SDR: The New Career Launchpad
So you graduated college recently and you’re feeling a little lost? Don’t despair, you’re in great company.
I remember when I graduated from college and had that same feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had the right grades, took the right internships, and graduated at the top of my class. I was a very marketable employee, but somehow still felt lost. I was interested in so many things and had so much to learn before I could possibly make a decision about my career direction. What do I want to do? What kind of job should I take? What if I made the wrong choice?
Of course my parents couldn’t understand. When they were in college, it was clear. You pick a career. A single path, straightforward, “do it the rest of your life whether you like it or hate it” career. Sounds scary…but also kind of relieving, right?
Today, it’s all different.

Enter the Sales Development (SDR or BDR) position.
What is an SDR? Sales Development Reps are often referred to as SDRs, but you might also see BDR (Business Development Rep) or ISR (Inside Sales Rep) along the way. An SDR is a front-line sales role. At Augury, SDRs are the first person a potential customer speaks to before being passed along to a sales rep. They are typically responsible for cold outreach to prospects deemed qualified to buy the company’s product or service. In short, they’re entry level sales reps who hustle to drum up interest for the sales team.
And this role is blowing up, specifically in B2B SaaS (software as a service) companies. Why? Because the Return On Investment (ROI) on SDR teams can be exponential, which is great for the company who employs them.
But what’s in it for you? (Warning: bold but true statement coming) Becoming an SDR is your best possible career launchpad. Especially when it comes to an SDR position in an early stage startup (fewer than 10 person sales team).
Here’s why:
- Learn how the hell a business actually works.
Remember college? Yeah, that’s nothing like the real world. The best way to learn the ins and outs of how a business works, is to take on an SDR role in a startup. In this role, you have the opportunity to learn the entire business, not just your role or how your department functions. Ever wondered what a sales funnel looks like? What a Product Manager does? How equity works? Or maybe the difference between digital and direct marketing? You’ll learn all of it in an SDR role.
2. Get skilled, fast.
One of the most valuable things you can get out of your first job is training. Now there’s formal classroom training and there’s “sink or swim” training. The best is a combination of both. But in a startup, in most cases, that sink or swim training sets you up for success in any role you might take on thereafter. In an SDR role, you are forced to learn some of the most critical skills in business, fast. And those who swim, excel. Here are a few:
- Confidence in Speaking to Customers — If I told you to call and pitch a Vice President of Marketing or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company right now, you might laugh in my face. In an SDR role, this is a daily task. You quickly learn the tenets of customer interaction: polished, clear and concise communication and making a direct ask. And it works. I’ve worked with talented SDRs straight out of college who successfully cold called those Fortune 500 CEOs…and got them to take a meeting. In a few short months, you’ll build the confidence to speak to any customer, at any level.
- How to Handle Rejection — One of the toughest learnings in the transition from college to the real world is rejection. SDRs deal with rejection daily and they do it like pros. In an SDR role you’re cold calling and emailing prospects daily who have no idea who you are, probably don’t want to speak with you and sometimes aren’t nice about it. You quickly learn how to deal with rejection gracefully and let it roll right off.
- Hustle — This is the foundation for success in business, no matter what the role. In the SDR position, you learn how to hustle like no other. The nature of the task is pure hustle: go out and talk to people who don’t know who you are, what you’re selling and probably aren’t in the market to buy anything and get them to agree to a meeting with a sales rep. Sounds scary, but the thing is, it’s not. It just takes drive + commitment + work ethic + grit = HUSTLE. Once it’s in you, it’s there for life and will serve you in all future roles.
3. Get noticed, fast.
In an SDR role, you matter, a lot. Even though it’s typically an entry level or junior role, SDRs are at the front lines of every organization. They are the first person a potential customer speaks with. The organization is putting a lot of trust and faith in you as an SDR to put your best foot forward and represent the company like a pro. If you excel, you get great cross-company exposure. And as an added bonus, you can literally see the impact you’re making. It’s felt across the organization. If a sales rep closes a deal with a company like Facebook and you were the one who initially reached out to Facebook’s VP of Engineering and got that first call set up that triggered the deal, it feels (and looks) pretty damn good. As a result, the depth and breadth of your personal career growth potential is unmatched as an SDR in a startup.
And last but not least…
4. Own your own destiny
My first job barely covered the cost of my rent. The upside was I got to eat pizza every night. The downside was…well everything else. The beauty of the SDR role is that it’s sales, and it pays like sales. Most SDR positions have an entry level salary, but the upside can (and should) be extremely compelling. A rockstar SDR in New York City, straight out of university, could be making somewhere in the range of $75 — $85K OTE (on target earnings). Compared to earnings potential for most other entry level roles, the SDR role takes the cake. But more important than the actual cash is the fact that you own your own destiny! You’re in charge of how successful (or not) you are. And you kickstart your career with the confidence of knowing your market worth. When you’re ready to move to a new role, you can ask for a higher salary and OTE than another junior candidate because of this experience.
The springboard for the rest of your career, no matter what you choose to do next
One last thing: You don’t have to want a career in sales to take on an SDR role. Yes, an Account Executive role is the natural next step after serving in a SDR role for a few years, but it’s not the only step. I’ve promoted successful SDRs to Marketing, Business Development, Sales Operations (back of the house) and even Product Marketing roles. The point isn’t necessarily to become a salesperson. The goal is to build the necessary confidence, skills, business acumen and reputation to get where you want to be in your career, wherever that may be. The SDR role is a springboard to the rest of your career.
So what are you waiting for?
