Sales Development Representative (SDR)
A sales rep who prospects and qualifies leads, then passes qualified opportunities to account executives to close.
Also known as: SDR, Business Development Representative, BDR
A Sales Development Representative, or SDR, is a sales professional whose primary job is to find, contact, and qualify potential customers before handing them off to an account executive who closes the deal. Rather than negotiating contracts or running full sales cycles, SDRs focus on the top of the funnel: identifying good-fit prospects, starting conversations, and confirming that a lead has a real need, budget, and interest worth pursuing.
SDRs are often the first human touchpoint a prospect has with a company, which makes the role central to building a healthy sales pipeline. Because the position separates prospecting from closing, teams can specialize and move faster: SDRs generate qualified opportunities, and account executives spend their time on deals that are more likely to convert. It is also one of the most common entry points into a B2B sales career.
What an SDR actually does
An SDR's day revolves around reaching out to potential buyers and determining whether they are worth an account executive's time. This involves research, outreach across multiple channels, and structured qualification conversations.
- Researching target accounts and finding the right contacts to reach.
- Cold outreach through email, phone calls, LinkedIn, and other channels.
- Following up with inbound leads generated by marketing.
- Qualifying prospects against criteria such as fit, need, budget, and timing.
- Booking discovery meetings or demos and handing the opportunity to an account executive.
Inbound vs. outbound SDRs
Not all SDRs do the same work. Many organizations split the role based on where leads come from, and the distinction changes the daily rhythm of the job.
Inbound SDRs (sometimes called Business Development Representatives, though usage varies) respond to leads who have already shown interest, such as people who downloaded content or requested a demo. Outbound SDRs proactively reach out to prospects who have not raised their hand yet.
- Inbound SDR: qualifies leads generated by marketing and inbound interest.
- Outbound SDR: sources and contacts cold prospects to create new opportunities.
- Some teams have SDRs handle both; others keep them strictly separate.
How the SDR role relates to nearby terms
The SDR sits at a specific point in the sales organization, and it helps to understand who they work with and how the title compares to similar ones.
In many companies SDR and BDR (Business Development Representative) are used interchangeably, while in others BDR refers to outbound prospecting and SDR to inbound follow-up. The key relationship to remember is the handoff: SDRs feed the account executive.
- Account Executive (AE): the closer who takes qualified opportunities from the SDR through to a signed deal.
- BDR (Business Development Representative): a closely related or identical role depending on the company.
- Sales pipeline: the SDR's output is measured in the qualified opportunities added to it.
- Lead qualification: the core skill an SDR applies before passing a prospect along.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
The SDR role is often misunderstood, both by people entering it and by teams that manage it. Treating it as pure telemarketing or as a closing role both lead to problems.
- Assuming SDRs close deals — they qualify and hand off, they do not negotiate contracts.
- Chasing volume over quality, which passes unqualified leads to AEs and wastes everyone's time.
- Skipping proper qualification just to book meetings and hit activity targets.
- Treating the role as low-skill, when strong research, messaging, and conversation skills drive results.
- Failing to define a clear handoff process between SDR and AE, causing leads to fall through the cracks.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an SDR and an account executive?
An SDR focuses on prospecting and qualifying leads at the top of the funnel, then hands promising opportunities to an account executive. The account executive runs the rest of the sales process, including demos, negotiation, and closing the deal.
Is SDR an entry-level job?
It is commonly an entry-level or early-career role in B2B sales, and many companies use it as a training ground. It rewards persistence, research, and communication skills, and it is a typical stepping stone toward becoming an account executive.
Is an SDR the same as a BDR?
Often, yes. Many companies use SDR and Business Development Representative (BDR) interchangeably. Where they differ, one title usually refers to inbound lead follow-up and the other to outbound cold prospecting, but the distinction is not standardized.