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Glossary
Sales development representative
Subject areaProcess and organisation
A sales development representative (SDR) is the sales role that handles first contact: they qualify contacts coming from marketing or find them through outbound marketing, and book meetings for the sellers who close deals.
Their output is measured in qualified meetings, more than in contracts.
Separating first contact from closing lets each role specialise. Alongside the SDR there is often a business development representative, more focused on finding new customers.
An example
A business accounting software company gives two SDRs the contacts generated by the website and trade fairs. Senior sellers stop making first calls and spend their time on deals already under way: contracts closed per quarter grow without hiring more seniors.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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