What is SDR?
Sales Development Representative — a sales role focused on prospecting and qualifying leads at the top of the funnel, setting meetings for account executives rather than closing deals.
Understanding the Details
SDRs are the front line of the sales organisation, responsible for opening conversations that become pipeline. Inbound SDRs respond to and qualify marketing-generated leads. Outbound SDRs proactively research and contact target prospects. The SDR role is often an entry point into sales careers, with successful SDRs promoting to account executive roles. SDR success depends on three things: quality of leads or target accounts, effectiveness of outreach sequences and messaging, and individual skills in research, personalisation, and conversation. The SDR Automation entry covers how technology augments SDR productivity. Well-managed SDR teams are pipeline generation machines; poorly managed ones are email spam factories.
How It Works in Practice
Inbound response
An SDR responds to a demo request within 5 minutes, asks qualifying questions, and books a meeting with the appropriate AE within the hour.
Outbound prospecting
An SDR researches a target account, identifies 3 relevant stakeholders, crafts personalised outreach for each, and executes a multi-channel sequence.
SDR team metrics
The SDR team tracks activity metrics (calls, emails), output metrics (meetings booked), and outcome metrics (pipeline generated) for full-funnel accountability.
Why It Matters
SDRs create the pipeline that feeds the entire revenue engine. Their effectiveness directly determines whether sales teams have enough qualified opportunities to hit targets.
What People Often Get Wrong
SDRs just send templated emails. Actually, effective SDRs do deep prospect research and craft highly personalised outreach.
SDR is a low-skill role. Actually, top SDRs combine research skills, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking.
More SDRs means more pipeline. Actually, SDR productivity depends heavily on tools, data, processes, and coaching — not just headcount.
How We Handle SDR
We help build SDR operations with the tools, data, sequences, and processes that enable productive prospecting and qualification.
Related Terms
Common Questions
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