A New Job Description for Sales Development Representatives
At Betts, we brought you a fresh approach to outdated job descriptions with our revamped Account Executive (AE) and Enterprise Account Executive (EAE) job description (JD) templates and now it’s time to focus on Sales Development Representatives (SDRs). We recognize the difference in how these roles function, so we’ve carefully tailored a comprehensive JD template designed specifically for SDRs.
While the structure remains consistent, the requirements and preferences will differ in this template. At Betts, we’ve broken down each section of the template to ensure it saves your recruiting team time while they create job descriptions for your next SDR hire.
In essence, what sets an SDR apart is their responsibilities in the early stages of the sales process. Unlike Account Executives, whose primary focus is on closing deals, Sales Development Representatives are on the front lines, identifying and qualifying leads to kickstart the sales cycle. Let’s delve into the specifics.
Job Description Template:
About this Role
Before you get into the role and responsibilities of an SDR, you want to introduce your company, the nature of the position you’re looking to hire for and why you’re trying to hire this person. This section should include a company sizzle, job title and the challenge that you’re hoping they can solve. The main thing to keep in mind are the non-negotiable qualifications, which mainly differs in years of experience and sales skills for this entry level role.
1. Company Sizzle
The company sizzle should be short and sweet, and essentially “hook” talent on why they should want to work for you instead of any other company.
2. Job Title
You want to make it crystal clear what the title of the role is this person is applying for. Keeping it simple, this section can just list out the job title.
3. Challenge
What is the main reason you’re hiring this person and what challenge are they solving? That’s what you’ll put in this section but keep it very brief. Since we’re covering SDRs, this should specify that you’re looking for someone in the early stages of the sales cycle.
It could look something like this:
| Company Sizzle | [Company name] is a newly funded Series B FinTech that’s positively growing and projected to reach [$] in ARR by [year] |
| Job Title | Sales Development Representative |
| Challenge | Tailor outreach to generate pipeline of $500k in ARR |
Who We’re Looking For
In our new and improved JD template, we separate the job requirements in three sections: Industry Experience, Relevant Sales Motion and Sales Skills. This is because everyone is looking for their “unicorn seller” and prerequisites have become more specific than ever before. This new structure expires the “one size fits all” job description and focuses on only attracting qualified top talent.
Although for SDRs, industry specific experience may not be as relevant as defining what sales skills are crucial to be successful in this role. It really depends on what a successful sales strategy looks like at your company. According to the data from our Compensation Guide, companies are looking for more specific experience even for SDRs who already have a bit of a background in their industry.
1. Industry Experience
SDRs are considered to be an entry level position so the list of requirements may not be as extensive as more seasoned sellers. Industry experience may not include many requirements but instead, it can list out more preferences of previous experiences. If you’re looking for SDRs with a little bit of selling experience, this is where you would specify that. It should lay out products they’ve previously sold, customers they’ve sold into and company sizes that they’ve worked at. If you’re only looking for any general work experience and whether or not it includes internships, that should also be laid out clearly.
Here’s an example:
| Required | – 1+ years of work experience (including internships) |
| Preferred | – 6+ months experience working at a B2B SaaS startup – Experience in a Mid Stage Startup (Series [A/B/C/D] or [$$$] in ARR) – 0-1 years experience selling into [Department type] – Relevant experience in [Preferred industry] or [Preferred industry] industry – Experience using Salesforce & HubSpot |
2. Relevant Sales Motion
Depending on the level of experience you seek in an SDR, this section will vary significantly. It should highlight your typical sales motion, encompassing the steps in the sales process and the strategies employed to close deals. These steps include searching for prospects, meeting and qualifying them, conducting research, proposing agreements, handling objections, and closing deals. Given that the SDR’s primary responsibility is to generate pipeline, their focus will primarily be on prospecting, meeting, and qualifying leads before transferring the deal to an Account Executive.
The length of sales cycles vary and this section should list your typical quota, average deal size, average sales cycle, targets and current sales methodologies. While they may not be involved in the entire cycle, highlighting this can help them understand what they’re signing up for.
