🔦 Job Spotlight — Typical Day for a Sales Development Rep (SDR)

The most common job for my friends out of college was an SDR, or Sales Development Representative, and it's one of the most common entry-level roles in tech sales. See my guide on tech sales here.

So what does an SDR actually do all day?

Here’s what a typical day may look like (note that a lot of these roles have moved in office, but still some remote options out there):

8:30 AM – Check CRM and Prioritize Leads Start the day in Salesforce or HubSpot, which are customer relationship management (CRM) software. Your job is to review the list of leads assigned to you and plan who you’ll reach out to. Leads are warm inquiries from people interested in your software. SDRs often have weekly quotas—number of calls, emails, and meetings booked.

9:00 AM – Cold Calls & Emails This is the core of the role: reaching out to potential customers (cold) or interested leads (warm). You’re trying to get them to take a meeting with an Account Executive (AE). You might make 50+ calls or send 100+ emails in a day. It’s a grind, but it’s worth it.

11:00 AM – Team Standup Most SDR teams meet daily to share updates, wins, and best practices. You’ll learn what’s working, get feedback on your messaging, and stay accountable. This is fun, because you’ll work with a lot of people your age and meet some of your best friends here.

12:00 PM – Lunch Sales teams usually work hard and celebrate hard—expect a solid team culture and occasional lunches, contests, and Slack memes.

1:00 PM – Follow-Ups and LinkedIn Outreach Follow up on any warm leads. Send connection requests or thoughtful DMs to key prospects. Personalization is key—it’s what makes the difference between getting ghosted or getting a meeting. Any commonalities you can find between you and whoever you are selling to… always mention those.

3:00 PM – Product Training or Shadowing You’ll often sit in on AE calls or demos to learn how deals are closed. Some companies have regular training on product features or objection handling.

4:00 PM – Update Metrics Before logging off, update your outreach numbers in the CRM: meetings booked, conversations held, and any key insights from the day.

SDR Reality Check:

• High pressure, high rejection. You will get rejected a ton, but that’s part of the game. This will help you hone your craft.

• But it’s great experience in communication, persuasion, and resilience. You’ll make some of the best friends you’ll ever have as an SDR, because you are all in it together. Most roles are in office and I was always jealous of my SDR friends because they would hang out with their work friends all the time.

• Top SDRs often get promoted to AE roles within 12–18 months—where the real money is made.

Want to break into sales? Start by finding companies that hire entry-level SDRs and practice your pitch.