New York City’s ambitions to become a global leader in Applied AI have created a highly competitive environment for hiring teams seeking top sales development representatives (SDRs). With more than 2,000 startups operating across diverse AI domains, companies that secure specialized professionals for this role gain a notable advantage in the race to win customers.
Sales Development Representatives are entry-level, pre-sales professionals responsible for building pipelines by prospecting, qualifying, and converting leads across inbound and outbound channels. Traditionally, they execute outreach strategies such as cold calls, emails, and LinkedIn messaging to reach organizations that align with the ideal customer profile.
New York’s powerhouse economy, spanning finance, healthcare, retail, real estate, media, life sciences, entertainment, and tourism, creates a plethora of opportunities for AI companies to introduce applied solutions that address industry-specific challenges. As a result, many hiring teams are on the hunt for SDRs whose advanced technical fluency help them identify organizations with workflows, budgets, and business models that align with the product’s capabilities.
SDRs with deep product knowledge are in a strong position to effectively communicate with targeted audiences. By explaining the business value of adopting the solution, differences between its automation and augmentation capabilities, and how to integrate it into existing workflows, they play a key role in building credibility with senior-level decision-makers operating in highly regulated, risk-averse industries.
Beyond building pipelines, SDRs also help your company hone the focus of its go-to-market strategy during periods of growth. The problem-solving and relationship-building skills applied in their day-to-day outreach generate valuable customer insights that enable more refined ideal customer profiles, messaging, and pricing.
Compensation Trends for SDRs in AI in NYC
New York-based entry-level SDRs earn comparable average base salaries and on-target earnings (OTE) to their peers in other regions.
For SDRs with six months of experience or more, base salaries remain largely consistent nationwide. However, OTE potential is slightly lower in New York and the Central time zone than elsewhere.
| NY / SF | Pacific | Mountain | Central | Eastern | Remote | |
| Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | Base | OTE | |
| SDR (Recent Grad) | $50-$70K | $80-$90K | $55-$70K | $80-$90K | $55-$70K | $70-$85K | $55-$70K | $70-$85K | $55-$65K | $75-$90K | $50-$70K | $70-$95K |
| SDR (6 Months+) | $60-$80K | $80-$100K | $60-$75K | $85-$100K | $60-$70K | $85-$100K | $60-$75K | $80-$100K | $65-$80K | $85-$100K | $60-$80K | $85-$100K |
Our annual Compensation, Enterprise Compensation, and Executive Compensation guides share deeper insights into the market trends influencing these ranges. Additionally, the Comp Engine provides real-time benchmarks based on data from our placements in the last six months.
Below are the top ten recruiting agencies for Sales Development Representatives in AI in New York City. These firms combine strong local networks, industry expertise, and rigorous vetting processes to connect scaling AI companies with revenue-generating talent.
1. Betts Recruiting
Founded in 2009, Betts Recruiting’s modern, forward-looking approach has made it the leading talent partner for high-growth tech companies in need of exceptional go-to-market (GTM) candidates.
Betts partnered with Staffbase, an HR tech company, to secure 36 candidates, including several SDRs, through its Recruitment as a Service (RaaS) model. The solution allows unlimited hires for an annual fee and provides access to Betts Connect, an AI-powered sourcing platform, along with personalized recruiter support. This model enabled Staffbase to scale its GTM team during a new office expansion while avoiding high fees over a four-year partnership.
The firm is powered by Betts Connect, which features the profiles and KPIs of tens of thousands of pre-vetted GTM candidates. Recruiters and hiring managers can leverage predictive analytics to streamline the search process, saving time without compromising precision.
With a strong footprint in the AI community, Betts has amassed valuable market intelligence and an extensive, high-quality talent pool. Verticalized recruiters draw on specialized knowledge to act as trusted advisors, helping your company overcome scalability challenges, navigate enterprise sales, connect with candidates beyond your network, and more.
2. Sales Talent Inc.
Founded in 1999, Sales Talent Inc. places GTM talent across the tech, SaaS, industrial, medical, and healthcare sectors, with a strong NYC presence. The firm’s thorough headhunting approach and specific focus on early- to growth-stage AI startups give it deep market fluency, helping them access every candidate who fits your criteria.
Recruiters spend around 62 hours per search, almost three times the industry average, to deliver a curated group of three to five prospects and complete most searches in just over a week. They interview each candidate twice to evaluate their skill set, drive, and culture fit, with an emphasis on resourcefulness, grit, and industry acumen.
3. Rocket
Rocket has recruited across multiple functions for startups from Series A to IPO, including SDRs, since 2017. The firm combines startup fluency, a dedicated NYC recruiting focus, and a context-driven approach to find candidates whose sales motion experience aligns with your company’s GTM strategy.
