Sales Development Representative

also referred to as: sdr · sdrs

41 statements across 27 episodes · 13 bullish · 9 bearish · 25 people on the record · first statement Mar 13, 2017 by Will Dinkel · across every show →

Everything said about Sales Development Representative, oldest first

Mar 13, 2017
Disclosure
Nova.ai scales its sales team using pods of 3 AEs and 1 SDR
“So we scale our sales in, in classes of three AEs and SDR and a customer success rep.”
Will Dinkel Mar 13, 2017 ▶ 11:09 EP 597: Nova.ai Passes 100 Customers, $2.2M Raised To Help SDR's Sell More Using AI with CEO Will Dinkel
Mar 13, 2017 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
A top Nova.ai SDR books 20 to 30 sales appointments per week
“Yeah. So one of our SDRs who's cranking can do, you know, 20 to 30 appointments a week.”
Will Dinkel Mar 13, 2017 ▶ 11:56 EP 597: Nova.ai Passes 100 Customers, $2.2M Raised To Help SDR's Sell More Using AI with CEO Will Dinkel
Nov 8, 2017 negative
Insight
Badshah: Outbound SDR models trap SaaS startups in crowded competitive echo chambers
“What we learned is as having an SDR and going completely outbound, that's when you're going to run into all of that competition, right? Because everybody is sitting in that echo chamber. But if you can have a good product with a very simple value prop and let …”
Aseem Badshah Nov 8, 2017 ▶ 10:15 837: SaaS: A Good Reason to Have Flat Growth at $200k MRR
Jun 2, 2018 positive
Disclosure
Jobscience replaced almost all of its inbound SDRs with an AI bot
“I actually fired almost all the inbound SDRs we had and I replaced them with something called Conversica, which is a, an AI bot.”
Ted Elliott Jun 2, 2018 ▶ 13:23 1043 HR Tech CEO: I accidently raised $3m!
Aug 24, 2018 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Bendov: Early Gong Scaled Demo Requests via Self-Scheduling With Zero SDRs
“One of the things that helped us early on is, is a tool for self-scheduling. When I was still doing some of the sales, instead of like having SDRs, we didn't have any. So we just put like a self-scheduling kind of website and we started getting like lots of de…”
Amit Bendov Aug 24, 2018 ▶ 25:19 1126 How Gong Hit $1m+ in ARR in 1st Year
Jun 16, 2019
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Chili Piper Faced Pushback from SDRs Fearing Job Loss at Launch
“When we first launched it, we only had booking, and it's SDR's job to book, right? So we had a bit of a pushback, because as you're replacing my job, I'm not so happy about it.”
Nicolas Vandenberghe Jun 16, 2019 ▶ 6:10 1422 How He Drove $300k Expansion on $1m ARR Cohort in 12 Months
Jul 19, 2019 positive
Insight
Groove uses a weighted point system to compensate its SDRs
“SDRs have a meeting goal, and we use a point system, which I think is the way to go. Basically, if they, if there's certain competitors that we think we could win against more, we go after them, and they get more points or certain sizes, or they get a top 10 l…”
Chris Rothstein Jul 19, 2019 ▶ 13:21 1455 How Groove Scaled To 400 Customers, $5M in ARR on $3.8M Raised
Jul 19, 2019 neutral
Disclosure
Groove pairs one SDR with one AE in dedicated sales pods
“We have basically a one-to-one pair of SDR and AE. So like a pod structure it's now called. And they, we give them a target list and they just work on capturing those accounts where we know we can provide value.”
Chris Rothstein Jul 19, 2019 ▶ 12:16 1455 How Groove Scaled To 400 Customers, $5M in ARR on $3.8M Raised
Aug 3, 2020 negative
Insight
In-house SDR teams of recent college grads struggle with high rejection
“So part of the problem that a lot of our clients have before they start working with us is they they'll try to build it internally. They'll build an SDR team. They'll hire people out of college. And a lot of times people don't realize how hard it is. It's toug…”
David Krieger Aug 3, 2020 ▶ 13:07 SalesRoads: SaaS Companies Hire Him To Build SDR Team
Aug 3, 2020
Assertion Not checkable as stated
SalesRoads SDRs average 150 cold calls per day
“Oh, so per day on average, like a 150.”
