SDR — Sales Development Representative

Department: Sales
Level: Operational
Primary objective: Identify, qualify and deliver warm leads to the sales team

What this role does

The SDR (Sales Development Representative) is the first point of contact with potential customers. They don't close deals — they prepare the ground for Account Executives. They work exclusively with unqualified leads, filter them, qualify them, and transfer them as opportunities when genuine interest exists.

Modules used daily

Module	Where to find it	What you use it for
Leads	CRM → Leads	Primary work queue
Sales Pipelines	CRM → Pipelines	Kanban view of progress
Lead Sources	CRM → Lead Sources	Understand where the lead comes from
Lead Statuses	CRM → Statuses	Mark qualification stage
Lead Scoring	CRM → Scoring	Prioritise hot leads
Lead Capture Forms	CRM → Forms	View leads from web forms
Lead Email Integration	CRM → Lead Email	Manage correspondence on a lead
Opportunities	CRM → Opportunities	Create the opportunity after qualification
Clients	CRM → Clients	Check if a relationship already exists

Daily routine

Morning — queue review

Open Leads → Pipeline and sort by score descending
Identify new leads that came in overnight (web forms, email, import)
Check leads stuck in the same stage for more than 3 days — decide: follow up or mark as lost

During the day — active qualification

For each new lead: fill in qualification fields (industry, company size, estimated budget, urgency)
If the lead doesn't respond to the first contact → set a reminder +2 days; maximum 5 attempts
Qualified lead (BANT confirmed — Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) → convert to Opportunity

Lead → Opportunity conversion

Lead (qualified) → Convert button → fill in:
  - Estimated value
  - Estimated close date
  - Pipeline stage (e.g. Proposal)
  - Assign responsible Account Executive

Key workflows

Workflow 1 — Inbound lead from web form

Web form → Lead created automatically → SDR receives notification
→ Check score (Scoring) → Contact within max 1 hour
→ Qualify BANT → Convert to Opportunity → Assign AE

Workflow 2 — Lead from import / manual entry

Excel import or manual entry → Lead in "New" status
→ Prior research (LinkedIn, company website)
→ Fill in missing fields → Set correct source
→ Contact → Qualify → Convert or Mark Lost

Workflow 3 — Cold lead, no response

Initial contact → No response → Reminder +2 days
→ 2nd contact → No response → Reminder +3 days
→ 3rd contact → Still no response → Mark "Inactive"
→ Returns to nurturing campaign (Marketing)

Key metrics

Metric	What it means	Target
Lead → opportunity conversion rate	% of leads that become opportunities	20–35%
Average time to first contact	How long until you contact a new lead	< 1 hour (inbound)
Average time in stage	How many days a lead stays in the same stage	< 5 days per stage
Leads worked per day	Number of leads contacted/updated	15–30
Response rate	% of contacts who respond to the first message	> 25%

Practical tips

Score matters. Don't work chronologically — always open high-scoring leads first. An enterprise lead with score 85 takes priority over 10 small leads with score 20.

Fill in the qualification fields. The Account Executive taking over the opportunity needs to see what you found out — industry, estimated budget, contact person, main problem. A transferred lead without context is a lost lead.

Don't delay marking as Lost. A pipeline inflated with dead leads distorts reports and wastes time. If after 5 contacts there's no response — mark as lost with the correct reason.

Tip

Always work highest-scoring leads first — an enterprise lead with score 85 takes priority over 10 small leads with score 20. The scoring system exists precisely to prevent working the queue chronologically and missing high-value prospects.

Note

When transferring a qualified lead to an Account Executive, fill in all qualification fields (industry, budget range, main pain point, decision-maker name) — an opportunity transferred without context is effectively cold and damages downstream conversion rates.