What it means
A sales development representative (SDR) is the person who opens new conversations with prospects and books meetings for account executives. The role covers outbound prospecting by email, LinkedIn and phone, plus following up on inbound leads.
SDRs are measured on meetings booked and the pipeline those meetings create. Closed revenue belongs to the account executive. A BDR (business development representative) is the same job in most companies, sometimes focused on outbound only.
Some teams split the role by direction. Inbound SDRs qualify leads that came in, and outbound SDRs start conversations with accounts that have not. The usual next step is account executive, which is why the role is a common way into sales.
How we use it
Where an SDR fits, we make sure the data, sequences and reporting sit in a system the team owns, so the next hire starts from a running machine. Our 90/10 SDR efficiency framework covers where an SDR's hours should go.