Short answer: An SDR (sales development representative) is a salesperson who finds and qualifies potential buyers and books first meetings for account executives, who then run the sales process and close. SDRs work the top of the funnel through email, phone and LinkedIn, and are usually measured on qualified meetings held, not revenue.
Key takeaways
- An SDR creates and qualifies opportunities; an account executive (AE) closes them. Some companies call outbound-focused SDRs BDRs.
- The Bridge Group's 2025 study found a median of 112 activities a day, 4.1 quality conversations and a quota of 10 meetings held a month, with 60% of SDRs hitting it.
- Payscale's 2026 data puts average SDR base pay at about $51,700 in the US, £29,500 in the UK and Rs 7.3 lakh in India; on-target earnings add commission on top.
- Outsource SDR work when you need to prove a market before hiring, or when nobody has time to manage reps.
Contents
An SDR (sales development representative) is a salesperson whose job is to find potential buyers, start conversations with them and book qualified first meetings for an account executive, who then runs the deal and closes it. The SDR owns the top of the funnel; the AE owns everything after the first meeting.
When I was a buyer at American Express and Amazon, almost every vendor meeting on my calendar had been booked by an SDR, not by the person who later pitched me. Most buyers never notice the role exists. Sellers notice when it is missing: the AE's calendar empties out within weeks.
The SDR job as a daily funnel
The clearest way to understand the role is to look at it as numbers. The Bridge Group's 2025 SDR report, based on 351 B2B companies, gives the medians:
| Stage | Median (Bridge Group, 2025) | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Activities per day | 112 (about 44 calls, 41 emails, 19 LinkedIn touches, 8 other) | Most of the day is outreach, not talking |
| Quality conversations per day | 4.1 | Roughly one real conversation for every 27 activities |
| Meetings held per month (quota) | 10 | The number most SDRs are paid on |
| Meetings that become real opportunities | 6 per month | The number the business actually cares about |
| Share of SDRs at quota | 60% | The lowest the study has recorded |
Put those together and you get the SDR's real formula. This is my own arithmetic from the medians above, not a figure from the report:
Meetings per month = conversations per day x working days x conversation-to-meeting rate Using the 2025 medians: 4.1 conversations x ~21 working days = ~86 conversations a month 10 meetings / 86 conversations = roughly 1 meeting for every 8 to 9 conversations To book more meetings, an SDR can only: 1. Have more conversations (better lists, better timing, more channels) 2. Convert more of them (sharper reason to meet, better qualification questions) More activity alone only helps if it produces more conversations.
That is why good SDR managers obsess over list quality and messaging rather than call counts. It is also why sending infrastructure matters: emails that land in spam produce activity without conversations. If you want to see what a well-built request looks like, our meeting request email templates show the ask an SDR should use at each stage.
What an SDR does all day
- Research: build and check lists of accounts and contacts that match the ideal customer profile, and look for triggers such as funding, hiring or expansion.
- Outreach: run multi-step sequences across email, phone and LinkedIn. Our B2B cold email templates are the kind of copy SDRs send.
- Reply handling: answer questions, handle objections such as "send me info", and follow up when people go quiet.
- Qualification: check that the person has the problem, the authority and the timing before a meeting is booked.
- Handoff: book the meeting, brief the AE on context and log everything in the CRM.
SDR vs BDR vs AE
Titles vary a lot by company. The most common split is by where the lead comes from, but plenty of teams use "SDR" for both motions, so read the job description, not the title.
| SDR | BDR | AE (account executive) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main job | Qualify and book meetings | Create new pipeline through prospecting | Run the sales process and close |
| Lead source (common usage) | Often inbound: demo requests, form fills | Outbound: people who have not raised a hand | Meetings passed on by SDRs/BDRs, plus own pipeline |
| Measured on | Qualified meetings held | Meetings and opportunities created | Revenue closed against quota |
| Typical seniority | Entry to mid level | Entry to mid level | Mid to senior |
| Usual next step | AE or SDR manager | AE or partnerships | Senior AE, sales manager |
SDR salary ranges in 2026
Pay is quoted two ways: base salary and OTE (on-target earnings, base plus commission if the rep hits target). Mixing them up is the most common mistake in salary comparisons. The figures below are averages from Payscale's 2026 pages, based on self-reported profiles; treat them as ranges, not offers.
| Market | Average base | Base range (10th-90th percentile) | Total pay range | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $51,677 | $40k to $67k | $45k to $82k | Payscale, updated May 2026 |
| United Kingdom | £29,462 | £22k to £39k | £24k to £49k | Payscale, 2026 figure (updated Nov 2025) |
| India | Rs 7,30,080 | Rs 3.46 lakh to Rs 10 lakh | Rs 3.83 lakh to Rs 20 lakh | Payscale, updated May 2026 |
Surveys of venture-backed and SaaS companies come out higher. WinsAbove's 2026 review, which takes the median across RepVue, Bridge Group, Pavlov and other compensation surveys, puts median SDR OTE at about $85,000 (about $60,000 base and $25,000 variable), ranging from about $75,000 OTE in SMB segments to about $95,000 in enterprise. Expect the higher numbers at funded tech companies in big US cities and the Payscale numbers across the wider market. For the full cost of employing one, including tools, ramp time and management, see our breakdown of outbound lead generation cost, agency vs in-house SDR.
