What Is A Sales Development Representative?
A sales development representative (SDR) handles outbound prospecting and qualifies inbound leads to pass to account executives. At B2B SaaS companies, that means researching accounts, reaching out by email, phone, and LinkedIn, and booking qualified meetings so closers spend their time on real opportunities.
- Also called
- SDR, Lead Development Rep
- Reports to
- Sales Development Manager / Head of Sales
- Works on
- Prospecting, lead qualification, booked meetings
- Measured on
- Meetings booked, qualified leads
What A Sales Development Representative Actually Does
- 01 · ProspectingResearches target accounts and builds prospect lists that match the ideal customer profile
- 02 · OutreachContacts prospects by email, phone, and LinkedIn with personalized messages
- 03 · QualificationQualifies inbound leads to confirm fit, budget, and timing before passing them on
- 04 · MeetingsBooks qualified first meetings on account executives’ calendars
- 05 · CRM HandoffLogs every touch in the CRM and hands off clean notes to the account executive
Sales Development Representative Vs. Similar Roles
| Role | Main focus | Primary metric |
|---|---|---|
| Sales Development Representative | Booking qualified first meetings | Meetings set, qualified leads |
| Account Executive | Closing new customers | New bookings |
| Inside Sales Representative | Remote selling, from inbound lead to closing smaller deals | Closed revenue vs. quota |
| Account Manager | Renewals and expansion revenue | Net revenue retention |
At smaller companies, an account executive often prospects alone. Add an SDR once the AE calendar fills with discovery calls and outbound starts to slip.
Skills To Screen For
Interview Questions Worth Asking
Hiring A Sales Development Representative In Latin America
Ready to add one to your team? Hire an SDR from Latin America through LatamCent, with 3 to 5 vetted profiles in the first 10 days.
How Much Of The Workday You’d Share
Bogota, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Buenos Aires don’t change their clocks, so the overlap shifts when yours does. Times shown are in your team’s time zone. National English-proficiency averages vary by market too: Argentina ranks in EF’s "High" band globally, while Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil sit in the "Low" band. Screen every candidate’s spoken English directly rather than assuming by country.
What It Costs
| Country | Entry level (1-3 yrs) | Senior (6+ yrs) |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | $10K/yr | $23K/yr |
| Mexico | $11K/yr | $23K/yr |
| Brazil | $14K/yr | $28K/yr |
| Argentina | $12K/yr | $29K/yr |
Per-country figures are modeled estimates for the sales development representative title, based on US pay and country multipliers. The LatAm average above is the mean of the four senior figures.
Typical time from kickoff to signed offer. LatamCent delivers 3 to 5 candidate profiles in the first 10 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
A sales development representative (SDR) handles outbound prospecting and qualifies inbound leads to pass to account executives. At B2B SaaS companies, that means researching accounts, reaching out by email, phone, and LinkedIn, and booking qualified meetings so closers spend their time on real opportunities.
An SDR books qualified first meetings, and is measured on meetings set and qualified leads. An account executive closes new customers, and is measured on new bookings. At smaller companies, one person sometimes does both.
US sales development representatives average around $55,000 a year. Senior SDRs in Latin America average around $25,800 a year, about 53% less, saving roughly $29,300 a year per hire.
Most searches run 21 days from kickoff to a signed offer, with 3 to 5 candidate profiles delivered in the first 10 days.
The terms overlap, and many companies use them interchangeably. Where a company splits them, an SDR usually qualifies inbound leads and a BDR prospects outbound into target accounts. Check how each company defines the title before comparing job descriptions or pay.
Need An SDR On Your Team?
Pre-vetted, fluent-English sales development representatives from Latin America, interviewing in 21 days.
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