A sales development representative (SDR) books first meetings for account executives. SDRs research target accounts, call and email prospects, qualify interest, and hand the ones that fit to a closer. They do not close deals; they fill the calendar the closers work from.
What does a sales development representative do?
A sales development representative is an entry-level sales role that creates pipeline. The SDR finds and contacts potential buyers, checks whether they have a problem worth solving and the timing to act on it, and books a meeting with an account executive (AE), who runs the sales process from there.
The split exists so closers spend their time closing. An AE who also prospects has fewer hours for demos and negotiations; an SDR takes the prospecting off their plate and makes pipeline a daily, measurable job.
SDR responsibilities, day to day
An SDR’s day is a loop of research, outreach and qualification. The core responsibilities:
- Research: choose the accounts and people to contact, and find one reason to contact each.
- Cold calls: dial prospects’ direct lines and mobiles. Phone-centric SDR teams average 56 dials and 4.6 quality conversations a day (Bridge Group, 2025).
- Email sequences: short, specific emails that follow each call.
- Inbound follow-up: answer demo requests and form fills within minutes, not days.
- Qualification: confirm need, timing and who decides, often with a framework such as BANT (budget, authority, need, timing).
- Handoff: book the meeting on the AE’s calendar with notes the AE can use.
- CRM hygiene: log every call, email and outcome, so the pipeline numbers are true.
New SDRs learn the phone part fastest with a plan; our 30-day cold calling training plan is built for them.
SDR vs BDR vs inside sales rep vs account executive
An SDR opens the conversation; the other three roles either do the same job under another name or take the deal from there. This is practitioner guidance; titles vary by company.
| Role | Main job | Works | Measured on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales development representative (SDR) | Books first meetings | Often inbound leads, plus outbound | Qualified meetings held |
| Business development representative (BDR) | Books first meetings | Usually outbound, cold accounts | Qualified meetings, pipeline created |
| Inside sales representative | Runs and closes deals remotely | Qualified opportunities | Closed revenue |
| Account executive (AE) | Runs the sales process and closes | Meetings from SDRs, BDRs and own prospecting | Closed revenue against quota |
SDR vs BDR
Many companies use the two titles for the same job. Where both exist, the SDR usually qualifies inbound interest and the BDR prospects cold, often into larger target accounts. The BDR side has its own page: the business development representative role.
SDR vs inside sales representative
An inside sales rep closes; an SDR does not. Inside sales reps run demos and negotiate by phone and video, and they carry a revenue quota. The SDR’s job ends when the meeting is held and accepted. For the full title map, see sales job titles explained.
Where the SDR sits in the sales pipeline
The SDR sits between marketing and the account executive: marketing and the SDR’s own research produce leads, the SDR turns them into meetings, and the AE turns meetings into revenue. SDRs usually report to an SDR manager or head of sales development, not to the AEs they book for.
Larger teams add an SDR team lead between the reps and the manager. That split is covered in sales development manager vs SDR team lead.
SDR KPIs and benchmarks
An SDR is measured on meetings that turn into real opportunities, with activity numbers used only to diagnose why meetings are short. The benchmarks below come from the Bridge Group’s 2025 report, a survey of 351 B2B companies, mostly North American SaaS.
- Meetings held: the median monthly quota is 10 first meetings held, down 40% since 2018.
- Meeting-to-opportunity rate: the share of held meetings the AE accepts as real pipeline.
- Pipeline created: the dollar value of the opportunities those meetings become.
- Activity and connect rate: dials, conversations and the share of calls that reach a person. Our guide to cold call connect rates has benchmarks by number type.
In the same report, 60% of SDRs hit quota, the lowest share since the study began in 2007.
SDR career path
The SDR role is a launch point, not a destination. Average tenure is 1.9 years, and median SDR attrition was 40% in 2024, of which 16 points were promotions out of the role (Bridge Group, 2025).
The common next steps: account executive, SDR team lead and then sales development manager, or account management. No official source publishes pay for the SDR title, so this page does not quote salaries.
What SDRs and their managers care about when buying
SDRs use the tools; SDR managers and heads of sales development usually buy them: contact data, dialers, sequencers and call coaching. What both care about:
- Right numbers: a mobile or direct line that reaches the person, not a switchboard.
- Clean emails: fewer bounces that hurt the sending domain.
- Less research time: the list and the reason to call, ready before the call block.
- Automatic logging: activity in the CRM without typing it.
How to find and reach sales development representatives
Describe the SDRs or SDR leaders you want in one sentence in Scalelist’s Lead Finder, check the count for free, then pay only for what is found: 1 credit per lead, 1 per verified email, 20 per mobile.
On 28 September 2026 that sentence matched 8,588 US profiles. Across all industries, Scalelist matches over 80,000 US SDRs, and over 25,000 at software companies.
The people who buy for them are fewer: 5,810 US heads of sales development, SDR managers and sales development managers, 395 of them at software companies with 51 to 500 employees. For list building and verification, see our guide to building a B2B email list.
The opener respects the SDR’s craft and asks about their daily pain, bad numbers, in one question. More role lists live in the lead list guide.
Describe the sales teams you sell to and see how many match before you spend a credit.
Describe your buyer in one sentenceFAQ
What does SDR stand for?
SDR stands for sales development representative. It is an entry-level sales role that prospects and qualifies potential customers and books first meetings for account executives. The SDR does not close deals. Some companies call the same role a business development representative (BDR).
What is the difference between an SDR and a BDR?
Often none: many companies use the two titles for the same job. Where both exist, the sales development representative usually qualifies inbound leads (demo requests, form fills) and the BDR prospects cold accounts outbound. Both book meetings for account executives and are measured on qualified meetings, not closed revenue.
Is a sales development representative an entry-level job?
Yes. Most SDRs are in their first or second sales job, and many come from outside sales. Hiring managers look for coachability, resilience after rejection, clear speaking and writing, and the discipline to do the same high-volume work every day. A degree in a specific field is rarely required.
How many meetings should an SDR book per month?
The median monthly SDR quota is 10 first meetings held, according to the Bridge Group’s 2025 report of 351 B2B companies, down 40% since 2018. The right number depends on deal size: SDRs selling large deals book fewer meetings, and SDRs working inbound leads usually book more.
How long do SDRs stay in the role?
The average SDR tenure is 1.9 years, the highest since the early 2010s, according to the Bridge Group (2025). Many leave by promotion: of the 40% median annual SDR attrition in 2024, 16 points were promotions. The most common next role is account executive.
Sources
- The Bridge Group: SDR Models, Motions and Metrics, 2025 Research Report (public findings page)
- Scalelist people count (POST /api/v1/people/count), queried 28 September 2026, 0 credits.
