RESEARCH REPORT

2019 SALES TE

DEVELOPMENT
BENCHMARK REPORT
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales
development organizations.

Dan Gottlieb, Sales Development Analyst

April 25, 2019

These materials have been prepared by TOPO for the exclusive and individual use of our clients. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.
These materials contain valuable, confidential, and proprietary information belonging to TOPO and may not be shared with any third party without the
prior approval of TOPO. To learn how you can become a TOPO client, visit www.topohq.com.
 April 25, 2019

2019 SALES DEVELOPMENT BENCHMARK REPORT

A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

By Dan Gottlieb
With Kristina McMillan
April 25, 2019

Sales development is arguably the most critical investment for developing pipeline in today’s B2B
businesses. To better understand the impact and best practices, TOPO surveyed 179 sales development
leaders and compiled the results and strategies in this 2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report. This
report provides insights organizations can apply to adopt or evolve their sales development practice in
2019 and beyond.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Survey Overview 3

Demographics 4

Introduction and Takeaways 5

Market Overview 6

Strategy 9

Process 15

Tactics 19

Organizational Design 23

Guidance 28

About TOPO 29

RELATED RESEARCH
Sales Development Playbook, July 2018

Sales Development Framework, September 2017

Sales Development Touch Report, August 2017

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

SURVEY OVERVIEW
Objectives
SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS
To better understand the strategies, tactics, and
benchmark metrics of successful sales development # of Respondents 179
organizations. The research also shares insights
organizations can leverage to develop and/or # of Data Points Surveyed 72
improve their own sales development initiatives.
Data Collected Q4 2018
Data Views
Our research surfaced three defining characteristics
that shape an organization’s sales development
practice: ANNUAL REVENUE % OF RESPONDENTS

• Average annual contract value (ACV).

$0 - $50M 49%
A proxy for target market, grouping average
deal sizes offers insights and metrics tailored $50M - $500M 39%
to deal complexity.
$500M+ 12%
• Company size. Larger companies have
access to more sales development resources
than smaller companies.
• Team structure. Whether sales development
ANNUAL REVENUE GROWTH % OF RESPONDENTS
teams are inbound, outbound, or a hybrid of
the two changes the team’s goals and how
0% - 25% 30%
they execute.
26% - 39% 22%

Over 40% 48%

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

DEMOGRAPHICS
This report is based on survey data gathered from sales development leaders in mostly high-growth
B2B companies.

Job title Annual contract value

Other
6% $250K+
10%
$0-$25K
Manager 20%
VP and
above 27%
19%

$75K-$250K
29%

$25K-$75K
41%
Director/Sr. Director
48%

67% of respondents were director 39% of respondents have ACVs

level and above greater than $75K

Average sales cycle

12+
months
3%

0-2
6-12
months
months
31%
28%

2-6
months
38%

66% of respondents have an average

sales cycle of between 2-12 months

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

INTRODUCTION AND TAKEAWAYS

Sales development is a critical function for world-class B2B sales and marketing teams
Sales development teams continue to be viewed as a strategic component by driving revenue growth
for B2B sales and marketing, as seen in the amount of pipeline and revenue that flows through or is
generated by the team. With agreed-upon best practices for inbound and outbound channel strategies
across multiple industries, SDRs have become so dependable that revenue leaders are finding new
applications for sales development across the business, including customer expansion and channel
programs.

However, the biggest story is the role sales development plays as a centerpiece of account based
programs—one of the most disruptive go-to-market transformations in B2B sales and marketing today.

In this new paradigm, change is constant for sales development. Leading organizations are building
teams that are resilient and can adapt quickly. Therefore, sales development organizations need a way to
evaluate:

1. Where their shifting priorities fit into the overall go-to-market strategy

2. Whether or not they have effective people, process, technology, and tactics

3. Whether the metrics for governing their organization help them optimize their programs

For the 2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report, TOPO surveyed nearly 180 practitioners at leading
sales development organizations to identify patterns and metrics. This report provides the insights
organizations need to navigate change or evolve their sales development strategy in 2019 and beyond.

