The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Internal Promotion from Senior SDR
4-7 years of prior SDR experienceSkills to master
- Consistently exceeding individual quota, demonstrating informal leadership, strong understanding of sales processes, excellent communication and mentorship abilities.
You're ready to move on when
- You're the go-to person for new hires' questions.
- You've taken the initiative to train peers on new tools or techniques.
- You consistently hit your numbers and often help others hit theirs.
- You actively seek out opportunities to improve team processes or strategies.
- 2
External Hire from another SDR Team Lead role
8-12 years of total SDR/Sales experience, with 2+ years in a formal or informal leadership capacitySkills to master
- Proven track record of managing or leading an SDR team, strategic planning for sales development, strong analytical skills, experience with various sales tech stacks.
You're ready to move on when
- You've successfully built and executed new outreach campaigns for a team.
- You can point to specific examples of how you've improved team performance or efficiency.
- You're comfortable presenting team results and strategic plans to senior management.
- You have experience hiring, onboarding, and coaching sales development talent.