What is an SDR (sales development representative)?

An SDR, or sales development representative, works at the very start of the sales process. Their job is to find the right prospects, start conversations, qualify interest and pass good opportunities to an account executive. In most B2B teams, the SDR is the engine of new pipeline and the first human contact a prospect has with sales.

What an SDR does day to day

Research

Finding accounts and people who match the ideal customer profile, and looking for a reason to reach out now, such as a new role or a hiring push.

Outreach

Writing and sending first-touch messages across email, phone and LinkedIn, then following up. This is the core of sales prospecting.

Qualification

When a prospect replies, the SDR checks whether there is a real fit and a real need. Frameworks such as BANT give structure to this step.

Handover

Booking a meeting for the account executive and passing on context: who the prospect is, what they care about and what was discussed.

Admin

Logging activity in the CRM, updating records and keeping lists clean.

SDR vs BDR vs AE

Role	Main focus	Typical output
SDR	Qualifying leads, often inbound, and outbound in many teams	Qualified meetings
BDR	Outbound prospecting into new accounts	Qualified meetings
AE	Running deals from first meeting to close	Closed revenue

Companies define SDR and BDR differently, and many use the terms interchangeably. What matters is that one role creates opportunities and another closes them.

A typical SDR week

A common rhythm looks like this. Early in the week, the SDR builds and checks lists for target accounts, looking for timely reasons to reach out. Mid-week is heavy outreach and follow-up across email, phone and LinkedIn. Replies are handled the same day, because speed matters once someone shows interest. Toward the end of the week, the SDR reviews what worked, updates the CRM and plans next week's accounts with their manager or account executive. The exact pattern varies, but the balance between research, outreach and replies is the core of the job.

How SDRs are measured

SDR targets usually focus on activity and outcomes:

• Activity: messages sent, calls made, accounts researched.
• Conversations: replies and connected calls.
• Meetings booked and held: often the headline target.
• Qualified opportunities: meetings the AE accepts as real opportunities.
• Pipeline created: the value of opportunities sourced.

The best teams weight outcomes over activity, because high activity with poor targeting produces noise, not pipeline.

Skills that make a good SDR

• Curiosity about the prospect's business.
• Clear, short writing for cold messages.
• Resilience, because most outreach gets no reply.
• Good questions to qualify without interrogating.
• Organisation, to manage many conversations and follow-ups.

The cost of the SDR model

Hiring SDRs means salaries, tools, data, training and management time, plus a ramp period before a new hire is productive. For an early-stage company, founders often do this work themselves before hiring. Our guide to founder-led sales covers that stage.

Where AI fits

Much of an SDR's week is repetitive: watching for signals, researching, writing first messages and following up. This is where AI tools now help most. An AI SDR can monitor signals, score fit and send first-touch messages, while people handle replies and qualification.

GTM Plays works this way. Its agent finds intent signals, scores fit against your ICP, writes and sends LinkedIn messages from your own account and brings replies into one inbox. It does not book meetings by itself: a person, whether an SDR or a founder, runs the conversation from the reply onwards. Pro is $149 a month with a 7-day free trial, and an extra agent is $59 a month.

SDR team structures

• Inbound SDRs respond to leads from the website, events and content.
• Outbound SDRs prospect into target accounts.
• Pod structures pair SDRs with specific AEs or territories.
• Account-based SDRs focus on a short list of high-value accounts, often as part of account-based marketing.

Key takeaways

The SDR creates new opportunities by finding, contacting and qualifying prospects. It is a role built on targeting, writing and follow-up. AI now takes over much of the repetitive work, which lets SDRs, or founders, spend more of their time on real conversations.