David Krieger Aug 3, 2020 ▶ 12:36 SalesRoads: SaaS Companies Hire Him To Build SDR Team
Aug 3, 2020
Disclosure
SalesRoads hires experienced career prospectors rather than recent college graduates
“We actually hire people that are later stage in their career, love prospecting, if you can believe that, they love cold calling, they love going out and hunting for things, and they've done it successfully throughout their career”
David Krieger Aug 3, 2020 ▶ 8:20 SalesRoads: SaaS Companies Hire Him To Build SDR Team
Dec 29, 2020 negative
Opinion
Chernis: The traditional outbound SaaS sales funnel is completely broken
“I'm hell bent on upending the SaaS sales model funnel model. I think it's completely broken and old. In Dinosauric even, right? It doesn't apply anymore. Nobody wants to receive those cold calls. Nobody wants a bank of SDRs smiling and dialing, who also, by th…”
Kate Chernis Dec 29, 2020 ▶ 4:11 How Lately Hit $900k For Social Media Automation Tool Using AI, $7m valuation
Feb 21, 2021
Disclosure
Harris: SpringBig pairs six BDMs with six dedicated SDRs
“And half of our sales team are SDRs, right? So we have six BDMs and we have, every BDM has an SDR associated with them.”
Jeffrey Harris Feb 21, 2021 ▶ 11:23 SpringBig Raised $11.5m on $100m Valuation at $20m Revenue in Niche CRM Space
Feb 24, 2021
Insight
SaaS founders should hire two SDRs initially to compare performance
“I mean, we usually recommend hiring two.”
Scott Sambucci Feb 24, 2021 ▶ 8:14 SalesQualia SaaS Secret Weapon, Helping 35 Founders Scale Pipeline, $1m+ Run Rate
Feb 24, 2021
Insight
Sambucci: Outsourcing SDRs fails if you lack baseline sales messaging
“I think the mistake in outsourcing is I don't have any leads and I don't have any customers and I don't have time to do the SDR work, so I'm going to outsource. That's just shoveling your problems off on somebody else. So outsourcing, I think, should be used s…”
Scott Sambucci Feb 24, 2021 ▶ 13:40 SalesQualia SaaS Secret Weapon, Helping 35 Founders Scale Pipeline, $1m+ Run Rate
Aug 27, 2021 positive
Opinion
Donati: Optimal Budget SDR Tech Stack Is Usher Connect, Apollo, and FreeAgent
“If you're looking for the quickest out of the gate, easiest adoption, SDRs don't have a learning curve and they use it within three days and know what they're doing. I would hands down say Usher Connect for social selling for like automation on LinkedIn. Apoll…”
Gino Donati Aug 27, 2021 ▶ 4:00 Former Top Sales Rep Will Help You Hire First SDR at Your SaaS Company for $2,500/mo
Aug 27, 2021 positive
Insight
Donati: SaaS Startups Must Build Sales Ops and Tech Stack Before Hiring SDRs
“Don't throw bodies at problems. Properly prepare. Set up your sales ops, set up your tech stack, and then hire bodies last.”
Gino Donati Aug 27, 2021 ▶ 3:32 Former Top Sales Rep Will Help You Hire First SDR at Your SaaS Company for $2,500/mo
Aug 27, 2021 negative
Insight
Donati: SDRs should be paid for SQLs and demos, not closed deals
“So if you want as many calls, the right person, right company, don't pay for ops, pay for SQLs, right title, right company, get as many people to take as many demos as possible. And don't yell at the SDR if they don't close, that's not their job.”
Gino Donati Aug 27, 2021 ▶ 6:15 Former Top Sales Rep Will Help You Hire First SDR at Your SaaS Company for $2,500/mo
Aug 27, 2021 neutral
Assertion Partly supported
Donati: Typical SaaS SDR package is $60k-$65k base plus $10k-$15k bonus
“The most common package right now you'll see is probably a 60 K base, 65 K base, with another 10 to 15 sprinkled on that, depending on how well funded they are, et cetera.”
Gino Donati Aug 27, 2021 ▶ 8:30 Former Top Sales Rep Will Help You Hire First SDR at Your SaaS Company for $2,500/mo
Aug 27, 2021 positive
Insight
Donati: Early Founders Should Hire an SDR Before Hiring an AE
“So if I had to draw the perfect plan, first and foremost, you hire an SDR before you hire an AE. I said it. Literally, 90% of people I talk to don't do that. They start with an AE and then they work backward. Hire an SDR. You founded this company. If you can't…”
Gino Donati Aug 27, 2021 ▶ 9:36 Former Top Sales Rep Will Help You Hire First SDR at Your SaaS Company for $2,500/mo
Aug 27, 2021 neutral
Insight
Donati: Cold outbound SDRs should produce 8 to 12 SQLs monthly with lists
“A hundred percent cold. If you gave them targeted lists, I would say you can expect eight to 12 cold SQLs a month. If you gave them nothing, you're probably only going to see six to eight.”