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Common mistakes when hiring or managing SDRs
- Paying on meetings booked, not held or qualified. You get calendar invites that nobody attends.
- Measuring activity instead of conversations. 112 activities mean nothing if the list is wrong.
- No written definition of "qualified". SDRs and AEs then argue about every handoff.
- Hiring one SDR to "figure out outbound". An entry-level rep cannot build the playbook, the data and the infrastructure alone.
- Letting replies sit. A positive reply that waits a day often goes cold; a CRM such as Tailr CRM can turn replies into assigned leads with a follow-up task.
When to outsource the SDR function
Outsourcing makes sense when you need to prove a new market before hiring, when you are entering a region where you have no team (the US, UK and Europe, the Gulf or India), or when nobody has time to coach reps. If you are in Europe, our guide to outsourced SDR services in the UK and Europe covers costs and how it works there; in the US, see appointment setting services in the USA. Before you sign anything, use our list of questions to ask a lead generation agency. You can also see how our own outbound lead generation service and plans are set up.
Related terms
- BDR (business development representative): often the outbound-focused version of the SDR role.
- AE (account executive): the seller who takes the meeting and closes the deal.
- Appointment setting: the outsourced version of the meeting-booking part of the SDR job.
- OTE (on-target earnings): base salary plus commission at 100% of target.
- Outsourced prospecting: handing the research and outreach to a partner; see our guide to outsourcing prospecting.
More guides on building pipeline live in our lead generation hub.
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The bottom line
An SDR turns a target list into qualified meetings for account executives. The job is a funnel: lots of activity, a handful of real conversations a day, and around ten meetings a month at the median. Judge SDRs, in-house or outsourced, on qualified meetings that become opportunities, and compare salaries base to base or OTE to OTE, never one against the other.
Sources
- SDR activity, conversations, quota, quota attainment, ramp and tenure: The Bridge Group, 2025 SDR Models and Metrics Report (351 B2B companies)
- US SDR salary: Payscale, Sales Development Representative salary, United States (updated May 29, 2026)
- UK SDR salary: Payscale, Sales Development Representative salary, United Kingdom (2026 figure, updated November 20, 2025)
- India SDR salary: Payscale, Sales Development Representative salary, India (updated May 28, 2026)
- Median SDR OTE across compensation surveys: WinsAbove, Average SDR OTE in 2026
- SDR vs BDR usage: ZoomInfo, SDR vs BDR: what's the difference?
What Is an SDR?
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Frequently asked questions
What does SDR stand for?
SDR stands for sales development representative. It is an entry-level to mid-level sales role focused on the start of the sales process: researching prospects, reaching out by email, phone and LinkedIn, qualifying interest and booking first meetings for an account executive, who then handles demos, proposals and closing.
What is the difference between an SDR and a BDR?
In many companies an SDR follows up on inbound leads, such as demo requests and form fills, while a BDR (business development representative) prospects outbound, contacting people who have not shown interest yet. Many other companies use the two titles interchangeably, so always check the job description rather than the title.
How much does an SDR earn in 2026?
According to Payscale's 2026 data, the average SDR base salary is about $51,700 in the US, about £29,500 in the UK and about Rs 7.3 lakh in India. Commission and bonuses add to that. WinsAbove's 2026 review of compensation surveys puts median on-target earnings at about $85,000, with about $60,000 as base.
How is an SDR measured?
The main metric is qualified meetings held per month, often with a second target for meetings that convert into real opportunities. The Bridge Group's 2025 report found a median quota of 10 meetings held per month. Activity counts, reply rates and conversation counts are useful leading indicators but should not be the target on their own.
Is SDR a good career?
For many people it is the standard entry point into B2B sales. It teaches prospecting, objection handling and qualification, and the usual next step is account executive or SDR manager. The Bridge Group's 2025 report found average SDR tenure of 1.9 years, which reflects how often SDRs are promoted or move on.
Should I hire an SDR or outsource sales development?
Hire in-house when outbound already works, you have a sales leader to coach reps and you sell into one home market at volume. Outsource when you need to prove a market first, enter a new region, or have nobody with time to manage SDRs. Many companies outsource first, then hire once the playbook is proven.
About the author
Subhendu J Shawn is the founder of B2BXclusive, a B2B outbound sales and lead generation agency, and the creator of Tailr CRM. His experience spans American Express and Amazon, and he has helped 50+ B2B companies build pipeline across the US, Europe, the Middle East and India. All articles by Shawn · Follow on LinkedIn
