Hire a Remote Sales Development Representative (SDR)

What an SDR does

A sales development representative (SDR) builds pipeline. They research target accounts, reach out to decision-makers and hand qualified prospects to an account executive. Compared with an appointment setter, an SDR typically works with more complex B2B buying cycles and does more research and personalization.

Typical responsibilities

• Building prospect lists from your ideal customer profile

• Sequencing outreach across email, LinkedIn and phone

• Personalizing messages using research on the account

• Qualifying interest and booking discovery calls

• Logging all activity in the CRM

• Testing subject lines, openers and call scripts, and reporting what works

Skills to look for

• Strong business writing and concise messaging

• Research skills and curiosity about buyers

• Resilience and consistent activity

• Comfort with sales tools and data

• Coachability: applying feedback quickly

Software and tools

• HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive

• Apollo, ZoomInfo, Sales Navigator or Clay

• Outreach, Salesloft or Instantly

• Gong or call-recording tools

• Google Workspace

Experience to look for

Look for SDR or BDR experience in a comparable market, and ask for activity and conversion numbers they were responsible for. Ask them to walk through an actual sequence they wrote.

Interview questions

1. Walk me through how you would research a target account.

2. Write the opening line of a cold email to a VP in our market.

3. How many touches do you think are right in a sequence, and why?

4. Tell me about a deal that started with your outreach.

5. How do you handle a “not interested” reply?

6. Which metrics should we review weekly?

When to hire an SDR

• Your pipeline depends on founder-led outreach

• Your product is proven but demand generation is inconsistent

• Account executives are spending time prospecting

Hiring an SDR internationally

Give an SDR clear ICP definitions, a messaging framework and access to tools from day one. Coaching is essential; plan weekly review calls of outreach and recorded conversations.