The Sales Development Representative (SDR) role serves as the initial engagement engine for a modern Business-to-Business (B2B) sales organization. This position generates new business opportunities and creates a predictable flow of potential customers before they are passed to a closing team. The SDR function directly impacts a company’s revenue growth. Understanding this role requires examining its core purpose, daily activities, placement within a sales team, and the career trajectory it enables.
The Core Function of the Sales Development Representative
The primary purpose of the Sales Development Representative is to bridge the gap between marketing activities and the deal-closing team, known as Account Executives (AEs). SDRs are pipeline creators who focus entirely on generating and qualifying leads rather than negotiating and closing contracts. Their performance is measured by the number of qualified sales opportunities they successfully book. This specialization allows Account Executives to dedicate their time exclusively to complex deal management and negotiation.
The SDR’s work centers on lead qualification, determining if a prospect is a good fit for the company’s product or service. A lead progresses from a general prospect to a Qualified Lead (QL), which signifies a basic level of interest and fit. The highest level of qualification is the Sales Qualified Lead (SQL), which is a prospect who meets specific criteria indicating readiness for a serious sales conversation and engagement with an Account Executive. The SDR’s goal is to convert initial interest into a high-quality SQL, ensuring the closing team focuses on the most promising opportunities.
Day-to-Day Responsibilities and Lead Generation Tactics
Prospecting and Research
A significant portion of the SDR’s day is dedicated to identifying and researching potential customers who align with the company’s Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). This involves using professional networking platforms and specialized databases to pinpoint target accounts and key decision-makers. Effective prospecting requires gathering specific data points, such as recent funding rounds, current technology stack, or publicly stated business challenges. This preparatory work ensures that outreach messages are personalized and relevant to the prospect’s unique situation.
Cold Calling and Emailing
The outreach phase involves executing multi-channel sequences to initiate contact with researched prospects. Cold calling remains a foundational tactic, requiring the SDR to deliver a concise value proposition and skillfully navigate initial objections to secure a first meeting. Emailing complements this effort by providing a written, asynchronous channel to share relevant information. Successful SDRs blend persistence with relevance, using a combination of phone calls, emails, and social touches to break through the digital noise.
Lead Qualification
Once contact is established, the SDR engages the prospect in a discovery conversation to assess their readiness and fit, often employing a structured qualification framework. A common framework is BANT, which evaluates the prospect’s Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline for a purchase. For complex, high-value enterprise sales, SDRs may use the MEDDIC framework. Using these frameworks ensures a standardized and rigorous evaluation before the prospect is formally handed off to a closer.
CRM Management and Documentation
The SDR role demands disciplined use of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Every interaction, from the first cold call attempt to the final qualification notes, must be accurately logged in the CRM system. This documentation is necessary for tracking lead velocity, measuring the effectiveness of outreach campaigns, and ensuring a seamless transition to the Account Executive. Maintaining data hygiene is a performance expectation, as the quality of the CRM data directly affects the sales organization’s forecasting accuracy and operational efficiency.
How the SDR Role Differs from BDRs and Account Executives
The SDR role operates within a specialized sales structure that divides the responsibilities of generating and closing business. The Account Executive (AE) is the closing specialist who receives the qualified opportunity from the SDR. AEs manage the middle and end stages of the sales cycle, conducting product demonstrations, negotiating terms, and securing the contract. The SDR’s job ends when the qualified meeting is booked, and the AE’s work begins at that hand-off point.
The distinction between a Sales Development Representative (SDR) and a Business Development Representative (BDR) is often a matter of internal company definition, though a common industry practice separates them by lead source. SDRs frequently focus on outbound activities, initiating contact with entirely cold prospects. BDRs are often tasked with qualifying inbound leads, such as prospects who have downloaded a white paper or attended a webinar. Both roles ensure the closing team only spends time on viable sales opportunities.
Must-Have Skills for Aspiring SDRs
Success in the SDR role relies on a blend of behavioral traits and technical competencies. Effective communication is foundational, encompassing active listening to uncover pain points and clear, persuasive verbal delivery during phone conversations. Written communication must be concise and personalized, as generic emails are quickly discarded by busy decision-makers. This role also requires organization and time management to effectively manage hundreds of prospects simultaneously.
The emotional demands of the job necessitate resilience and tenacity. SDRs face frequent rejection, requiring the ability to maintain motivation and a positive attitude after numerous unsuccessful calls. On the technical side, proficiency in modern sales technology is essential, particularly with CRM platforms like Salesforce, outreach automation tools, and professional networking resources like LinkedIn Sales Navigator. These hard skills enable the SDR to execute high-volume, targeted outreach strategies with precision.
Career Path: What Comes After the SDR Role?
The Sales Development Representative position is recognized as a structured training ground for advanced roles within sales and business organizations. The most common progression is a promotion to an Account Executive (AE), the closing role the SDR has supported. This promotion typically occurs after an SDR demonstrates consistent high performance and a deep understanding of the sales process, often within 12 to 24 months. The SDR role provides an accelerated education in prospecting, qualification, and market knowledge that is directly transferable to a closing position.
Advancement options extend beyond the traditional AE track. High-performing SDRs can move into specialized internal roles like Sales Operations, leveraging their CRM expertise to optimize sales processes and technology. Others may transition into Sales Enablement, where they develop and deliver training materials and messaging for new SDRs and AEs. The experience gained in the SDR role, particularly in customer-facing communication and process execution, opens doors to various leadership and strategic positions.
Typical Compensation and Earnings Structure
SDR compensation is composed of a base salary plus an incentive component, which together form the On-Target Earnings (OTE). The base salary provides a stable income, while the incentive portion is commission or bonus earned by achieving specific monthly or quarterly goals. These goals are tied to activities like the number of initial meetings booked, the volume of Sales Qualified Leads generated, or the total pipeline value created.
In the United States, the median base salary for an SDR is approximately $60,000, with the median OTE averaging around $85,000. Compensation varies significantly based on geographic location, company size, and industry, with top performers reaching OTEs of $135,000 or more. The commission structure rewards the SDR for their direct contribution to the sales pipeline, making the role performance-driven.