Key takeaways
• SDRs are the most significant pipeline drivers in world-class companies. SDRs generate $415K
in pipeline per month, on average, and 57% of overall pipeline.
• SDRs are the most important channel for successful account based programs. Account based is
the most significant strategy for go-to-market teams today and SDRs are the cornerstone of that
strategy. Of account based marketers, 88% cite outbound SDRs as an important channel in their
marketing strategy. Because of this success, 41% of organizations have built a dedicated account
based SDR team.
• Sales development is moving beyond its direct, net new pipeline generation heritage to
supporting expansion and the channel. Sales development is such a proven commodity, it is
being applied to multiple go-to-market strategies. Of survey respondents, 19% have SDRs
dedicated to customer expansion, and 12% have a team dedicated to support channel partners.
• More organizations are assigning resources dedicated specifically to support SDRs. High-
growth organizations with more than 20 SDRs have dedicated SDR enablement and SDR
operations (versus shared resources with the sales team).

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• Continuous development and recognition is keeping SDRs in the role longer. We saw the
average tenure of the SDR increase from 14.3 months in our last benchmark to 15.5 months, while
ramp times remain constant. This is largely driven by innovations in career paths as SDR leaders
segment the SDR role, offering continuous skill development and recognition throughout an SDR’s
tenure, thus keeping them engaged and productive longer.
• SDRs are having conversations with prospects again. The most effective and scalable channel
for initially connecting with prospects has been email. The by-product of the massive increase in
digital communications was significantly fewer SDR conversations. Today, organizations are creating
processes and enablement to bring live SDR conversations back into the qualification process. And
it works, with 40% of respondents citing live call execution as the key factor in their success.
• LinkedIn has the potential to become the top outbound channel. GPDR and cluttered inboxes
are forcing SDR teams to increase usage of LinkedIn. The triple touch (phone, email, LinkedIn) has
been widely used for the last 4-5 years. Now usage is increasing, with 42% of respondents
reporting between 2-5 LinkedIn touches in their touch patterns. Faced with strict enforcement of
email and phone restrictions, European SDR teams are largely adopting LinkedIn, with some SDRs
reporting LinkedIn as their only outbound channel.
• Chat will be the next “table stakes” SDR channel, with AI bots soon to follow. Today, 25% of
respondents cited chat as a channel, and early TOPO buying indicators predict the number will
increase by at least 50% in 2019, moving closer to becoming a standard for inbound SDR follow-up.
Artificial intelligence is slowly becoming a reality in the SDR tech stacks, with 8% using AI-driven
email tools. This number will increase slowly in 2019, with 2020 being a likely launch point for
significant bot adoption, particularly around straightforward and non-mission-critical touch patterns.

MARKET OVERVIEW
Live call execution, account based strategy, and technology tools are the greatest
challenges
The biggest story in sales development today is the role SDRs play in the account based movement.1
As the commoditization of digital buying experiences drives the demand for account based experiences,
marketers have never been more incentivized to partner with sales development. Of account based
marketers, 88% cite outbound SDRs as one of the most effective channel tactics for account based
programs. This finding presents a new paradigm for SDRs: Engage buyers with valuable and relevant
experiences early in the buying process to differentiate from competitors.

However, 35% of sales development leaders cited the execution of an account based strategy as a top
challenge for their teams. While effective when done right, the challenges lies in identifying, selecting,
and working target accounts (see Figure 1). For SDRs to effectively execute multi-touch, multi-channel,
multi-threaded programs within a target account, strong orchestration plans and regular feedback loops
need to exist between marketing, sales development, and sales. In account based sales development

1
TOPO 2019 Account Based Benchmark Report

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

programs, SDRs are often working 5-9 prospects at a time across different threads, requiring them to
hold a compelling conversation with 3-5 different roles simultaneously.

With SDRs under a lot of pressure to perform, it is no surprise that live call execution is cited as a top
challenge for 36% of sales development leaders. For the last five years, many SDR leaders let their reps
rely on sales email automation to hit quota. Leaders failed to equip reps with a repeatable framework and
the conversational skills required to compel a buyer to meet with them, and then hold a relevant and
valuable conversation. New expectations shift the narrative from “good-day” metrics (i.e., the number of
activities an SDR completes per day) to the buyer’s perception of the quality and value of the sum of
individual activities completed by an SDR.

Sales Development Challenges (Figure 1)

What are the biggest challenges to your sales development success?

