Sales Development Representative (BDR / SDR)

The ability to recognize that the job has a repetitive cadence component, and to name concrete levers to hold it (structuring the day, micro-targets, team support). Candidates who answer motivation is enough or cannot name an example show a naive reading of the role. Bonus: an explicit reference to quality held despite fatigue, not just to volume.

A mature reading of rejection: separating it from a personal judgment, identifying what can be adjusted on the next iteration. Candidates who describe a rejection as hard to digest, but you learn without anything concrete stay on the surface. The best name a concrete operational change after a string of failures (a change of opening, channel or timing).

The ability to split the day into blocks (e.g. morning: cold calling, afternoon: follow-up and qualification, late afternoon: CRM and preparation for day +1). Candidates who answer I adapt to the flow without structure show a decisive weakness for a job where calendar discipline is the first predictor of hitting quota.

Diagnosis first: this week's response rate vs. the average, the quality of the ICP targeted, the sequences completed. Plan: raise the volume of first touches on Thursday morning to reactivate, recycle the lukewarm contacts from last week, a short debrief with the Sales Manager. Answers I'll just make more calls without diagnosis show a lack of method. Bonus: recognizing that at T-2 on a weekly target the gap is closed through controlled acceleration and recycling, not panic.

Recognizing that send me a document after 20 seconds is almost always a polite closing formula, not a signal of interest. A good answer: try a short open question to re-qualify (Before I send you anything, just so I send the right document: what interests you most about topic X today?), then decide based on the answer. Candidates who simply send the document show a lack of qualification discipline.

First a check (read the CRM, the reason for the last rejection, the identity of the previous contact), then a differentiated approach if the angle is genuinely new (a new stakeholder, a new trigger event, a new value contribution). Candidates who launch in without the CRM history show a discipline weakness that repeats every week. Candidates who never dare to re-contact show a lack of confidence in their own value contribution.

Basic sales math: meetings to book = 12 / 70 percent = 17 per month; touches needed = 17 / 3 percent = 567 per month; per working day (20 days) = 28-30 touches per day. Bonus: an adjustment for meeting, training and CRM days (real capacity at 80 percent of the time, so a higher target). Candidates who cannot run this calculation out loud in 90 seconds have not internalized the mechanics of the job. No calculator.

An alternating multi-channel sequence (e.g.: T1 a personalized LinkedIn connection, T2 a short email with the Series A trigger, T3 a cold call, T4 a value email, T5 a LinkedIn voice note, T6 a break-up call, T7 a break-up email). Varying angles (curiosity, value, social proof, gentle urgency, break-up). Candidates who propose 5 identical emails or never mention the cold call show a lack of exposure to the modern job.

Prioritization by effort times probability times maturity of the signal. Contacts A and D should be the priorities (a positive signal, an action feasible in one touch); Contact B requires re-targeting the managing director directly (a change of contact); Contact C requires a dated follow-up in 4-6 weeks, not Monday; Contact E must be archived (outside the ICP). Candidates who follow up all 5 without prioritization show a discipline weakness that dilutes their impact every week.

A short first sentence (at most 12 seconds), a clear identification (name, company), the reason for the call anchored on a trigger event or a plausible segment concern (no product pitch). A second sentence that adapts to the answer: on yes, an open qualifying question; on no time, a fast reformulation and a proposal for a short slot (12 minutes Tuesday at 2 pm, would that work?). Candidates who recite a product pitch verbatim are not calibrated to the job.

A healthy cadence: touch volume daily (calls, emails, LinkedIn); response rate, meeting-booked rate and qualified-meeting rate weekly. A distinction between leading indicators (activity) and lagging indicators (meetings booked, SQLs generated). Candidates who name only the number of meetings booked show an immature reading; the best also speak of the quality of the downstream meetings (the acceptance rate by the Account Executives).

A personal method: before the end of day 1, create your own notes standard (a template with at least 3-4 fields), block 15 min at the end of the day for updates, ask the Sales Manager about the expected format to align. Candidates who wait for a standard to be imposed do not hold CRM discipline over time. CRM hygiene is the first habit that separates a scalable SDR from a plateauing one.

An honest reading of the job as a 12-24-month learning ramp toward the Account Executive role, with genuine recognition of the position's own value (upstream qualification, cadence discipline, first market signals). Candidates who describe the SDR as a mandatory step without intrinsic value show a posture that translates into disengagement around month 9. The best name 2-3 specific skills they want to acquire before moving to AE.

Openness: the ability to separate the feedback from a personal judgment, to ask for concrete examples to understand. Bonus: the candidate describes a personal ritual for digesting hard feedback (immediate notes, sleeping on it before reacting, a 48-hour follow-up point). Candidates who describe having explained their logic to the manager instead of listening are worth marking down. Coachability is the second predictor of success after resilience in this position.

A partnership posture: bidirectional and structured feedback, regular alignment on the qualification criteria (BANT, MEDDIC or a simplified equivalent), acceptance that some meetings booked are not qualified in the AE's view. Candidates who speak about the AE with frustration or detachment (I book the meeting, after that it's for them to close) show a teamwork weakness that sabotages the SDR-AE funnel in 3 months.