Updated September 2026
A strong startup SDR job description defines a qualified meeting in one sentence, names who the SDR books meetings for and who coaches them, and sets out a written path to account executive. The best SDR candidates are early in their careers and choosing between several offers, so the JD has to sell learning and progression as much as pay.
Copy-and-paste SDR job description
Sales Development Representative (SDR) at [Company]
About [Company]
[Company] sells [product] to [buyer title] at [type of company]. We are [number] people, backed by [investors], and our [founder / AE] runs every sales conversation today.
The role
You'll start conversations with companies that don't know us yet, by email, phone and LinkedIn, and book qualified meetings for [founder / AE name]. A qualified meeting means [your definition, e.g. the right title, at a company of [size], with [problem] confirmed on the call]. You'll report to [name], who will coach you every week.
What you'll do in your first 6 months
- Book [number] qualified meetings a month by month [X], with at least [X]% turning into real opportunities.
- Test and report on at least [number] messaging experiments, so we learn which pains and titles respond.
- Build and keep clean target lists for [number] accounts in [segment].
- Share what you hear from prospects with sales and product every week.
What you'll bring
- Clear, short writing. We'll ask for a sample.
- Comfort picking up the phone to people who didn't expect you.
- Evidence you have learned something hard quickly, in a job, sport, study or side project.
- [Language or time zone requirement, if any].
Nice to have
- Some outbound or customer-facing experience.
- Knowledge of [industry or buyer].
What we offer
- Base salary [£/$/€ X to Y] plus variable pay of [£/$/€ X to Y] at target, paid on [qualified meetings / opportunities].
- Equity: [range].
- A written path to Account Executive: [criteria, e.g. X months at target plus a passed mock deal].
- [Remote / hybrid / office], at a [Seed / Series A / Series B] company.
The sentence that does the most work is your definition of a qualified meeting. Without it, the SDR will optimise for whatever gets counted, and your AE will spend Fridays on calls with interns who took a meeting to be polite.
"Generate qualified leads and hit weekly activity targets."
"Book meetings with [VP Finance or above] at [100 to 1,000 person] companies who confirm they [close the books manually] on the call."
How the SDR job description changes by stage
| Seed | Series A | Series B | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who they book for | A founder | One to three AEs | A pod of AEs by segment |
| Who coaches them | A founder, weekly | An AE or first sales lead | A dedicated SDR manager |
| Messaging | They help invent it | Tested, still being refined | Set by marketing, adapted per segment |
| What to stress in the JD | Experiments, feedback, a founder's time | Volume with quality, path to AE | Segment focus, team targets, promotion criteria |
A Seed company with no AE and a busy founder often isn't ready for an SDR at all. If nobody has time to take the meetings, the SDR is set up to fail. Our guide on building an SDR team at a startup covers timing in more detail.
Scorecard: how you'll judge success
| Outcome | What good looks like at 12 months | How you'll test it in interviews |
|---|---|---|
| Qualified meetings | At target most months, measured on meetings held | Ask how they hit a number in any past role |
| Meeting-to-opportunity rate | Your AE accepts most meetings as real opportunities | Outreach exercise: who did they choose, and why? |
| Learning speed | Measurably better after each round of coaching | Role play twice, with feedback in between |
| Messaging experiments | A log of tests, with what they changed as a result | Ask how they would test two subject lines |
| Market insight | A monthly note on objections and pains heard | Ask what they learned about our buyer while preparing |
30-60-90 day plan
| Period | Focus | By the end they should have |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 30 | Learn the buyer and the pitch | Listened to 20 recorded calls, built a first list of [number] accounts, sent first sequences with review |
| Days 31 to 60 | Volume and feedback | Daily outreach at target activity, weekly call reviews, first qualified meetings held |
| Days 61 to 90 | Quality and experiments | Meetings at ramped target, two tested messaging changes, a short note on the top objections |
Four mistakes founders make in an SDR job description
- Counting activity instead of outcomes. Dials and emails are inputs. Put the meeting and conversion targets in the JD and track activity as a coaching tool.
- No named coach. SDRs who report to "the sales team" learn slowly and leave early. Name the person and the weekly slot.
- A vague path to AE. "Opportunities for growth" means nothing to a candidate with three offers. Write down the criteria, even if the timing depends on hiring plans.
- Hiring one SDR on their own. Where budget allows, hire two a few weeks apart. They learn from each other, and you can compare results to tell a messaging problem from a person problem.
Where Funded.club fits
We are a fixed-fee recruiting partner for funded startups across North America, Europe and APAC. One dedicated recruiter runs each search end to end and screens for the outcomes on your scorecard, with first candidates within 7 days. For SDR hires the fee often sits in our lowest band of $4,900, agreed upfront. See pricing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an SDR and a BDR?
Many companies use the titles interchangeably. Where they differ, SDRs often qualify inbound leads and BDRs focus on outbound. Pick one title and describe the work clearly in the JD.
Should an SDR job description include pay?
Yes. State the base, the variable pay at target and what it is paid on. Benchmark against current data for your market, and use our free job description builder if you want a guided start.
How do I interview SDR candidates?
Use a written outreach exercise and a cold call role play with feedback between two attempts. See our SDR interview questions for 22 questions and a scoring rubric.
Worth a brief chat about your next hire? Book a free call.
Hiring after a funding round?
First candidates in 7 days. Fixed-fee, no commission.