Live call execution 36%

Execution of an account based

35%
go-to-market strategy
Using technology tools to increase rep
33%
activity
Clearly defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
32%
or target account list for SDRs to pursue

Hiring and onboarding 26%

Alignment with sales on qualified lead

23%
definition
Clear expectations for how SDRs should
23%
customize messaging

Detailed touch pattern that SDRs follow 22%

Objectively defined process for the SDRs

20%
to follow, including handoff to sales reps

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

Hiring and onboarding, live call execution, and technology are key factors for success
When we look at the factors that make sales development teams successful, hiring and onboarding tops
the list (see Figure 2). Hiring has always been a challenge for sales development leaders, but successful
organizations found repeatable strategies that work to fill the hiring funnel with qualified candidates. SDR
leaders must rapidly hire and quickly ramp up those new hires to get the maximum number of months of
full productivity, since the average SDR tenure is fewer than 16 months. Organizations that zero in on
effective strategies can transform this challenge into a success factor.

TOPO expected to see live call execution and detailed touch patterns for SDRs to follow near the top of
this list (40% and 30%, respectively). These are core job responsibilities of the sales development role.
TOPO research reveals that organizations with a prescriptive and repeatable approach to executing
effective calls and touch patterns more regularly achieve quota.

To help SDRs execute calls and touch patterns, leaders cite the use of technology tools that increase
activity as a top factor contributing to sales development success. These tools include account and
contact data providers, sales engagement platforms, and LinkedIn. By simplifying rep workflow across
this disparate toolset, SDR leaders help create focus for their teams. Effective SDR leaders map their tech
stack to a desired process with clear expectations for impact on workflow.

Factors Contributing to Sales Development Success (Figure 2)

What are the most important factors contributing to your sales development success?

Hiring and onboarding 49%

Live call execution 40%

Using technology tools to increase rep

39%
activity

Detailed touch pattern that SDRs follow 30%

Clear expectations for SDRs 28%

Objectively defined process for the SDRs

26%
to follow, including handoff to sales reps

Rep retention 20%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

STRATEGY
Sales development strategy focuses the organization on delivering pipeline to sales and uses relevant
metrics related to the overall company go-to-market strategy to predict impact; this is commonly referred
to as a sales development model. When setting up a model, TOPO recommends using key marketing
and sales conversion rates to set expectations around what a sales development team will generate. The
following table of guiding metrics summarizes both the benchmarks and the TOPO recommendations
discussed in this report (see Figure 3).

Sales Development Strategy Guiding Metrics (Figure 3)

ACV ACV ACV ACV

CATEGORY METRIC
$0-25K $25K-$75K $75K-$250K $250K+

Strategy # of accounts/SDR 125/month 115/month 100/month 75/month

# of leads/SDR 300/month 230/month 150/month 100/month

Inbound lead conversion 23% 20% 17% 14%

Qual lead to opportunity conversion 63% 57% 62% 50%

SDR close rate 24% 21% 20% 18%

% of pipeline 73% 65% 58% 46%

$ of pipeline per SDR per month $191,528 $604,297 $652,690 $717,222

Process Inbound qualification definition BANT ANU ANU AN

Inbound quota 31 23 15 8

Outbound qualification definition ANU AN AN AN

Outbound quota 15 12 9 7

Tactics Inbound touches / touch pattern 14.2 touches 17 touches 16 touches 18.9 touches

Inbound pursuit duration 19 days 20 days 18 days 23 days

Outbound touches / touch pattern 20 touches 24 touches 16 touches 19 touches

Outbound pursuit duration 26 days 25 days 26 days 27 days

Qualification call length 6-10 mins 6-10 mins 10-15 mins 10-15 mins

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REVENUE REVENUE REVENUE

CATEGORY METRIC
$0-$50M $50M-$500M $500M+

Organizational Average SDR tenure 16.8 months 14.2 months 16.5 months
Design
Ramp time 3.5 months 3.8 months 3 months

SDR: AE ratio 1 to 2 1 to 3 1 to 4

SDR: manager ratio 9 to 1 10 to 1 11 to 1

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

65% of SDR teams report to sales

A majority of SDR teams are located in the sales organization: 65% report into the VP of Sales or sales
ops, 23% into marketing, and 12% report to other functions, such as operations or the CEO (see Figure 4).
In larger organizations (> $500M), 40% of the SDR organizations report into marketing and 60% into
sales. TOPO advises that the reporting decision hinges on who is best suited to lead the organization;
SDRs need a dedicated leader who understands the importance of sales development and advocates
for resources to support the organization.