Gino Donati Aug 27, 2021 ▶ 7:14 Former Top Sales Rep Will Help You Hire First SDR at Your SaaS Company for $2,500/mo
Aug 27, 2021 positive
Insight
Donati: SDR comp should be split 50/50 base and OTE
“So I would always say rule of thumb SDR split half base, half OTE.”
Gino Donati Aug 27, 2021 ▶ 5:51 Former Top Sales Rep Will Help You Hire First SDR at Your SaaS Company for $2,500/mo
Sep 14, 2021 neutral
Disclosure
Vandenberg: Chili Piper Employs 20 SDRs, 20 AEs, and 15 AMs
“We're about 20, 20, 15. So 20 SDRs, 20 AEs, 15 AMs.”
Nicolas Vandenberghe Sep 14, 2021 ▶ 17:09 ChiliPiper Meeting Tool Hits $12m Run Rate, Approaching Unicorn Status
Nov 5, 2021 negative
Insight
Mehrguth: Passing LinkedIn gated-content leads to SDRs fails
“Like you download an asset and then you try to send it to an SDR. And the SDR hates your guts because they call them and they've never read the asset before and the timing's not right.”
Garrett Mehrguth Nov 5, 2021 ▶ 4:02 Billion Dollar SaaS Founders Rely on This Secret Sales Strategy
Mar 21, 2022 positive
Assertion Supported
Medina: ZoomInfo uses SDRs to drive expansion revenue
“Henry, Henry's a genius because he has SDRs doing his expansion.”
Manny Medina Mar 21, 2022 ▶ 24:23 Look Back: Can Outreach beat Vista Backed Salesloft?
Mar 21, 2022 positive
Disclosure
Medina: Outreach reduced SDR-to-AE ratio to under 1:1, targeting 1:2
“Oh, it's less than one to one. So last time we talked, I think it was, you know, over one to one and a half or so SDR per AE, and now we're dialing that down significantly to less than one SDR, and we're gonna get to one SDR per two AEs.”
Manny Medina Mar 21, 2022 ▶ 8:04 Look Back: Can Outreach beat Vista Backed Salesloft?
Mar 31, 2022
Assertion Supported
Kossack: Remote SaaS SDR comp typically sits between $60K and $80K
“50 to 65 K on a base and, you know, 10 to 20 K in a variable. So you're looking at, you know, 60 to 80 is, you know, all in is, is typically what you're gonna see.”
Corey Kossack Mar 31, 2022 ▶ 14:03 Raising $6m Now? Software Platform Helps 70 SaaS Companies Hire Sales Reps
Aug 19, 2022 neutral
Insight
Jacoby: Strong accents do not determine an offshore SDR's success
“I could put you on the phone with two SDRs. One would have an accent that's strong and the other one would have an accent that's weaker. And you would be surprised sometimes like That's not the determining factor of success. There's X factors. There's emotiona…”
Andrew Jacoby Aug 19, 2022 ▶ 9:56 You should hire him to be your SDR. He's crushing it for 45 B2B SaaS founders already.
Nov 6, 2022 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Baker: Founder direct outreach gets 70% higher response than SDRs or AEs
“And I can tell you when I when I outreach, I get 70% more response than my SDRs or my AEs.”
Adam Baker Nov 6, 2022 ▶ 14:10 How to shoot through the scale gap (hardest part of scaling rev is between $1M ARR - $6M ARR)
Nov 24, 2022 negative
Insight
Early-stage sales teams often erase marketing gains by ignoring buyer context
“A lot of time, early stage companies will have a complex buyer journey that they've done a really good job. Like the marketers have done a great job. Teeing up this person to talk to sales and then sales will have no idea of all that historical context and the…”
Eli Rubel Nov 24, 2022 ▶ 8:06 Imagine doing $6.1m in revenue helping Loom, Dropbox, and G2 break $100m in ARR
Jun 16, 2023 negative
Insight
Haaland: SDRs doing under 50 calls weekly will never hit quota
“I've talked to people who's doing 10 cold calls, ah, you know, a week, or 50, like, you're never gonna get to your target.”
