How to Structure Your Sales Team- SDR and BDR Roles Explained

By doing so, they reduce the workload for other teams and build strong early relationships with prospects. You could consider structuring your teams by product, market or industry. These pod models allow your teams to refine their approach with a specific focus and become genuine experts, especially as you release new products and expand into new markets. The right sales force structure boils down to what works best for your business and your salespeople.

How the fu*k do you get really good and qualified leads?

That’s because a base-heavy pay mix fosters a more stable environment for an SDR to learn critical sales skills while maintaining a stable income. The base vs. variable pay mix for an SDR often falls somewhere between a 50/50 and 70/30 split. On-target-earnings – or OTE – is the amount of money an employee can expect to earn if they achieve 100% quota attainment. This metric is used by companies to communicate the expected salary in roles that have a variable pay component. Now that you understand the basics of SDR commission plan structure, let’s dig into some specific steps to help you create your plans.

Solving the Impossible Problem of Sales Commission Management

Establishing your company as a thought leader in the industry positions you as the preferred solution for their needs, cementing your place ahead of the competition. Outbound SDRs possess the flexibility to customize their outreach efforts to target specific markets or ideal customer profiles (ICPs). This tailored approach enables them to engage potential clients on a personal level, Sales development representative job resulting in more meaningful conversations and a greater likelihood of capturing their interest. By monitoring these key performance indicators, you can ensure that your SDR team effectively nurtures and converts leads throughout the sales cycle. For more insights on structuring your sales and marketing teams, check out our article on 10 Successful B2B Marketing Team Structures to Inspire Your Organization. Consistent high performance, leadership traits, business acumen and relationship building enable advancement from SDR to sales management and beyond.

How to Build an SDR Team: The Ultimate Guide

Since their goals are aligned with high-level, top-of-funnel activities, SDRs should likely report into marketing. This ensures seamless collaboration, clear messaging, and smooth handoffs between marketing efforts and sales engagement. An SDR team manager takes on a multifaceted role, encompassing recruitment, onboarding, and coaching of SDRs. They are responsible for setting clear targets, closely monitoring performance, and providing guidance and support to nurture career growth. Additionally, they lead the strategy and process optimization to enhance the team’s efficiency and effectiveness.

SDRs who sell software can use this information to understand where the product they programmer skills offer fits in with the other software the prospect is using. Other SDRs can still benefit from data enrichment tools (like ClearBit). In a sales department, the SDRs are the base level –they touch every lead and filter out the ones that aren’t good fits. You’ve got leads coming in, you figure out which ones are legit, and then you acquire them as customers.

• Aligning your representatives with the primary part of the sales funnel and method is always going to yield better results.
• The cadence-driven model relied on rigid schedules, often missing the nuances of buyer behavior or the realities of BDR workloads like sick days or vacations.
• Through their targeted outreach efforts, they identify potential clients who might be a perfect fit for your offerings.
• These individuals are already familiar with the nuances of lead generation and can hit the ground running.
• You’ve got leads coming in, you figure out which ones are legit, and then you acquire them as customers.
• On the other hand, your business might rely heavily on outbound efforts—hunting for new opportunities through personalized outreach to targeted accounts.

There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes for sales teams before a deal is ever closed — and a sales development representative (SDR) is key to the process. While they may not be your star closers, they complete the vital presales tasks that set your entire team up for success. Continuous performance measurement and creating a positive, collaborative culture are crucial. Remember, the effectiveness of your SDR team directly impacts your sales pipeline and revenue growth.

If your business is generating a high volume of inbound leads—people requesting demos or seeking more information about your product—an SDR team acts as a bridge between marketing and sales. Typically, fast-scaling startups rapidly expand their customer base, and leading enterprise sales organizations have the largest SDR teams. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about sales development teams to provide clarity and insights. Choose UpLead and empower your SDR team to achieve unparalleled success in their outreach efforts. Take the next step in optimizing your sales process, and start your journey with UpLead today. Now you have a list of prospects, you can prioritize them according to who’s most likely to bite.