Sales Development Representative, Lead
This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Sales Development Representative, Lead based in the United States.
The Sales Development Representative, Lead will build a sales development function from the ground up, combining hands-on prospecting with strategic process design and future team leadership. This role offers the opportunity to establish the outreach strategies, playbooks, tools, and performance metrics that will shape a scalable sales development operation. Initially, you will operate as an individual contributor, generating qualified meetings and pipeline while refining the approach through experimentation and measurable results. Working closely with Sales, Marketing, Customer Advocacy, and go-to-market operations, you will help convert market interest into meaningful business opportunities. You will also leverage AI-assisted prospecting and sales technology to improve research, personalize outreach, and increase productivity. As the function grows, you will help recruit, onboard, and coach new representatives, with a potential path toward a Sales Development Manager position.
Accountabilities
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Drive Sales Prospecting: Identify and engage target accounts through phone calls, email, LinkedIn, and coordinated multichannel outreach to generate qualified meetings and sales opportunities.
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Qualify Inbound Leads: Assess inbound interest, determine readiness and fit, and transfer sales-ready opportunities to Account Executives with accurate context and complete handoff notes.
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Meet Pipeline Targets: Own individual performance goals for qualified meetings and pipeline generation, consistently tracking progress and adjusting outreach strategies to improve results.
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Build the Sales Development Playbook: Translate the established ideal customer profile into actionable buyer personas, messaging frameworks, outreach sequences, and objection-handling guidance.
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Define Qualification and Handoff Processes: Partner with leadership to establish qualification standards, opportunity criteria, and consistent processes for transferring leads to the sales team.
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Optimize Sales Technology: Collaborate with go-to-market engineering teams to improve sales engagement tools, sequencing, lead routing, reporting, and workflow automation.
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Establish Performance Metrics: Develop dashboards, define key performance indicators, and implement a weekly operating cadence to monitor activity, conversion rates, pipeline contribution, and overall effectiveness.
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Test and Document Best Practices: Experiment with outreach approaches, analyze results, and document successful methods so they can be replicated and scaled as the team expands.
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Support Team Development: Help define hiring profiles, interview processes, and representative career levels as the sales development function grows.
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Coach and Mentor Future Representatives: Support onboarding and ongoing development through call reviews, role-playing exercises, pipeline reviews, and peer coaching.
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Represent Sales Development in Planning: Share insights from prospecting and pipeline performance to inform go-to-market strategy, improve alignment across teams, and support business growth.
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Leverage AI and Continuous Improvement: Use AI-assisted research and personalization to increase prospecting efficiency while maintaining relevant, thoughtful communication and a strong customer experience.
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Education: Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience.
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Relevant Experience: At least 3 years of experience in business-to-business (B2B) sales development, with a demonstrated record of meeting or exceeding qualified meeting and pipeline targets.
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Complex Sales Experience: Experience engaging multi-stakeholder buying groups and navigating structured or lengthy sales cycles.
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Process-Building Capability: Evidence of creating or improving sales development processes, such as outreach playbooks, sequence libraries, onboarding programs, qualification frameworks, or similar initiatives.
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Leadership and Mentoring: Experience supporting peers, coaching colleagues, mentoring team members, or informally leading a sales development group.
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Sales Technology Proficiency: Working knowledge of Salesforce and a sales engagement platform, including activity tracking, pipeline reporting, and outreach management.
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AI and Prospecting Tools: Comfort using AI-assisted research, personalization, intent data, or account-based prospecting techniques to improve productivity and outreach relevance.
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Adaptability and Initiative: Ability to work independently, navigate ambiguity, experiment with new approaches, and build processes without relying on an established playbook.
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Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills, sound judgment in choosing communication methods, and the ability to engage prospects professionally.
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Language Proficiency: Fluency in written and spoken English.
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Preferred Industry Experience: Experience selling into education, government, or other public-sector markets is an advantage.
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Early-Stage Team Experience: Previous experience as an early sales development representative or as part of a newly established team is preferred.
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Cross-Functional Collaboration: Experience partnering with marketing teams on campaign follow-up, inbound lead conversion, and coordinated go-to-market initiatives.
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Career Growth Mindset: Interest in progressing from individual sales contribution into team leadership as the function expands.
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Work Authorization: Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire and maintain authorization throughout employment. Visa sponsorship and immigration support are not provided for this position.
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Base Salary: Expected annual base salary of $85,000.
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Additional Compensation: Sales incentives may be available in addition to base salary; specific incentive structures were not detailed.
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Remote Work: The position is advertised as remote within the United States.
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Career Progression: Potential pathway toward a Sales Development Manager role as the function expands and the first representatives are hired.
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Ownership and Autonomy: Opportunity to build a sales development function, establish its processes, and directly influence its strategy and performance.
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Professional Development: Hands-on experience in sales strategy, pipeline generation, AI-assisted prospecting, process design, and future team leadership.
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Cross-Functional Exposure: Direct collaboration with sales, marketing, and go-to-market operations stakeholders.
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Benefits Package: Details regarding healthcare, retirement plans, paid time off, and other employee benefits were not specified and should be confirmed during the hiring process.