Recruiters gain a deep understanding of your company’s buyer profile, annual contract value, and deal cycle length to assess a candidate’s fit beyond prior quota attainment. As a result, four out of the five pre-vetted prospects Rocket submits to your hiring team are invited to an interview.
Rocket draws on its knowledge of New York City’s tech scene, economy, and local talent pool to strategically position your role and attract competitive candidates, taking into account the reliable jobs prospects currently hold and the daily commute your role would require.
4. Sales Talent Agency
Founded in 2007, Sales Talent Agency places sales candidates across North America, Europe, and Australia in diverse industries, including technology. The firm leverages its talent pipeline program to consistently deliver high-quality candidates.
By participating in the STA NEXT™ program, your company receives the resumes and video introductions of five to fifteen shortlisted SDRs each Monday. The firm has placed over 180 junior sales professionals through this program, with just a 2% replacement rate.
5. Captivate Talent
Founded in 2017, Captivate Talent exclusively recruits GTM and RevOps candidates for early- to growth-stage SaaS startups, making it a strong partner for AI-native or AI-adjacent organizations. The firm applies a boutique, consultative approach to identify candidates who align with your current stage of growth.
Recruiters conduct thorough screening processes that evaluate candidates’ technical expertise, cultural fit, and competency within a fast-paced environment. Their startup fluency makes them trusted advisors in helping your company navigate various growth challenges.
Most of the firm’s team is based in New York and regularly attends and sponsors local tech events, contributing to strong citywide networks.
6. TheLIONS
TheLIONS is a values-driven firm that has placed sales candidates across tech sectors, with notable success in enterprise SaaS and AI, since 2010. Many of its partners are funded by leading VC firms, demonstrating the credibility it has earned throughout the industry.
The firm vets candidates for intangible traits such as leadership, self-sufficiency, accountability, humility, and drive, contributing to a robust network of “lions” who embody the firm’s values. This candidate selectivity has helped the firm achieve a 90% inbound ratio of new job openings.
7. Stott and May
Founded in 2009, Stott and May recruits GTM, AI/ML, infrastructure and cloud, and software engineering candidates for tech companies across the US and UK, with a strong presence in New York City. The firm combines technical expertise with high-quality promotional campaigns to attract top talent.
Domain-specialized recruiters conduct talent mapping, salary benchmarking, and candidate screening to find SDRs with deep product knowledge. In addition to its focus on technology sales, the firm also has a dedicated AI/ML recruiting team based in New York, highlighting its proximity to local talent and strong positioning within the city’s AI market.
Stott and May differentiates itself by positioning your employee value proposition through branded campaigns and promotional collateral, including candidate briefing packs and employer microsites. These materials help familiarize candidates with your company’s culture and mission, ensuring you are matched with prospects who are genuinely interested in the opportunity.
8. RevPilots
RevPilots is an emerging firm that has recruited GTM and RevOps talent for scaling tech companies since 2022. Each recruiter draws on more than ten years of sales experience and relies on hard work, the firm’s “secret sauce,” to conduct fast, focused searches.
The team operates from 8 AM to midnight, seven days a week, and assigns two or three recruiters to each search. This approach enables the firm to deliver the first round of candidates who match your exact budget, experience, and industry requirements within just five business days.
9. Rainmakers
Founded in 2017, Rainmakers is a sales-exclusive sourcing platform powered by Hirewell, a full-service recruitment firm. The platform allows employers to bid on qualified salespeople and reports a 90% candidate response rate.
Rainmakers includes more than 350,000 pre-vetted sales professionals across diverse software and technology verticals. Each candidate profile features over forty data points related to prior sales experience and performance.
10. Treeline Inc.
Treeline Inc. has specialized exclusively in sales recruiting since its founding in 2001. The firm leverages an AI-powered talent platform to deliver fast, streamlined solutions through contingency and self-sourcing models.
Companies that opt for the self-sourcing solution can make unlimited hires during a thirty-day period. This model includes access to the firm’s talent platform, which hosts the resumes of over 200,000 candidates, along with recruiter summaries and detailed insights into previous experience, desired compensation, sales approach, quota attainment, average deal size, and cycle length.
During contingency engagements, recruiters learn about your company culture, sales goals, and ideal candidate before delivering the first round of qualified professionals within three days. This speed is partly enabled by the firm’s emphasis on collaborative communication, which ensures alignment between recruiters and your hiring team throughout the hiring process.
Seeking competitive SDR talent for your AI organization in NYC? Contact Betts here to get started today.