingent (payable on placement) or retained (committed upfront for a more exclusive process), and get the exact percentage confirmed against your specific brief before the search starts. A fee quoted as a vague range with no commitment to a final figure is worth querying.

For what Timberseed does on each of these points, see our SDR & BDR recruitment page.