The Many Types of Sales Roles: Sales Development Representative (SDR)
This post is part of our blog series discussing various types of sales roles.
Image from ActiveCampaign
What does an SDR do?
A sales development representative qualifies leads, moving them through the sales pipeline. Usually, this is an entry-level position, similar to a business development representative. In this role, you represent the company brand, products, services, and solutions for the customer and assist in setting up experts to solve their problems.
Why might you want to pursue this exciting role?
Working as an SDR or BDR is truly the best way to start at a company. You’ll build meaningful relationships, understand your customers’ needs, set up key meetings, and build solutions. There is a huge opportunity for growth here; excelling in this role makes it easier for you to advance in your career – typically moving to the role of account executive (stay tuned for our next post!).
The term sales development representative can sometimes be confused with business development representative. So what’s the difference between a BDR and an SDR?
ActiveCampaign notes, “In some larger sales organizations, SDRs may work alongside business development representatives (BDRs). BDRs usually focus on outbound lead generation where SDRs focus on inbound leads.” You can view their image to the right for a visual representation.
That said, the terms BDR and SDR can sometimes be used interchangeably. This depends on the company and its internal structure.
A graduate of the UMGC Technology Sales program works at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in a role similar to that of an SDR. Here’s what they do:
“Our role is…a customer acquisition go to market specialist. We work as a mix of an Inside Sales representative (where we prospect and qualify opportunities and progress to launch) mixed with a business development/go to market specialist- we also create campaigns to bring in new leads and train the demand generation teams about our service.”
What skills will you gain (or improve upon) as an SDR?
Resilience. In this role, you’ll develop so many meaningful relationships with customers, which is incredibly rewarding. However, you’ll also need to be ready to hear the word “no.” When you’re prospecting, you’ll find that many are not qualified. In that case, you will need to move on to other prospects. Other times, though, you can turn a “no” from a customer into a yes by asking the right questions to understand their needs. In an SDR role, you’ll learn to overcome objections and build resiliency over time.
Persistence. Persistence is a skill you’ll develop, but it’s even better if you are already a naturally patient person. Warming up leads can take time and patience!
Adaptability. As with a BDR role, an SDR job will likely challenge you to step out of your comfort zone. Remaining flexible is vital to growth and success in a sales career!
Communication. This is another similarity to BDR. SDRs are responsible for inbound lead follow-up, so in this position, you’ll be sending out marketing emails and scheduling meetings with your prospects. Maintaining their interest and keeping them “warm” is critical!
Discernment. In this job, you’ll be scoring the leads you find to ensure you’re bringing in the strongest ones you can. Data company Lusha describes lead scoring here, saying, “Lead scoring provides an objective and measurable framework for sorting leads, eliminating the confusion of trying to manually sort leads based on an individual rep’s experience and biases.” You’ll learn to help your company sell to the best prospects possible.
Want further information?
Check out this current SDR job description at Amazon Web Services here.
Interested in pursuing sales but unsure where to start? Consider enrolling in one of our sales programs. Contact us here.