While there is a slight difference between Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) and Business Development Representatives (BDRs), we use these terms interchangeably throughout this article.
Hiring SDRs is difficult. It’s an entry-level position, so it’s really hard to see who has potential, and who doesn’t.
Experience isn’t a proxy for skill. Experienced SDRs are less risky — but they’re also unlikely to be top performers. (Otherwise, they’d be an AE by now!)
And even though SDRs are at the bottom of the sales org, they’re critically important:
SDRs are the first face of an organization — whether it's inbound reach outs or outbound. The impact of a bad hire here is bigger than you could imagine. Lack of planning, knowledge and execution of an SDR directly affects not only the business but the team's morale, as well.
- Aakanksha Anmol, SDR Manager at Rattle
We were curious about the costs of hiring the wrong SDR (and how to avoid this), so we asked 9 experts to weigh in:
On average, it takes 4-6 months to identify a bad hire and takes 2 months to conclude their exit.
- Aakanksha Anmol, SDR Manager at Rattle
I held on to [a rep who wasn’t a good culture fit] for 2 months after I noticed issues. I thought I could coach this SDR out of their behaviors, but I couldn’t. That hurt my team even more. I remember the day we let them go and there was a sigh of relief across the team. In that moment, everyone knew it was the right decision. **
- Jack Knight, Senior Manager of Global Business Development at Fourth
The bad [SDR] hire cost us valuable time that could have been better spent on more productive activities and initiatives.
- Max Benz, Founder at BankingGeek
In one role, someone was already on the team when I got there. They weren’t a great culture fit and unfortunately, the culture stuff affected everyone else in ways I didn’t really know until we removed that person. When we removed that person, I actually had a few reps thank me for letting that person go because that person was creating a hostile environment for other teammates in passive ways. It wasn’t anything outright that was said or done, but it was these cultural undertones that were cramping everyone’s freedom and ability to feel comfortable collaborating. It definitely affected the team negatively.
- Jack Knight, Senior Manager of Global Business Development at Fourth
The toxicity can really impact anyone that the “problem SDR” interacts with on a daily basis, it makes for uncomfortable work relationships and starts the decrease of morale across teams. I’m lucky enough not to have hired an SDR that wasn’t a fit, but inheriting one takes a lot of effort on getting to the root of WHY this person isn’t a fit. Performance is coachable if they are willing. But, a negative attitude or general unhappiness with the company or role is something that unfortunately leads to termination or resignation.
- Lydia Tapia Hutchison, Head of Sales Development at HyperCurrent.io
I have had the unfortunate experience of hiring an SDR who didn't possess the necessary skills and experience for the role. This had a direct impact on our team's performance, as the individual was unable to complete the tasks expected of them in a timely manner. This led to an increased workload for other team members in order to make up for this individual’s lack of productivity. Additionally, the bad hire cost us valuable time that could have been better spent on more productive activities and initiatives.
- Max Benz, Founder at BankingGeek
The SDR may try to get away with missing their key responsibilities like input metrics, process follow-ups, etc., and then end up performing poorly, which creates a terrible example for the team. When an SDR doesn't take their work seriously, they slack off and always have a million excuses. This hurts the morale of your hard workers. For that, the worst thing a leader can do here is to ignore this behavior and excuse someone who doesn't have the will to work. It directly sends a message to the team that it is okay to do so.
- Aakanksha Anmol, SDR Manager at Rattle
As a manager, sometimes you inherit SDRs that either don’t fit culturally, or are not strong performers. The challenge here is that regardless of the specific reasons behind lack of fit, it affects the entire team negatively. When I talk about culture fit, I’m referring to negativity. That’s the one non-negotiable trait for me. Lack of willingness to ask for help, try new things or receive coaching typically means that rep will stay unhappy. Their vibe rubs off on the rest of the team on group calls, in company meetings and in cold calling as well.
- Lydia Tapia Hutchison, Head of Sales Development at HyperCurrent.io
The most significant impact was felt in our sales department — both in terms of productivity and profit. The bad hire significantly delayed our sales process due to their lack of skills and knowledge, resulting in fewer sales opportunities that we could pursue.
- Max Benz, Founder at BankingGeek
Hiring an inexperienced SDR meant that our sales team now had to handle unqualified leads, most of which would not close, and some were wrongly targeted. The instant repercussion was a drop in the number of sales calls going out, which eventually did affect the number of clients we managed to close.
- Alvin Wei, Head of Marketing at SEOAnt
Poor-performing SDRs often lead to longer sales cycles and lower conversion rates. Fortunately, I have a solid relationship with our sales team, and thanks to their candor, I was able to address the issues swiftly. However, if the SDRs had continued, they would have negatively impacted our revenue and partnerships.
- Vito Vishnepolsky, Founder at Martal Group
Impact on the company is huge in terms of money and time. Their manager, their enablement person, and HR are all involved to correct this behavior which consumes their time. For example: when a manager proposes a Performance Improvement Plan, it takes 4-5 hours of their time every week executing the same with proper guidance, feedback and trainings for the rep and same goes for the enablement person who is dedicated individually for one hire. HR and Enablement [are] affected as their time is consumed during PIP period.
- Aakanksha Anmol, SDR Manager at Rattle
HR had to take responsibility for their mistake when they decided to hire this person instead of taking a closer look at their background and qualifications before making an offer.
- Max Benz, Founder at BankingGeek
Our IT department had to make drastic security measures to ensure that there were no threats to our endpoints after the SDR left.
- Alvin Wei, Head of Marketing at SEOAnt
I have had the unfortunate experience of hiring an SDR who didn't possess the necessary skills and experience for the role… customer service had to deal with frustrated customers who were negatively impacted by our missed deadlines.
- Max Benz, Founder at BankingGeek
The compensation [for SDRs who are a bad fit] is a loss for the company, along with losing a reliable resource according to the revenue plan. The Revenue team as a whole gets affected as this SDR is aligned to an Account Executive whose pipeline is at stake because of a bad hire's poor performance.
- Aakanksha Anmol, SDR Manager at Rattle
Marketing is affected because of a lack of effort or enthusiasm for lead follow-up. MQLs also will suffer.
- Lydia Tapia Hutchison, Head of Sales Development at HyperCurrent.io
Our Account-Based Marketing campaign took a hit, which had a pretty big effect on the marketing team.
- Darryl Bassett, Senior Strategic & Business Development at Blinkist
People in sales are great interviewers. In fact, I'd say they answer interview questions in a more convincing manner than any other department, which makes bad hires hard to spot.
- Aakanksha Anmol, SDR Manager at Rattle
To mitigate this risk, it is important to ensure your team has a thorough recruitment and onboarding process in place so that you are able to identify and hire the right person for the job. Taking such steps will help reduce costs and increase productivity within your organization.
- Will Yang, Head of Growth at Instrumentl
A great way to avoid this is to have candidates meet with several existing team members as part of the interview process so they get a chance to know what the relationship will look like. It’s also an opportunity for me to hear any red flags that I could have missed.
- Lydia Tapia Hutchison, Head of Sales Development at HyperCurrent.io
3 traits I look for when hiring SDRs are (the 3Cs) Coachability, Curiosity and Competitiveness. It’s important to have good energy and good vibes when SDRing because you deal with a ton of rejection during your day to day.
- Darryl Bassett, Senior Strategic & Business Development at Blinkist
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