Sindre Haaland Jun 16, 2023 ▶ 9:45 How We Built a Culture To Drive Efficiency, $8m ARR, and $150k in ARR per Employee
Jun 30, 2023
Disclosure
Van Voorhis: Standard SDR expectation is 100 activities per day
“I expect SDRs to do 100 activities per day. It's my standard. Sometimes we dial that down, depending on the organization and the type of outreach we have to do, but for the most part, my general is, let's get them to a hundred activities per day.”
Kyle Van Voorhis Jun 30, 2023 ▶ 9:05 How I use sales data to increase revenue without hiring more reps
Jun 30, 2023
Insight
Van Voorhis: A 1:1 SDR-to-AE ratio increases CAC by idling expensive AEs
“SDRs are cheaper than AEs. So when you have the one-to-one ratio, you're, this is not full CAC, but it is impacting CAC. Your CAC is increasing because you have higher more expensive employees who are sitting around not doing demos.”
Kyle Van Voorhis Jun 30, 2023 ▶ 13:58 How I use sales data to increase revenue without hiring more reps
Jul 18, 2023 positive
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smajic: High-growth companies are twice as likely to deploy outbound SDRs
“50% of the pipe soars from marketing and it dropping with deal size. So you need to do something else than just rely on marketing, right? And what that is, is actually that you need to have this SDR team. No big news, but it is actually Two X likely that SDRs …”
Samir Smajic Jul 18, 2023 ▶ 9:55 How we built a successful sales team and scaled to +$10m ARR
Jul 18, 2023 neutral
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Smajic: The most common AE-to-SDR ratio is 1:1 or 2:1
“The most common setup is one to one or two to one on AEs and SDRs.”
Samir Smajic Jul 18, 2023 ▶ 10:31 How we built a successful sales team and scaled to +$10m ARR
Sep 5, 2023 neutral
Disclosure
Baker: Only Account Executives Carry Quotas at Dealpad
“Only the AAs carry quota.”
Adam Baker Sep 5, 2023 ▶ 6:56 How He Doubled Revenue To $2.4m Using a 5 Page Google Doc over the past 12 months
Feb 15, 2024
Disclosure
Prados: Review Wave SDRs make 100 to 200 calls daily to hit OTE
“Early on, you know, it was like, you got to do a hundred, a 150 calls a day. Now we have technology and auto dialer stuff, so our new guys, you know, up to 200 calls you know, early on, but, you know, once they get good, it can come down to, you know, a hundre…”
Matt Prados Feb 15, 2024 ▶ 5:15 This CEO Does $20m/year Selling Software to Chiropractic Offices
May 23, 2024 negative
Disclosure
Cledara SDR quota attainment dropped despite hiring more reps
“We started flatlining on our pipe gen, right? The quota attainment was dropping off as we were adding more SDRs. We were not booking necessarily, ah, more demos.”
Brad van Leeuwen May 23, 2024 ▶ 2:40 How to 3x your revenue with 3 simple pricing changes
Jul 18, 2024
Disclosure
Stack Overflow outbound SDRs target companies with over 5,000 active users
“The outbound SDR process is we're saying, okay, what are the big companies over 5000 you know, users that we can go after, and then in the context of, you know, getting them to pitch the product, and our SDRs go make those outbound calls and go do them systema…”
Prashanth Chandrasekar Jul 18, 2024 ▶ 10:17 How Stack Overflow Secretly Made $65,000,000 on its SaaS Last Year
Feb 4, 2025 negative
Opinion
Giffis: SaaS startups should not maintain an SDR function
“So your SDRs, if you have SDRs, which I don't recommend, but that's a different conversation, but if you have an SDR function you know, they should be working hand-in-hand with marketing, right?”
Scott Giffis Feb 4, 2025 ▶ 11:16 Frame.io COO Shares How they Built Product to Hit 1m Users and Exited to Adobe for $1.25b
Jun 11, 2026 positive
Insight
Komoni argues SDRs and BDRs are the true heartbeat of a company
“And I learned that SDRs or BDRs, whatever you want to call that that frontline, that spear is actually the heartbeat of the company. And I think many founders forget that many entrepreneurs forget that. I respect that job more than any other job since. Because…”
Krenar Komoni Jun 11, 2026 ▶ 13:26 Tive Hit $100M Revenue After a Down Round and $10K in the Bank
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