Definition

Sales Development Representative (SDR) is a sales professional who focuses specifically on outbound prospecting and lead qualification, responsible for identifying potential customers, generating interest, and creating qualified opportunities for Account Executives.

What is a Sales Development Representative (SDR)?

The Sales Development Representative role emerged in the early 2000s as organizations sought to improve sales efficiency through specialization. This role grew directly from the recognition that prospecting requires different skills and activities than closing deals, and that overall sales performance could improve by having dedicated professionals focus on each stage.

Today's SDRs operate in an increasingly complex and competitive environment where simply making high volumes of cold calls is no longer effective. Modern SDRs employ sophisticated, multi-channel approaches that combine research, personalization, and strategic timing to engage prospects. Sales intelligence platforms like Saber help SDRs work more effectively by identifying companies showing buyer intent signals, providing relevant insights about prospect companies and stakeholders, and enabling more personalized outreach based on recent events and changes within target accounts.

How Sales Development Representatives Work

SDRs specialize in initiating relationships with potential customers and qualifying their interest before handing them off to closing sales teams.

• Outbound Prospecting: SDRs identify potential customers that match the company's ideal customer profile, focusing on organizations with characteristics similar to successful existing customers.

• Multi-Channel Outreach: Using a strategic combination of phone calls, emails, social media engagement, and video messages, SDRs execute personalized outreach campaigns to capture prospect attention.

• Research and Personalization: Effective SDRs research prospect companies and stakeholders to understand their specific challenges, enabling tailored messaging that addresses relevant business problems.

• Qualification: Through initial conversations, SDRs assess whether prospects meet qualification criteria including appropriate company size, relevant challenges, decision-making authority, and realistic timelines.

• Opportunity Creation: For qualified prospects, SDRs coordinate handoffs to Account Executives, providing detailed background information to ensure smooth transitions and productive sales conversations.

Example of a Sales Development Representative

Jason works as an SDR for a supply chain software company targeting mid-sized manufacturers. Each day, he researches 15-20 potential accounts using industry databases, company websites, earnings reports, and social media to identify businesses facing supply chain challenges. For a specific manufacturing prospect, Jason notices they recently announced an initiative to reduce inventory costs. He crafts a personalized outreach sequence incorporating this insight, beginning with a LinkedIn connection request to the VP of Operations that references the initiative. He follows up with a tailored email sharing a case study about a similar manufacturer that reduced inventory costs by 23% using his company's solution. After several strategic touchpoints over two weeks, he secures a phone conversation where he asks targeted discovery questions to understand their specific inventory challenges, current processes, and improvement goals. Confirming they meet qualification criteria—they have executive sponsorship for improvement initiatives, a compatible technology environment, and a timeline to implement changes within six months—Jason schedules a solution demonstration with an Account Executive, providing comprehensive notes about the prospect's specific pain points, objectives, and key stakeholders to ensure a productive next conversation.

Why Sales Development Representatives Matter in B2B Sales

SDRs play a critical role in building healthy sales pipelines while significantly improving overall sales efficiency. By specializing in prospecting and qualification, they enable Account Executives to focus primarily on advancing qualified opportunities rather than dividing attention between prospecting and closing activities. This specialization typically results in higher productivity for both roles: SDRs become highly skilled at securing initial meetings, while AEs spend more time on high-value selling activities. For growing organizations, the SDR position also serves as an excellent entry point for sales talent, providing structured opportunities to develop fundamental skills before advancing to more complex selling roles. In increasingly crowded markets where buyer attention is scarce, skilled SDRs provide significant competitive advantage through their ability to break through noise with relevant messaging and initiate relationships that develop into valuable sales opportunities.