TOPO is observing a growing interest from revenue ops teams to partner with SDRs to help alleviate the
challenges associated with managing data, including: identifying and prioritizing target accounts,
maintaining a clean contact database, and orchestrating plays between marketing and sales.

Department the SDR Organization Reports into (Figure 4)

What department does the SDR organization report to?

Other
12%

Marketing
23%
Sales
65%

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

Hybrid SDRs are most effective for account based, but specialized SDRs are needed for
inbound
Over the past 10 years, the majority of SDR teams have started as hybrid, but quickly moved to
specialized inbound and outbound SDR roles (see Figure 5) once the team reaches 10-15 SDRs, or once
the company’s marketing efforts start to produce a consistent flow of several hundred leads per month.
As organizations grew larger, further specialization is seen, as SDRs were segmented not only by
inbound and outbound capabilities, but also by target market segment, verticals, and product lines.

However, for organizations targeting the enterprise segment, coupled with the rise of account based
sales development, SDRs are being moved from specialized roles back to hybrid, where SDRs also
handle all inbounds within their target accounts.

When assessing whether an SDR team should transition from specialized roles to hybrid positions, SDR
leaders should consider whether SDRs would have enough time to handle both inbound leads and
outbound activities, and if they have the skill set to do so. They should also determine if SDRs can still
meet the expectations or associated service level agreements tied to leads. Organizations with inbound
traffic targeting the SMB segment should maintain specialized SDRs.

Type of SDRs in the Organization (Figure 5)

What types of SDRs do you have in your organization today?

Inbound
31%
Hybrid
36%

Outbound
33%

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

22% of SDR-sourced opportunities end up as closed business

The ultimate measure of sales development success is revenue. Across the board, 22% of SDR-sourced
opportunities end up as closed business.

However, distribution across survey respondents reveals clear winners and losers (see Figure 6). Of
respondents surveyed, 38% cite a win rate of > 20% and 18% of respondents cite < 10% close rate. The
wide range of closed-won rates can be attributed to a number of factors, including opportunity definition
parameters, the volume of opportunities generated, and SDR execution.

TOPO suggests for every five sales development-generated opportunities, one should close. However,
in a high-performing sales development organization, one in four opportunities generated by an SDR
should close.

Overall, close rate increases in enterprise and large enterprise outbound teams are attributed to the rise
of account based sales development. Close rates in the large enterprise segment have increased since
TOPO’s last benchmark, from 15% to 18%.

Sales Development Process Conversion Rates by Target ACV (Figure 6)

METRIC DESCRIPTION AVERAGE $0-25K $25K-$75K $75K-$250K $250K+

Inbound Lead A prospect that is 19% 23% 20% 17% 14%

Conversion passed from
marketing to
sales
development

SDR-Qualified A qualified lead 58% 63% 57% 62% 50%

Lead to that is passed
Opportunity from an SDR to
Conversion sales

SDR Close A sales process 22% 24% 21% 24% 18%

Rate that is
successfully
closed by a sales
rep

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

Account based SDRs are assigned accounts based on overall list size
In account based teams, SDRs are assigned a batch of named accounts. The number of accounts
assigned varies based on the company’s overall target account list size.

When the company has a smaller overall list, SDRs are assigned a smaller number of targets (between
15-25). When the company has a larger list, SDRs can be assigned as many as 80-100 accounts (see
Figure 7).

The difference between account based SDRs and outbound SDRs is that account based SDRs will
commit to working this list for a longer duration in time before the organization considers replenishing
their target account list with an updated focus.

Assigned Accounts for Account Based SDRs (Figure 7)

How many accounts does an SDR work each month?

TARGET ACCOUNT LIST SIZE # OF ACCOUNTS / SDR

1-100 15-25 targets

100-1,000 40-60 targets

1,000+ 80-100 targets

Source: 2019 Account Based Benchmark Report

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

PROCESS
Sales development process is defined as the steps and criteria that define how leads, contacts, and
accounts enter and exit the SDR function. This section details the criteria and definitions necessary for
building an effective sales development process.

