Is AI Lead Nurturing Better Than Hiring SDRs for Recovering Stalled Leads?
You've got leads piling up. They inquire. They ghost. Your team chases. Nothing happens.
Stalled leads aren't a mystery. They're a math problem. Service businesses lose 50-70% of inbound leads to poor follow-up. That's revenue leaking out the door.
Hiring SDRs seems logical. Train them. Pay them. Hope they deliver.
But operators know better. SDRs bring baggage: costs, burnout, inconsistency. AI lead nurturing fixes this. It runs sequences without fatigue.
Let's break it down. Costs first. Then performance. Finally, the ROI math that matters.
The SDR Trap: High Costs, Low Reliability
SDRs sound great on paper. Dedicated closers for stalled leads.
Reality hits hard.
Hiring and Overhead
Base salary: $45K-$65K/year for entry-level SDRs in service industries.
Benefits: Add 30%. Health, PTO, tools.
Onboarding: 4-6 weeks. Lost productivity.
Ramp time: 3 months to hit quota.
Total first-year cost? $80K minimum. Per SDR.
Scale to 2-3 SDRs for volume. Now you're at $200K+ annually.
Performance Pitfalls
SDRs flake.
Burnout: High churn. 40% annual turnover in sales roles.
Inconsistency: Busy days mean skipped follow-ups.
Hours: 9-5 only. After-hours leads die.
Quota pressure: They chase easy wins. Stalled leads get deprioritized.
Result: 20-30% recovery rate on stalled leads. At best.
I've seen dental practices burn $100K on SDR teams. Recovered leads? Barely 15%.
Math doesn't lie. You're paying for humans who act human.
AI Lead Nurturing: The Revenue Machine
AI isn't a gimmick. It's a system.
Tykon.io's AI lead nurturing engages stalled leads instantly. Sequences run 24/7. No coffee breaks.
How It Works
Detection: Spots stalled leads in your CRM or inbox.
Engagement: Personalized texts/emails. "Hey, saw you inquired about whitening. Still interested?"
Qualification: Asks qualifying questions. Books calls.
Escalation: Hands hot leads to your team.
Loop: Integrates with review/referral engines.
No staff dependency. Unified inbox tracks everything.
Cost? $500-$2K/month. Flat. Scalable.
Key Wins Over SDRs
24/7 Operation: Recovers after-hours leads. SDRs sleep.
Consistency: 100% follow-up rate. Every lead, every time.
Speed: Responds in seconds. Speed-to-lead boosts conversions 300%.
Scalability: Handles 10 or 10,000 leads. No hires needed.
Head-to-Head Comparison: AI vs SDRs
Let's use numbers. Assume a medspa with 200 stalled leads/month.
| Metric | SDR Team (2 reps) | Tykon.io AI Nurturing |
|---------------------|----------------------------|---------------------------|
| Monthly Cost | $16,700 ($200K/year) | $1,500 |
| Recovery Rate | 25% (50 leads) | 45% (90 leads) |
| Avg Deal Value | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Recovered Revenue | $100K/year | $216K/year |
| Net ROI | 5x (after costs) | 144x |
| Consistency | 70% follow-up | 100% |
| Burnout Risk | High | None |
AI wins on every line. Recovered revenue math: (Leads recovered) x (Deal value) - Cost.
SDRs cost $16K/month for $100K revenue. Breakeven barely.
AI? $1.5K for $18K/month. Pure profit.
Real-World Math: Dentist Example
Dr. Smith runs a practice. 150 stalled leads/month from ads/FB.
Old SDR Process:
Hired 1 SDR: $60K/year + 30% benefits = $78K.
Recovery: 20% (30 leads).
$1,500 avg case value.
Annual revenue: $540K.
Net after cost: $462K.
Tykon AI Switch:
$1,800/month ($21.6K/year).
Recovery: 50% (75 leads). AI doesn't forget.
Same $1,500 value.
Annual revenue: $1.35M.
Net: $1.33M.
Difference? $868K extra revenue. No headcount.
This is flywheel thinking. Recovered leads → More reviews → Referrals → More leads.
Funnels leak. Tykon compounds.
Why SDRs Fail Stalled Leads
Stalled leads need persistence. SDRs hate them.
Too "cold."
Manual tracking sucks.
Inboxes overflow.
AI thrives here. Automated sequences: Day 1 text, Day 3 email, Day 7 voice drop.
SLA-driven. Guaranteed follow-up.
Tykon installs in 7 days. Instant AI engagement.
Tykon.io: The No-Brainer Revenue Acquisition Flywheel
Not another chatbot. Tykon is your revenue engine.
Fixes 3 leaks:
After-hours leads: AI responds instantly.
Under-collected reviews: Post-job automation.
Unsystematic referrals: Compounding loops.
Unified system. Beats Podium, CRMs, agencies.
For dentists, medspas, home services. Any lead-driven SMB.
Results: 3-5x ROI in month 1. Guaranteed appointments.
Stop Leaking Revenue
You don't need more leads. Fix the leaks.
SDRs are yesterday's fix. Expensive. Unreliable.
AI lead nurturing is the operator's edge. Math proves it.
Plug into Tykon.io today. Recover stalled leads. Build your flywheel.
Written by Jerrod Anthraper, Founder of Tykon.io