the sdr role is dying

The SDR role is dying and it’s not for the reasons the so-called experts warned you about years ago. To be blunt the job itself sucks. The pay alone is not commensurate with the requirements of the role. We all talk about mental health yet we continue to hire for SDR and BDR roles only to send (the often young and inexperienced) into the trenches with little to no training, thus, their first experience with sales is an awful one. 

The vacuum is open. To whom you might ask? Predators such as experts, influencers, trainers, and coaches are replacing vacant leadership with their ideas of what works vs. what does not. The vacuum contains sounds from critics dumping on poorly written email content, bad voicemail messages, inappropriate LinkedIn messages, and more. The vacuum is also missing sounds of viable solutions and when we do hear a few ideas suction through, they come from individuals who couldn’t walk a day in the shoes of a modern seller, especially a business developer. 

Go back into the archives of LinkedIn posts from your favorite so-called experts. Many of which told us that automation would eventually replace the SDR and BDR. Were they correct with this prediction? Of course, they weren’t. Making predictions on the future of the sales profession is foolish due to the profession itself being comprised of humans, who are as often unpredictable as they are predictable. Selling is and always will be a people’s profession aided by certain technological advancements whenever needed. Evolution is taking place and the role of SDR/BDR is not being replaced by technology but rather from lack of training, skills coaching, leadership, product innovation, clarity of career progression, and, worst of all mental fatigue. 
                                             
                                              The job is brutal and usually with no end in sight. 

              The base salary is mediocre at best and trying to earn commission against unrealistic                                                                         compensation plans is demoralizing. 

Again, there is no question that the role is dying but it’s dying from wounds sustained in the rejection battle and ultimately the inefficiency wars of poorly managed sales teams. The risk of being an SDR/BDR is not worth the reward and even if you take the role to learn, the chances of having an adequate teacher are rare. Additionally, all of the benchmark data and analysis in the world doesn’t actually apply to the person in the role, who is actually doing the job itself. Sure, it’s great to know things like salary per region, average turnover, and expectations for promotion to AE. But, that data doesn’t provide insights into the mentally grueling role of cold calling strangers to book a meeting so you can discuss a product no one has ever heard of which solves a problem that requires upfront education which the buyer has to acknowledge exists. 

Did you get all of that?

If I were a hiring sales leader or founder who is either growing a sales team or building one for the first time, I would be laser-focused on hiring, training, and grooming full-cycle sellers. Tell the rest of your team to build an amazing product and push your chips into the marketing funnel. If you’re hellbent on hiring SDRs and BDRs, contact SalesGevity first. Let’s at least talk about the alternative option of outsourcing in the short-term and you relying upon our expertise as a guideship for metrics, measurement, and onboarding.

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