Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Inbound Sales Development Representative

💰 $45,000 - $70,000

SalesInbound SalesSDRB2BSaaSInside Sales

🎯 Role Definition

The Inbound Sales Development Representative (Inbound SDR) is the front-line seller responsible for converting incoming marketing and website inquiries into qualified opportunities for the Account Executive team. This role focuses on rapid response to inbound leads, discovery conversations to evaluate fit and urgency, multi-channel nurturing, and precise CRM hygiene to drive predictable pipeline growth. The ideal candidate brings strong consultative communication, a hunter's urgency balanced with empathy, and proven experience using modern sales stack tools (Salesforce or HubSpot, Sales Engagement platforms, and calendar/demos tools) to consistently hit appointment and conversion targets.

Primary SEO keywords: Inbound Sales Development Representative, Inbound SDR, lead qualification, appointment setting, B2B sales, SaaS sales, Salesforce, HubSpot, sales cadence.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Marketing-qualified lead (MQL) handler or Demand Generation Coordinator
  • Inside Sales Representative or Customer Success Specialist
  • Recent graduates with internships in sales, customer-facing roles, or B2B SaaS

Advancement To:

  • Account Executive (AE) — closing responsibilities and quota ownership
  • Senior SDR / Team Lead — mentoring and process ownership
  • Sales Manager / Sales Development Manager — people and performance management

Lateral Moves:

  • Customer Success Manager
  • Sales Operations or Revenue Operations Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Respond to inbound leads (web forms, demo requests, chat, email, and phone) within the defined SLA (typically <5–15 minutes), triaging and converting high-intent prospects into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) and booked meetings for Account Executives.
  • Conduct structured discovery conversations to understand business needs, pain points, budget, timeline, decision-making structure, and product fit using qualification frameworks (BANT, MEDDIC-light, CHAMP).
  • Book, schedule, and coordinate discovery calls and product demos with Account Executives — ensuring calendar alignment, pre-call briefing notes, and accurate hand-off documentation in the CRM.
  • Maintain high-volume outreach and follow-up cadences for inbound prospects across phone, email, SMS, and LinkedIn to maximize conversion rates and reduce lead decay.
  • Maintain 100% CRM hygiene: log activities, update contact and company records, enforce proper lead statuses and next steps, attach meeting notes, and tag opportunities for pipeline analytics.
  • Qualify and prioritize leads using the company's lead scoring model and escalate high-value or urgent opportunities to Sales Leadership or Solutions Engineering immediately.
  • Convert Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) into Sales Accepted Leads (SALs) by validating intent and readiness, then handing off to the appropriate AE territory owner.
  • Drive measurable outcomes: meet or exceed weekly/monthly KPIs (booked meetings, SQLs, conversion rates, and pipeline dollars influenced) and contribute to team OKRs and quota attainment.
  • Deliver concise, persuasive value propositions tailored to buyer personas (IT, Operations, Finance, HR, etc.) and industry verticals to accelerate decision timelines.
  • Proactively manage and update prospect nurture tracks and in-CRM sequences to keep warm leads engaged until they are sales-ready or re-assigned to marketing nurture programs.
  • Use sales engagement platforms (Salesloft, Outreach, or HubSpot Sequences) to execute A/B tests on subject lines, call scripts, and messaging; iterate on winning sequences in partnership with RevOps/Marketing.
  • Coordinate demo logistics (Zoom, Gong, Calendly scheduling), prepare pre-demo collateral and questions for the AE, and ensure seat/attendee confirmations.
  • Capture and relay market, product feedback, competitor intelligence, and common buyer objections to Product, Marketing, and Sales Leadership to refine messaging and GTM strategy.
  • Handle objection management and negotiation around demo timing, pricing inquiries, and procurement timelines — escalating to Sales Engineering or Finance when appropriate.
  • Support inbound chat and live web interactions as a first touch, qualifying and routing live chats to AEs or SDR colleagues following best-practice playbooks.
  • Achieve consistent daily activity targets (calls, connects, emails, social touches) while balancing quality of conversation and conversion outcomes.
  • Prepare weekly pipeline health reports and conversion metrics for the Sales Development Manager, using CRM dashboards and exported analytics.
  • Participate in ongoing sales training, call reviews, role-plays, and use of conversation intelligence (Gong/Chorus) to improve discovery and demo booking effectiveness.
  • Collaborate closely with Marketing to provide closed-loop reporting on campaign performance, identify gaps in lead quality, and recommend landing page or form improvements.
  • Maintain up-to-date product knowledge and competitive differentiation to confidently answer prospect questions and correctly route technical or product-heavy inquiries.
  • Assist with lead import, deduplication, and enrichment efforts to preserve lead quality and ensure outreach is targeted and personalized.
  • Support regional and vertical segmentation strategies by tailoring outreach playbooks and language to local business norms and buyer priorities.
  • Serve as a brand ambassador at webinars, virtual events, and occasionally in-person events — capturing attendee interest and converting event leads into qualified conversations.
  • Mentor and train new inbound SDR hires on tools, playbooks, SLA expectations, and qualifying scripts as the role matures.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc reporting requests and contribute to the continuous improvement of lead scoring models.
  • Participate in cross-functional planning sessions with Marketing, Product, and RevOps to align lead generation efforts and pipeline targets.
  • Contribute to the knowledge base and playbook documentation for onboarding and ongoing enablement.
  • Assist in qualifying channel or partner-generated inbound leads and coordinate partner handoffs.
  • Provide subject-matter expertise to improve content personalization, landing page CTAs, and form flows to increase conversion rates from web traffic to demos.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Proficiency with CRM platforms: Salesforce (recommended) or HubSpot — experienced in updating records, building list views, and using opportunity stages.
  • Experience with sales engagement tools: Salesloft, Outreach, Groove, or HubSpot Sequences to run cadences and measure touch effectiveness.
  • Familiarity with calendar and demo tools: Calendly, Chili Piper, Zoom, Google Meet; scheduling and pre-demo coordination best practices.
  • Experience with conversation intelligence and call recording platforms: Gong, Chorus, or similar for coaching and quality assurance.
  • Basic data literacy: comfortable with CRM reporting, exporting leads, Excel/Google Sheets for segmentation, and interpreting conversion metrics.
  • Lead scoring and qualification frameworks: practical use of BANT, MEDDIC-lite, CHAMP, or equivalent to assess fit and readiness.
  • Ability to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator for account research, prospecting, and personalization of outreach.
  • Experience with marketing automation platforms (Marketo, Pardot, HubSpot) for closed-loop reporting and lead lifecycle awareness.
  • Strong command of modern sales tactics: value-based messaging, consultative discovery, and objection handling techniques.
  • Familiarity with GDPR/CCPA and best practices for handling personal data and outreach compliance.

