[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":129},["ShallowReactive",2],{"lesson-/academy/sdr/what-does-an-sdr-do":3},{"path":4,"data":5,"html":62,"toc":63,"prev":22,"next":84,"track":90},"/academy/sdr/what-does-an-sdr-do",{"title":6,"description":7,"primaryQuery":8,"secondaryQueries":9,"module":13,"order":13,"tier":14,"intent":15,"asset":16,"publishedAt":19,"author":20,"reviewedAt":21,"relatedTool":22,"challenge":23,"exercise":54,"sources":57},"What Does an SDR Do? The Real Job, Without the Hype","An SDR (sales development representative) is the first person a buyer meets at most B2B companies. They turn cold outreach and inbound leads into qualified meetings for account executives, using consistent daily activity, research, and a repeatable sequence. They are not closers — their job ends at the booked, qualified meeting.","what does an sdr do",[10,11,12],"sdr job description","what does an sdr do day to day","is being an sdr worth it",1,"A","informational",{"type":17,"title":18},"checklist","The SDR daily routine checklist","2026-09-10","closers","2026-09-24",null,{"type":24,"id":25,"brief":26,"buckets":27,"items":30},"sort","m1-l1-role-boundary","Eight things land in your inbox on a Tuesday. Which ones are actually your job?",[28,29],"Your job (SDR)","Not your job (AE)",[31,34,36,39,42,45,48,51],{"key":32,"text":33},0,"Book a qualified meeting for an account executive",{"key":13,"text":35},"Decide the pricing discount",{"key":37,"text":38},2,"Write the proposal",{"key":40,"text":41},3,"Negotiate contract terms",{"key":43,"text":44},4,"Research an account and find the right contact",{"key":46,"text":47},5,"Run the demo",{"key":49,"text":50},6,"Confirm the meeting and hand context to the AE",{"key":52,"text":53},7,"Call an inbound lead within five minutes of the form fill",{"prompt":55,"successCriteria":56},"Sort the eight Tuesday tasks above into yours and not-yours, then write one sentence explaining the boundary in your own words.","You can state the boundary without hedging: your job ends at the booked, qualified meeting.",[58],{"label":59,"url":60,"vintage":61},"U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS — Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel (SOC 41-3091)","https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes413091.htm","May 2025","\u003Cp>An SDR (sales development representative) is the entry-level role at the top of the B2B revenue funnel. They are responsible for one thing: filling the top of the pipeline with qualified meetings from the demand the company already has. Where a \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/bdr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BDR\u003C/a> builds a pipeline from zero by cold-opening net-new markets, the SDR works the demand that already walked in — inbound leads, content downloads, demo requests, and existing accounts — and turns it into qualified meetings for an \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/account-executive/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">account executive\u003C/a>. Everything else — discovery calls, proposals, negotiating, closing — belongs to other people. Understanding this single boundary is the difference between a job you survive and a career you build.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"what-an-sdr-actually-does-all-day\">What an SDR actually does all day\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The day-to-day splits into three blocks of work: \u003Cstrong>inbound qualification\u003C/strong>, \u003Cstrong>existing-account outreach\u003C/strong>, and \u003Cstrong>meeting logistics\u003C/strong>.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Inbound is the core of it. A lead fills a form, downloads a guide, or requests a demo — the demand came in on its own. Your job is to reach it fast, qualify it with a handful of discovery questions, and move the strong ones to a meeting with an \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/account-executive/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">account executive\u003C/a>. Speed is the SDR metric: a lead that sits for hours is a lead going cold.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>SDRs also run outbound-style touches — but into accounts the company already works, never net-new cold markets. That is re-engagement and expansion-adjacent work: personalising outreach to people in your existing book of business, and following up on anything that moved. Opening a brand-new territory from zero is the \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/bdr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BDR's\u003C/a> job. If the role you are applying for expects you to cold-prospect net-new logos, you are really applying for a BDR seat.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Meeting logistics are the unglamorous 20%: confirming the call, sending the calendar invite, attaching the right materials, and handing the context to the AE so they do not walk in cold.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"what-an-sdr-is-not\">What an SDR is not\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>The most common misconception is that an SDR is a mini-closer. They are not. An SDR's objective is a \u003Cstrong>qualified meeting in the AE's calendar\u003C/strong>, not a signed deal. If you hear yourself pitching the full product and quoting pricing on your first call, you have already drifted outside the role.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>The distinction matters for your earnings, too. Closers are paid on commission attached to revenue; SDRs are paid on activity and meetings, with a smaller variable component. Understanding this going in saves you from rage-quitting three months in because your comp is "low."\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"the-activities-that-actually-move-the-number\">The activities that actually move the number\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>If you boil the role to its measurable inputs, four activities predict most of your outcomes:\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Delivered touches per day\u003C/strong> — the total emails, calls, and social touches that land. This is the lever you control directly.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Positive replies\u003C/strong> — not opens, not clicks. Replies.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Qualified meetings booked\u003C/strong> — the number that matters to leadership.\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Show rate\u003C/strong> — how many booked meetings actually happen. This is where your follow-through is tested.\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>Most SDR teams track these in a simple CRM pipeline. If a role does not track at least the first and third, you have no way to know if you are improving — which is itself a red flag about the employer.