--- title: "What is a sales development representative?" description: "Sales Development Representative explained in plain English: definition, how it works in a remote team, an example. See an example and the common mistakes." url: https://assistbpo.com/glossary/sales-development-representative/ updated: 2026-09-20 publisher: AssistBPO (SS Support Network LLC) language: en-US --- # What is a sales development representative? Glossary What is a sales development representative? A sales development representative, or SDR, is a sales team member who finds and qualifies new prospects at the top of the pipeline and hands qualified opportunities to an account executive. SDRs work outbound sequences of calls, emails and social messages, research target accounts and keep the CRM accurate, and are measured on qualified meetings rather than closed revenue. Updated September 2026 · Reviewed by [Nimra Khalid](https://assistbpo.com/team/nimra-khalid/) ## How does a sales development representative work? 1. Build the list: research accounts that match the ideal customer profile and find the right contacts, with consent and opt-out rules applied. 2. Run a multi-touch sequence over two to three weeks, mixing calls, personalized emails and LinkedIn messages. 3. Qualify replies against agreed criteria such as budget, authority, need and timeline before booking a meeting. 4. Hand off with a written summary so the account executive walks into the call already informed. 5. Log every touch and outcome in the CRM and review conversion rates at each step weekly. ## A worked example A 30-person SaaS company in Toronto selling scheduling software to clinics had two account executives spending half their week prospecting. A remote SDR took over the top of the funnel. Each week the SDR researched 60 clinics from a target list, verified the practice manager's contact details and ran a 12-touch sequence of calls and emails. Replies were qualified on clinic size and current software before a demo was booked. Within a quarter the account executives were running 25 demos a month from SDR handoffs and had stopped prospecting entirely, and pipeline data in HubSpot finally matched reality. ## Where does a sales development representative show up in your tools? SDRs live in HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive sequences, dial through Dialpad, Aircall or RingCentral, and use LinkedIn Sales Navigator plus enrichment tools for research. Meetings are booked through Calendly links embedded in the sequence, and pipeline reports come from the CRM. ## Common mistakes - Judging an SDR on activity counts alone, which produces spam-like sequences instead of qualified conversations. - Skipping the handoff summary, so the account executive re-asks every question the prospect already answered. - Sending outbound email without unsubscribe links and sender identification, which breaks anti-spam rules in every market. ## Why does a sales development representative matter? Prospecting is the part of sales that closers avoid, and pipeline dries up when nobody owns it. A sales development representative keeps a steady flow of qualified meetings so account executives can focus on winning them. Splitting the roles also gives you clean data on where prospects drop out. ## How does AssistBPO handle a sales development representative? AssistBPO staffs SDR desks with employed, managed representatives who work your sequences, your CRM and your hours, backed by a trained backup and a team lead who coaches from recorded calls. Outbound campaigns are run with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing, and email sequences carry identification and unsubscribe links. Qualified meetings are reported daily. [Verified lists, not scraped noise](https://assistbpo.com/services/lead-generation/)[Get a staffing plan](https://assistbpo.com/get-a-staffing-plan/) ## Related terms - [Appointment setter](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/appointment-setter/) - [Lead qualification](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/lead-qualification/) - [Pipeline](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/pipeline/) - [Inside sales agent](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/inside-sales-agent/) - [Team lead](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/team-lead/) ## Where it is used - [Verified lists, not scraped noise](https://assistbpo.com/services/lead-generation/) ## Next in the A to Z - [Segmentation](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/segmentation/) - [Seller Central](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/seller-central/) - [SEO](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/seo/) - [Service level agreement](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/service-level-agreement/) [All 148 terms, A to Z](https://assistbpo.com/glossary/) Next step ## Your desk, staffed. Wherever you are. Tell us what is overloaded. A named person replies within 1 business day with a staffing plan, and we propose your assistant within 72 hours. [Get a staffing plan](https://assistbpo.com/get-a-staffing-plan/) [Book a 20-minute call](https://assistbpo.com/book-a-call/) Or call [+1-657-777-0006](tel:+16577770006) during US, UK or Australian business hours, or [hear our demo receptionist](https://assistbpo.com/demo-line/). - A named assistant proposed within 72 hours - Employed, screened and managed staff, never freelancers - Your hours, your tools, your data --- Source: https://assistbpo.com/glossary/sales-development-representative/ · Contact: https://assistbpo.com/contact/ · Full site map for agents: https://assistbpo.com/llms.txt