Sales Development Representative

An SDR (sales development representative) is a sales rep who works the early funnel: researching accounts, prospecting cold and inbound leads, and qualifying them before handing the strongest opportunities to closers (account executives). SDRs are measured on meetings booked and qualified pipeline created, not on closed revenue.

Updated July 2025

Start Enriching Now

Definition: Sales Development Representative

Sales Development Representative (SDR): A Sales Development Representative is a sales professional responsible for generating qualified leads and setting up meetings for account executives through outbound prospecting and inbound lead qualification.Sales Development Representatives play a crucial role in the sales process by acting as the bridge between marketing and sales teams. They focus on identifying potential customers, engaging them through calls, emails, and social media, and assessing their interest and fit with the product or service offered. In the realm of digital marketing and sales automation, SDRs utilize various tools and technologies to streamline their outreach efforts and improve efficiency. This role is vital because it allows businesses to efficiently scale their sales operations by ensuring that account executives spend more time closing deals with well-qualified leads. By consistently generating high-quality leads, SDRs contribute significantly to a company's revenue growth and overall success.

Build a qualified lead list in Sheets →

How Sales Development Representative works

The SDR role exists to separate prospecting from closing, so each is done well. A typical day is built around a few repeatable motions:

Research. Identify accounts and contacts that fit the ideal customer profile, and find a relevant reason to reach out.
Outreach. Run multi-channel sequences (email, phone, LinkedIn) to book a first conversation.
Qualify. Use a framework such as BANT or MEDDIC to confirm fit, need, and timing before passing the lead on.
Hand off. Book a meeting for an account executive and brief them on context.

SDRs work from a CRM and a sequencing tool, but their real raw material is contact data. A list of names with no verified email or direct phone is unworkable, so accurate, deduplicated prospect data is what separates a productive SDR from one burning hours on dead numbers. Inbound SDRs work leads that raised a hand; outbound SDRs build pipeline from cold accounts.

Real-world examples

A B2B SaaS company splits its sales team. Five SDRs each run outbound to a list of target accounts and book around 12 to 18 qualified meetings a month. Those meetings flow to three account executives who focus only on running deals and closing.

One SDR, Maya, owns mid-market accounts in fintech. She researches each account, finds the VP of Operations, verifies a direct line, and runs a six-touch sequence. When a prospect agrees to a demo, she books it for an AE and logs the context. Maya is paid on meetings held and pipeline accepted, not on whether those deals eventually close, which keeps her focused on volume and fit rather than on chasing late-stage deals she does not run.

Why Sales Development Representative matters in 2026

Splitting the SDR and AE roles is one of the highest-leverage moves in B2B sales. Closers are expensive and scarce, so having them prospect from scratch wastes their time. SDRs feed them a steady flow of qualified meetings, turning pipeline generation into a measurable, scalable engine.

The role is also the main on-ramp into B2B sales: most account executives start as SDRs. In 2026, with efficiency under scrutiny, SDR productivity is increasingly tied to targeting and data quality, because the same outreach effort converts far better when it is aimed at well-fit accounts with accurate contact details.

Sales Development Representative & Derrick: tools to operationalize

Stop buying outdated lists. With Derrick, you build qualified lead lists directly in Google Sheets - pull contacts from LinkedIn, enrich with firmographics + intent, score them with AI, and hand the top 10% to your reps.

Build a qualified lead list in Sheets →

Common mistakes

Measuring SDRs on closed revenue. They do not run deals; comp them on meetings booked and qualified pipeline, or you punish them for outcomes they cannot control.
No clear handoff. A vague SDR-to-AE handoff loses context and frustrates prospects.
Prospecting bad-fit accounts. Volume against the wrong list produces meetings that never convert.
Working from dirty data. Wrong numbers and stale emails waste the SDR's scarcest resource, which is selling time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an SDR and a BDR?

The roles overlap heavily. In many companies SDR refers to reps who qualify inbound leads, while BDR (business development representative) refers to reps who prospect outbound to cold accounts. Plenty of teams use the two titles interchangeably; the core job, qualifying leads before the closer, is the same.

What is the difference between an SDR and an AE?

An SDR generates and qualifies opportunities, then hands them off. An account executive (AE) runs those opportunities through discovery, demo, proposal, and close. SDRs are measured on pipeline created; AEs on revenue closed.

What does an SDR do day to day?

Research target accounts, run outreach across email, phone, and LinkedIn, qualify the prospects who respond, and book meetings for account executives. Most of the day is prospecting and conversations, supported by a CRM and a sequencing tool.

Is SDR an entry-level role?

Often, yes. It is the most common entry point into B2B software sales and a typical first step toward becoming an account executive. The skills it builds, prospecting, qualification, and resilience, transfer directly to closing roles.