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"a-realistic-day-on-the-clock\">A realistic day on the clock\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>A good day is not glamorous. It is a morning block of 60–90 minutes of uninterrupted inbound follow-up and existing-account outreach, a midday wave of call-backs timed to when buyers actually answer, and an afternoon spent following up on anything that moved. The best SDRs protect a "deep work" block the way sales managers protect revenue — because the list-building and research that feel like busywork are the reason your touches actually land.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"is-being-an-sdr-worth-it\">Is being an SDR worth it?\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>For most people who want a sales career, yes — because it is the cleanest on-ramp that requires no prior closing experience and no degree. It is a learnable craft: research, relevance, follow-through. It teaches you the exact skills the next role up — account executive — tests for, which is why the AE path from SDR is the most common promotion in sales.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>It is also honest work with a real tradeoff: rejection density is high, and your compensation in year one is largely OTE (on-target earnings) rather than guaranteed. Go in with your eyes open, run the activities, and the role becomes the single fastest way to a quota-carrying job.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"the-sdr-daily-routine-checklist\">The SDR daily routine checklist\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Here is the checklist the best SDRs I have seen run every day. It is not a script — it is the operating system the scripts live on.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Before anything else (15 min)\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>Pull up yesterday's replies and follow up within 60 minutes of open\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Pick today's 20 contacts: fresh inbound leads plus your existing book\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Load 1–2 named contacts per account into your sequence tool\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Reach-out block (60–90 min, no distractions)\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>Send 30–40 personalised emails — inbound follow-ups and existing-account touches (batch in 10s)\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Leave 10–15 voicemails on the accounts you emailed first\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Log every touch in the CRM as it happens, not at the end\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Call wave (30–45 min, timed to buyer behaviour)\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>Call the 25 contacts most likely to answer right now\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>For anyone who picks up: 3 qualifying questions, then book or disqualify\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>No pitch. The meeting is the deliverable.\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Inbound queue (30 min)\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>Reach every new lead within 5 minutes\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Qualify with 5 questions: problem, budget, authority, timeline, fit\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Route the qualified ones to an AE with a 3-line handoff note\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>End of day (15 min)\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>Book meetings confirmed, rescheduled, or sent to the AE\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Update every pipeline stage — no "next step: call them later"\u003C/li>\n\u003Cli>Write one line of learning: what worked today, what did not\u003C/li>\n\u003C/ul>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Done\u003C/strong> = 40+ touches, every follow-up answered, 1–2 qualified meetings booked.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"start-here\">Start here\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Your first move is not to memorise a script. It is to decide whether the activity load and the meeting-based definition of success fit you. If they do, the \u003Ca href=\"/academy/sdr/sdr-vs-bdr/\">SDR vs BDR lesson\u003C/a> introduces the BDR — the close cousin that's often used interchangeably with SDR. Knowing which one you are actually applying for changes your interview answers.\u003C/p>\n",[64,67,70,73,76,79,81],{"id":65,"text":66},"what-an-sdr-actually-does-all-day","What an SDR actually does all day",{"id":68,"text":69},"what-an-sdr-is-not","What an SDR is not",{"id":71,"text":72},"the-activities-that-actually-move-the-number","The activities that actually move the number",{"id":74,"text":75},"a-realistic-day-on-the-clock","A realistic day on the clock",{"id":77,"text":78},"is-being-an-sdr-worth-it","Is being an SDR worth it?",{"id":80,"text":18},"the-sdr-daily-routine-checklist",{"id":82,"text":83},"start-here","Start here",{"path":85,"title":86,"description":87,"module":13,"order":37,"kind":88,"practiceCall":22,"core":89},"/academy/sdr/sdr-vs-bdr","SDR vs BDR: The Real Difference (and What a BDR Actually Does)","An SDR and a BDR are the same entry-level sales role with a difference in emphasis. SDRs work the demand that already walked in — inbound leads and existing segments — while BDRs (business development representatives) create demand from scratch, cold-prospecting net-new accounts. Both book the same thing: a qualified meeting for an account executive. The titles are often used interchangeably, so the label matters less than the inbound/outbound split behind it.","order",true,{"slug":91,"title":92,"shortTitle":93,"crumb":94,"path":95,"positioning":96,"totalLessons":97,"modules":98},"sdr","Certified Sales Development Representative (CSDR)","SDR/BDR Certification","SDR Certification","/academy/sdr","The free certification for getting your first sales job — no degree, no experience, no upsell.",58,[99,102,105,109,113,116,119,122,125],{"id":13,"name":100,"lessonCount":49,"description":101},"The Role","What an SDR actually does, whether it’s for you, and the sales career path it opens — 6 core lessons.",{"id":37,"name":103,"lessonCount":40,"description":104},"Getting In With No Experience","Land your first sales job with no experience or degree — a 30-day plan — 3 core lessons.",{"id":40,"name":106,"lessonCount":107,"description":108},"Prospecting and Research",8,"Find the right accounts and contacts to reach — 8 lessons.",{"id":43,"name":110,"lessonCount":111,"description":112},"Cold Calling",11,"Make cold calls without freezing up — 11 core lessons.",{"id":46,"name":114,"lessonCount":107,"description":115},"Cold Email and LinkedIn","Write cold emails and LinkedIn messages that get replies — 8 core lessons.",{"id":49,"name":117,"lessonCount":46,"description":118},"Conversations: Discovery and Qualification","Run discovery calls and qualify real buyers — 5 core lessons.",{"id":52,"name":120,"lessonCount":40,"description":121},"The Tool Stack","The tools that run an SDR’s daily workflow — 3 core lessons.",{"id":107,"name":123,"lessonCount":49,"description":124},"Money: Comp, Commission and Quota","SDR salary, OTE, commission and quotas — 6 lessons.",{"id":126,"name":127,"lessonCount":107,"description":128},9,"Getting Hired","Resume, interview answers, offer negotiation, and the certification assessment — 8 lessons.",1792888520555]