The qualification criteria (see Figure 8) is the cornerstone that defines the core objectives of an SDR’s
role; it determines how far the SDR should take a prospect into a sales conversation before involving a
sales rep. How far, or rather how many different attributes the SDR evaluates to determine qualification,
also affects how many prospects the SDR can qualify in a given month. If more qualification criteria are
required, there is a greater chance that the prospect will disengage before being connected to a sales
rep. Less qualification criteria gathered may mean the sales rep ends up wasting time with a prospect
that is not yet ready to engage in more meaningful discussions.

Qualification criteria includes the following attributes.

Sales Development Process Qualification Models (Figure 8)

MODEL DESCRIPTION CRITERIA KEY DYNAMICS

BANT Defined project and timeline with Budget, Authority, Need, • High volume of inbound traffic
stakeholders identified Timeframe • Short buying cycles
• Mature market
• Project-centric buying process

ANUM No defined project, but the right Authority, Need, Urgency, • Low to midsize ASP
person desires to address a specific Money
• Short buying cycles
need within reasonable timeframe
• Large addressable market
• Typically used for inbound
qualification

ANU No defined project, but has the Authority, Need, Urgency • High ASP/LTV
right situation to create one • Longer buying cycles
• Typically used for outbound in
large markets

AN Fits Ideal Customer Profile, needs Authority, Need • High ASP/LTV

a direct point of contact • Longer buying cycles
• New markets
• Narrow target markets

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Inbound SDRs are looking for a project

The primary role of inbound SDRs today is sifting through all incoming leads to determine which are most
urgent and worthy of a sales rep’s time (see Figure 9). The inbound quotas below are recommended by
TOPO based on benchmark data. For SDRs focused on SMB (ACV of $0K-$25K), inbound lead volumes
are typically higher and sales cycles are typically shorter, therefore qualification criteria is at its strictest,
with BANT (budget, authority, need, timeframe) required. As a result, inbound SDRs focus their efforts on
qualifying a majority of leads out of the buying cycle, looking for a select group with a budgeted project
that are qualified to speak to sales.

SDRs typically qualify a smaller volume of inbound traffic for large enterprises (ACV of $250K+), especially
for accounts matching ICPs. Since this is a step in a longer sales cycle, qualification criteria is lighter, with
AN (authority, need) required to hand off the lead to sales. The SDR focus here is generating a warm call
with a prospect who is willing to learn more and fits a basic level of account/technical qualification. This
call paves the way for the sales rep to learn more about the account and serve as a direct point of
contact when a potential business opportunity arises.

Sales Development Inbound Process Definitions (Figure 9)

INBOUND

QUALIFICATION MONTHLY
ACV ANALYSIS
CRITERIA QUOTA

$0-$25K BANT 31 SMB inbound typically uses the strictest form of qualification,
(SMB) BANT, to narrow down a large volume of leads to just those that
have a likelihood of being an opportunity for sales. Quotas are
high because products tend to be commoditized, and therefore
less messaging customization is required.

$25K-$75K ANU 23 MM inbound uses ANU to identify prospects that are the “right
(MM) person, right company” and have communicated a sense of
urgency around addressing the problem. Similar to SMB, quotas
reflect higher lead volumes as SDRs are typically focused on
sifting through leads to quickly qualify and set meetings for sales
reps.

$75K-$250K ANU 15 Similar to MM, ENT inbound uses ANU for qualifying prospects
(ENT) that are the “right person, right company” and have
communicated a sense of urgency around addressing the
problem. However, as inbound lead volume in this segment is
typically lower, quotas are proportionately lower too.

$250K+ AN 8 Lead volume is typically smaller for large ENT and made up of
(Large ENT) lower-level stakeholders requiring SDRs to prospect further into
the account to identify the right person to engage with. Account
based go-to-market strategies are being widely adopted to
address this challenge.

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Outbound SDRs are focused on setting up qualified meetings

For outbound SDRs, qualification criteria is focused on finding the right people with a need that aligns to
the solution’s value at a company either in the company’s ICP, or close to it (see Figure 10). The account
based movement is driving the adoption of lighter qualification criteria, and target accounts are deemed
pre-qualified as accounts the business wants to penetrate. Therefore, SDRs are focused on generating
meetings with the right stakeholders within those accounts who have a problem that can be solved by
your product, regardless of whether those accounts have identified projects with budgets or timelines.