Soft Skills

  • Exceptional verbal and written communication — able to articulate product value clearly and persuasively to technical and non-technical buyers.
  • Active listening and consultative discovery to uncover true business challenges and urgency.
  • High sense of urgency and strong time management — prioritizes quick follow-up and maintains momentum on hot leads.
  • Resilience and persistence — comfortable with high-volume outreach and rapid iteration on messaging after rejection.
  • Coachability — open to feedback from managers, peers, and call reviews with demonstrated improvement.
  • Strong problem-solving and critical thinking — able to quickly route complex inquiries to the right internal resource.
  • Empathy and customer-centric mindset — builds rapport and trust quickly to advance conversations.
  • Collaboration — works effectively with Marketing, RevOps, AEs, and Product teams to optimize the funnel.
  • Attention to detail — accurate data entry, precise meeting notes, and consistent follow-through on commitments.
  • Analytical mindset — uses data to iterate on sequences, messaging, and prioritization to improve conversion rates.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent experience in sales, customer-facing roles, or business development accepted.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s in Business, Communications, Marketing, or related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Communications
  • Information Systems
  • Economics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 1–3 years of inside sales, SDR, or B2B customer-facing experience; recent grads with structured sales internships considered.

Preferred:

  • 2+ years of Inbound SDR or inside sales experience in a B2B SaaS environment.
  • Demonstrated track record of meeting or exceeding booking and qualification KPIs.
  • Hands-on experience with Salesforce or HubSpot, a sales engagement platform (Salesloft/Outreach), and conversation intelligence tools (Gong/Chorus).
Explore More Careers