---
title: "What Is a Sales Development Representative (SDR)? | ONEGTMLAB"
description: "A sales development representative (SDR) prospects and qualifies leads, then books meetings for account executives. Learn what an SDR does in B2B sales."
canonical: https://www.onegtmlab.dev/glossary/sales-development-representative
---

# What Is a Sales Development Representative (SDR)? | ONEGTMLAB

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GTM Glossary

# Sales Development Representative (SDR)

A sales development representative (SDR) is a salesperson who prospects and qualifies potential buyers and books meetings for account executives, rather than closing deals themselves.

Also called: SDR, sales development rep

## Why it matters

SDRs sit at the top of the sales funnel. They research accounts, send cold emails, make calls, send LinkedIn messages and follow up on inbound leads, then hand qualified opportunities to account executives. Separating prospecting from closing lets each role focus, and it gives companies a predictable way to create pipeline. SDRs are usually measured on meetings booked and qualified opportunities created.

Some companies use SDR and BDR as the same title. Where they are split, the SDR often handles inbound leads and the BDR focuses on outbound prospecting, though the split varies by company. An SDR differs from an AI SDR, which is software that automates parts of the same research and outreach work.

## Example

A company selling HR software has three SDRs. Each morning, one SDR reviews new demo requests and signups, calls the ones that match the ideal customer profile, and asks about team size and timeline. When a prospect qualifies, the SDR books a demo on an account executive's calendar and logs notes in the CRM.

## Related terms

-   [Business Development Representative (BDR)](/glossary/business-development-representative)
-   [Account Executive (AE)](/glossary/account-executive)
-   [AI SDR](/glossary/ai-sdr)
-   [Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)](/glossary/sales-qualified-lead)
-   [Cold Email](/glossary/cold-email)

## Related service

[GTM Engineering Signal-led outbound systems that enrich, score, sequence and sync to your CRM.](/ai-gtm-engineering)

## Related playbooks

-   [Outbound Sales Playbook From a signal or event list to the right buyers, one channel each, with every row explained.](/growth-playbooks/outbound-sales)
-   [Cold Email Playbook Domains, a verified list, a mail gateway gate, final-text copy and launch checks, in that order.](/growth-playbooks/cold-email)

## Questions people ask

### What is the difference between an appointment setter and an SDR?

An appointment setter mainly books meetings, often from lists or scripts provided to them. An SDR also researches accounts, qualifies prospects against agreed criteria and runs multi-step outreach before handing qualified meetings to account executives.

[← All GTM terms, A to Z](/glossary)

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