Outbound quotas, recommended by TOPO based on benchmark data, vary less between segments
because the fundamental skills needed to generate demand to learn more about a solution require a
similar level of effort across multiple segments. SDR leaders setting quota for outbound teams should
consider prescriptive prioritization regarding the number of accounts and contacts per account an SDR
should pursue in a given month.

Sales Development Outbound Process Definitions (Figure 10)

OUTBOUND

QUALIFICATION MONTHLY
ACV ANALYSIS
DEFINITION QUOTA

$0-$25K ANU 15 Outbound efforts to SMB are typically not cost-effective

(SMB) unless a high volume of qualified leads are generated.
While ANU is the most common outbound criteria in SMB,
the outbound motions required to get a prospect engaged
and qualified require a lot of time and effort, and often do
not support higher quotas. TOPO recommends focusing
outbound SDRs on accounts with the highest potential LTV
to justify an investment in outbound SDRs.

$25K-$75K AN 12 MM outbound most commonly used AN as qualification

(MM) criteria, focused on finding the “right person” at a company
to engage with. The objective is to engage sales reps with
prospects earlier in the sales process as a way to establish
value and help define a project. Just as in SMB, volume is
important for outbound prospecting to be considered cost
effective. MM outbound SDRs should be given a list of
target accounts to focus the impact of their efforts.

$75K-$250K AN 9 Given that larger deal sizes often involve more senior
(ENT) stakeholders, most organizations struggle to engage these
senior stakeholders in traditional demand generation
activities. ENT outbound is focused on qualifying the “right
person” in an account, with no additional criteria required.
Quota in this segment is reflective of the complexity of
larger accounts, often requiring multiple conversations with
different entry point stakeholders to create a compelling
reason for the buyer to engage.

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$250K+ (Large ENT) AN 7 As with ENT, large ENT outbound focuses on identifying
the “right person” in a account to engage. Similar to ENT,
quota in this segment is reflective of the complexity
required to sell into these companies, and there is often a
limited number of accounts available for the SDR to go after.

SDR organizations that actively manage rejected handoffs have higher conversion rates
Given that only 59% of SDR-qualified leads become sales opportunities, it is critical that SDR
organizations have a defined process for handling rejected leads from sales. The most commonly cited
reasons for sales teams rejecting leads include the handoff meeting was not completed (no-show) (49%)
and no next step was established following the handoff call (43%). The most important aspect of sales
and sales development alignment is to develop a closed-loop handoff process where all qualified leads
follow a clearly defined process and are focused on driving the next step for the prospect. Handoff
issues are fixed by defining a clear set of next actions following a handoff call, and clear accountability for
who should manage those actions (Figure 11).

Most Commonly Cited Reasons for Rejecting SDR-Qualified Leads (Figure 11)

What do sales reps most commonly cite as reasons for rejecting the lead?

REASONS FOR REJECTING QUALIFIED

TOPO RECOMMENDATION
LEADS

Meeting not completed (no-show) Develop a process for confirming meetings in advance to reduce no-shows.
For example, resend the calendar invite the night before the scheduled
meeting, then send an email the morning of the meeting letting the prospect
know you are “looking forward to the call.”

No next step following the handoff Enable sales with specific actions to take with prospects that are not ready to
call engage in the buying process. For example, offer a market overview
conversation as a next step instead of a demo.

Prospect does not meet minimum Enable SDRs to proactively surface potential qualification conflicts, such as an
requirements interested prospect that does not meet minimum pricing or licensing
requirements. For example, at organizations that require a minimum price,
SDRs are often asked to “price flinch” the prospect to disqualify them early if
they can’t meet minimums (e.g., “Typically our pricing starts at $XX per user.
Does that align with your expectations? If so, I’d be happy to set up a call for
you to speak with one of our account executives.”).

Solution does not align to prospect’s Revise qualification criteria to account for demographic or environmental
demographics/current environment factors that disqualify prospects. For example, if SDRs are passing qualified
leads to sales that repeatedly get disqualified because they use GMail and
your company doesn’t support GMail, change your qualification criteria to
include confirmation of the prospect’s email provider.

