Sales Development Representative (SDR)

A sales development representative (SDR) is a sales role focused on the top of the funnel — identifying, contacting, and qualifying potential buyers to create pipeline for account executives (AEs) to close. SDRs do not typically close deals themselves; their primary metric is the number of qualified meetings or opportunities they generate.

The SDR role exists because prospecting and closing require different skills and mindsets. Prospecting demands high-volume activity, resilience to rejection, and the ability to spark interest quickly. Closing demands deep discovery, relationship building, and negotiation. Splitting these functions allows each role to specialize and perform better.

SDRs come in two flavors. Outbound SDRs (sometimes called BDRs) proactively reach out to target accounts through cold email, phone, LinkedIn, and other channels. Inbound SDRs respond to leads generated by marketing — demo requests, content downloads, free trial signups — and qualify them before passing to AEs.

Key metrics for SDRs include: activities per day (calls, emails, social touches), conversations held, meetings booked, meetings held (not all booked meetings happen), and pipeline dollar value generated. The best SDR teams track all of these but optimize for pipeline value, since that is what ultimately matters.

SDR ramp time is typically 2-3 months, with full productivity expected by month 4. High SDR turnover is an industry-wide challenge, with average tenure around 14-18 months. Investing in clear career paths, good coaching, and proper SDR operations tooling improves both performance and retention on your team.