What is an SDR?
In short
An SDR, or sales development representative, is the person who starts sales conversations rather than closing them. They research target companies, make first contact, qualify who is genuinely interested, and hand those people to an account executive. The role exists because prospecting and closing are different skills that compete for the same hours.
On this page
The definition
An SDR is a salesperson whose job is to create conversations, not to close deals. They own the top of the funnel: choosing who to approach, making contact, and deciding who is worth a closer's time.
The split exists for a practical reason. Prospecting is repetitive, high-rejection work that rewards consistency. Closing is relationship work that rewards patience and judgement. Give both to one person and prospecting is always what gets dropped, because it is the part with no deadline.
What an SDR actually does all day
Stripped of the job-ad language, the week looks like this.
Research: working out which companies fit and who inside them owns the problem. Outreach: sending sequences and making calls, most of which are ignored. Qualification: separating polite interest from real intent. Handover: briefing the closer well enough that the first meeting does not restart from zero. And admin: keeping the CRM honest, which is unglamorous and the reason forecasts are wrong when it slips.
The ratio surprises people. A good SDR spends more time on research and handover than on sending, because volume without targeting produces nothing but domain damage.
SDR, BDR and AE
| Role | Owns | Measured on |
|---|---|---|
| SDR | Inbound and outbound first contact | Qualified conversations created |
| BDR | Outbound prospecting specifically | Meetings booked from cold |
| AE | Running and closing the deal | Revenue closed |
The SDR and BDR distinction is inconsistent across companies and not worth arguing about. Some split by inbound versus outbound, others use the titles interchangeably. What matters is whether one person owns creating conversations and a different person owns closing them.
What an SDR costs
The salary is the smallest part.
Add employer costs, a data subscription, a sending platform, domains, a CRM seat and the manager time to coach them. Then add ramp: three to six months before a new SDR is productive, during which you are paying full cost for partial output.
In Western Europe the fully loaded first-year figure lands well into six figures. That number is why the build-versus-buy question comes up at all, and why it deserves an honest answer rather than a pitch.
When hiring one is a mistake
When nobody can manage them. An unmanaged SDR is an expensive person guessing. The role needs coaching on messaging weekly, especially in the first quarter.
When the offer is not proven. If you have not closed a deal from a cold conversation yourself, you do not yet know what makes someone reply, and an SDR will spend six months discovering that on your payroll.
When you need results this quarter. Hiring, onboarding and ramp take longer than most plans assume.
When one person cannot cover the market. Multilingual European selling often needs three languages. That is three hires, or a different approach.
The alternatives
Three, honestly stated.
A founder or salesperson doing it part-time. Cheapest, and works while volume is low. It stops working the moment closing gets busy, which is exactly when pipeline matters.
Software and your own time. A sending platform costs tens of euros a month. The cost is attention, not cash.
An agency. Fixed monthly cost, no ramp, no management overhead, and the languages come included. The trade is less day-to-day control and a supplier relationship rather than an employee. We charge EUR 3,750 for the first month and EUR 2,850 after, which is roughly a third of a loaded SDR and available immediately.
If you have someone to manage the role and a proven offer, hire. If either is missing, the hire usually fails for reasons that have nothing to do with the person.
Frequently asked
What is an SDR in sales?
What is the difference between an SDR and a BDR?
How much does an SDR cost?
When should you not hire an SDR?
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