See examples:
| Required | – Comfortable with cold-calling, emailing, and LinkedIn messaging to generate new sales pipeline |
| Preferred | – Experience with trial led sales strategies – Proven track record and quarterly quota attainment at previous SDR or BDR role – Experience with 50k+ Average Deal Size – Experience with generating a pipeline of $500k – Experience with 3-Month Sale Cycle |
Some examples of different sales methodologies & sales motions include: channel sales, trial led strategies, land and expand methods, account-based selling, partner selling, product-led growth, SPIN selling, N.E.A.T selling, conceptual selling, SNAP selling, challenger sale, The Sandler Selling System, MEDDIC, solution selling, inbound selling, command of the sale and gap selling.
3. Sales Skills
When it comes to what it means to be successful at your company, there’s a certain skill set that may be required depending on your sales techniques. In this section, it should highlight 3-5 core skills that represent your culture and drive success in your company. It’s important to note that while some skills are coachable, others simply can’t be taught. So if competencies such as emotional intelligence and ability to relate to prospects are crucial to how you’re selling, you should include that in your requirements. Keeping in mind that SDRs may be the first point of contact with potential customers, this is where you should highlight the importance of communication skills. Additionally, if you’re open to hiring someone with no previous sales experience, you may also want to highlight key characterics that are commonly found amongst sales candidates, such as competitiveness. It can look something like this:
| Required | – Excellent written and verbal communication skills – Ability to adapt and learn in new environments – Competitive goal-oriented mindset with drive to grow your career – Proven track record of creative problem solving – Ability to listen and understand prospects challenges and provide solutions to help them |
| Preferred | – Proven track record of using Sales Playbook knowledge to build relationships with prospects |
Some other sales skills & traits include: Creativity, Active Listening, Coach-ability, Relationship Building, Resilience, Analytical Thinking, Sales EQ/IQ, Industry Knowledge, Sales Playbook Knowledge, Problem Solving, Integrity, Sales planning & forecasting, Motivational Speaking, Trend Analysis, Playbook to Scale
About The Company
1. Benefits
This section should lay out all of the benefits available through your company and establish any incentives that will be included with this role along with any details about health insurance, remote/hybrid culture, flexible working hours. Here’s a tip: we’ve historically seen at Betts that top sales talent in tech value benefits, and they have increasingly become a key driver to attract quality candidates. So if there’s anything that makes your benefits more appealing than what else is on the market, make sure to include it. Here’s an example of what it could look like:
| – Medical insurance for all employees (and largely subsidized coverage for families) – Dental – Vision – 401K with a [%] company contribution – [Flexible Working Hours] – [insert amenities, i.e.: an onsite fitness center, childcare center,etc.]. – [Remote/Hybrid/In-office] (if hybrid or in-office: position located in [City]). |
2. About the Hiring Team
This section will be the last thing a candidate should read and should include why they should come work for your company, the company mission statement and putting a face to the name of the hiring team. Headshots, names and titles of the hiring team can also be added. This can help humanize the whole process and make candidates feel like they’re directly working with people instead of just a screen or sent into a database. Here’s an example:
| This role will be reporting directly to the [Hiring Manager] and working closely with the [Job title, if applicable]. You should apply to this role if you would like to be a part of a [company culture/value, i.e.: collaborative work environment that encourages innovation and entrepreneurial thinking]. OR [Company mission statement] |
To enhance the caliber of your sales team and hire a top Enterprise Account Executive, a revamp of your job description is crucial. To simplify this process for you, we’ve created a downloadable template that includes both a designed and plain text version for your convenience.
Download the Job Description 2.0 Template for Sales Development Representatives here.
Upscaling Your Sales Recruiting Search with Betts
If you need help hiring EAEs, Betts offers unlimited hires for an annual fee with Recruitment as a Service (RaaS). RaaS combines everything you love about a traditional agency and transforms it into a scalable software-as-a-service package. You get access to both our recruiting support as well as our one-of-a-kind technology platform at a fraction of the cost of an outsourced recruiter team. Learn more about RaaS here, and start hiring your unicorn seller.