Hire an SDR: the posting, the interview, the test
A bad SDR hire costs six months: three to notice, three to start over. This lesson gives the four steps that cut that risk.
The posting: tell the truth, put numbers on the variable
Serious candidates read an SDR posting looking for three things: how many calls a day, how much they will earn at target, and what happens after twelve months. A posting that hides the volume or the variable attracts the people who will not cope with them.
Write the base, the variable at target and the total (OTE), the tools provided, the number of meetings expected per month once ramped, and the possible next step: Account Executive, account manager, team lead. The site’s job description generator produces that skeleton and checks for wording to avoid.
The 45-minute interview
Ten minutes on the background, looking for an experience of repeated rejection: door-to-door, customer service, competitive sport, hospitality. Fifteen minutes on method: “How would you prepare ten calls to CFOs?” A good candidate talks about lists, signals and openers, not a product pitch.
Ten minutes on reality: describe a typical day, the KPIs, the management, and watch the questions they ask. Ten minutes for their questions and the variable, in numbers. Everything promised here will be remembered.
- Look for the habit of “no”, not for ease.
- Have them tell a sales failure and what changed afterwards.
- A candidate who asks about the dialer’s connect rate has prospected before.
The live call test
Nothing replaces a real call. Give the candidate a fictional prospect card (role, company, one signal), five minutes to prepare, then play the prospect on the phone, you or a senior SDR. Do not look for perfection: look for a twenty-second opener, an open question, a reaction to an objection, and above all the ability to hear feedback and try again right away.
Run a second round after three tips. The candidate who applies the feedback on the second call is the one who will improve every week. The one who defends their first call will be hard to coach.
References, three questions
Call a former manager, not a colleague. Three questions are enough: “What were their numbers compared with the team?”, “How did they react to feedback?”, “Would you hire them again?” A hesitation on the third one is an answer.
Then decide fast. Good SDRs have several offers, and a week between the interview and the offer is paid for in lost candidates.
Key takeaways
- An honest posting: call volume, base, variable, OTE, tools, career path.
- In the interview, look for the habit of rejection and for method, not for ease.
- The live call test, in two rounds: what counts is applying the feedback.
- References from a former manager, three questions, then a fast decision.
Check what you remember
Question 1 of 4One correct answer per question. The explanation appears after your choice.
What do good candidates look for first in an SDR posting?
Go further
A term you are not sure about? The cold calling glossary
