[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":53},["ShallowReactive",2],{"glossary-sdr":3},{"slug":4,"path":5,"title":6,"description":7,"term":8,"wordCount":9,"hasExample":10,"inboundLinks":11,"isPublished":10,"html":12,"data":13,"related":33,"lessons":46},"sdr","/glossary/sdr","What Is an SDR? Sales Development Representative, Explained","An SDR (sales development representative) is the entry-level B2B sales role that fills the top of the pipeline — finding and qualifying prospects and booking meetings for account executives. They do not close deals; their job ends at the qualified meeting.","SDR",306,true,52,"\u003Cp>An SDR, or sales development representative, is the entry-level B2B sales role at the top of the revenue funnel. Their job is to fill the pipeline with qualified meetings for the people above them: find prospects, reach out, qualify who is worth a conversation, and book the meeting — then hand off to an \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/account-executive/\">account executive\u003C/a>. They are not responsible for closing. Understanding that line is the single most useful thing about the role.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"in-plain-english\">In plain English\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Think of the SDR as the person who turns the company's existing demand into meetings. Inbound leads, content downloads, and existing accounts land in the SDR's queue; the SDR reaches them fast, qualifies them, and books the meeting. Cold-opening net-new markets from zero is the \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/bdr/\">BDR's\u003C/a> job. The SDR does not pitch the whole product, quote pricing, or negotiate terms — that is the closer's job.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"how-it-s-actually-used\">How it's actually used\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>On a sales team you will hear: "The \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/bdr/\">BDR\u003C/a> and SDR both feed the \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/account-executive/\">account executives\u003C/a>, but the BDR builds the pipeline in net-new markets while the SDR fills it from the demand that already exists." The SDR's day is fast follow-up — calls and emails — on inbound leads and existing segments, turning them into a \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/discovery-call/\">discovery call\u003C/a> or a \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/qualified-meeting/\">qualified meeting\u003C/a>. The metric everyone watches is meetings booked and their \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/show-rate/\">show rate\u003C/a>, not revenue.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"why-it-matters-to-you\">Why it matters to you\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>If you are starting a sales career with no degree and no experience, SDR is the cleanest on-ramp that exists. It is a learnable craft — research, relevance, follow-through — and it is the standard path to a quota-carrying \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/account-executive/\">AE\u003C/a> role. The tradeoff is real: rejection density is high and your first-year comp is mostly \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/ote/\">OTE\u003C/a> while you \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/ramp/\">ramp\u003C/a>. Go in with that clear and the role becomes the fastest way to a closing job.\u003C/p>\n",{"title":6,"description":7,"primaryQuery":14,"term":8,"publishedAt":15,"author":16,"reviewedAt":17,"example":18,"relatedTerms":19,"lessons":24,"sources":28},"what is an sdr","2026-09-10","closers","2026-09-24","\"I'm the SDR on this account — I'll find the right people, qualify them, and get a meeting on the AE's calendar.\"",[20,21,22,23],"bdr","account-executive","qualified-meeting","discovery-call",[25,26,27],"/academy/sdr/what-does-an-sdr-do","/academy/sdr/sdr-vs-bdr","/academy/sdr/is-sdr-a-good-job",[29],{"label":30,"url":31,"vintage":32},"U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS — Sales Representatives of Services (SOC 41-3091)","https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes413091.htm","May 2025",[34,37,40,43],{"slug":20,"path":35,"title":36},"/glossary/bdr","What Is a BDR? Business Development Representative, Explained",{"slug":21,"path":38,"title":39},"/glossary/account-executive","What Is an Account Executive (AE)? Sales Role, Explained",{"slug":22,"path":41,"title":42},"/glossary/qualified-meeting","What Is a Qualified Meeting in Sales? Definition",{"slug":23,"path":44,"title":45},"/glossary/discovery-call","What Is a Discovery Call in Sales? Definition",[47,49,51],{"path":25,"title":48},"What Does an SDR Do? The Real Job, Without the Hype",{"path":26,"title":50},"SDR vs BDR: The Real Difference (and What a BDR Actually Does)",{"path":27,"title":52},"Is Being an SDR a Good Job? An Honest Answer",1792888524841]