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

TACTICS
SDRs use a variety of tactics to engage prospects in conversations (see Figure 12). To that end, today’s
SDRs must manage a growing array of tools and platforms to execute their daily responsibilities.

The last few years have seen an 7.7% (inbound) and 37% (outbound) uptick in the number of touches
SDRs make against each contact, as leaders push their teams to “make the most” of each prospect
they pursue. The increase in total touches is largely due to improvement in the technology platforms
(e.g., sales engagement platforms) that support SDRs. These platforms serve as a single interface to plan,
execute, track, measure, and optimize interactions between sales teams and customers across multiple
touches and channels.

Additionally, many outbound SDR organizations have fully embraced an account based approach, and
they are now expected to find multiple entry points into their accounts, which is driving more touches per
account and deeper engagement across touches. Account based SDRs are also completing more
touches post-qualification, to bring more potential stakeholders into the conversation.

While sales development leaders continue to demand high daily activity targets for SDRs, the truth
behind the numbers is that activity depends on capacity. A conflict exists between the number of
activities an SDR can do and how much customization is required. For target markets that require greater
personalization of messaging (e.g., Enterprise or newer buyer markets), activity levels are lower, with
around 20-25 triple touches per day, as SDRs spend more time crafting and customizing messages
and are less able to utilize templates. In target markets that require less personalization of messaging
(e.g., SMB or highly commoditized products), activity levels are higher, around 50 double touches per
day, as SDRs can leverage more templatized touches.

TOPO sees automated AI-driven email touch patterns, with 3-4 unique messages, emerging as a tool for
these teams. In the future, TOPO expects most SDR-driven messaging will be semi-custom, and more
templatized messages will be managed by AI bots.

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

Sales Development Tactics Dashboard (Figure 12)

CATEGORY METRIC INBOUND OUTBOUND

Touches (per contact) Total touches 16.7 21.3

# dials 5.2 7.5

# emails 5.6 6.9

# voicemails 2.9 3.4

# of LinkedIn (InMail) 1.7 1.9

AI-driven touches 4.4 N/A

Additional channels (ad hoc) Chat, LinkedIn Direct mail, video, SMS

Pursuit duration 19 days 24 days

SLAs Lead response time Less than 1 hour N/A

# contacts engaged per account 1 5 to 9

Call duration 6-10 minutes 6-10 minutes

Activities Total daily activities 100 per day 75 per day

# dials 44 per day 35 per day

# emails 56 per day 40 per day

# of conversations 8-10 per day 3-4 per day

Conversation rate 15 touches per 25 touches per

conversation conversation

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

LinkedIn may soon overtake phone and email as the primary channel in certain markets
The “big three” touch types – email, voicemail, and LinkedIn (see Figure 13) – are used by 92% or more
of SDR teams to communicate with prospects. While the “triple touch” has been a staple of leading SDR
organizations for the past three years, it is now being adopted more broadly.

Today, however, LinkedIn is playing a more meaningful role. While LinkedIn was originally a single
touchpoint in the overall touch pattern, it is now becoming a platform for collecting insights, running
plays, and engaging with prospects. With the passing of the GDPR regulations in May 2018, classic touch
channels such as phone and email are now used cautiously for cold prospecting. In response, LinkedIn
has emerged as a primary channel for EMEA-based SDR teams.

Other channels – both traditional and new – are being used in the sales development process.

• Direct mail: With the advent of account based sales development, TOPO expects to see direct
mail continue to play a growing role as part of orchestrated programs designed to generate
meetings within target accounts.

• Chat and AI-driven follow-ups, while nascent, are being leveraged more by inbound SDR teams.
TOPO predicts the number of SDR teams using chat and AI-driven follow-ups will rapidly increase
over the next three years.

• SMS is the newest rising channel for SDRs. While not appropriate in all markets, early use cases
show good results in markets such as IT, where prospects are not accessible via traditional phone
(i.e., they don’t have desk phones). We expect to see specific plays emerge that support the
successful use of SMS, such as including reference to SMS in email messages (e.g., “To make it
easier on you, I’ll send you a text to coordinate a time for us to chat.”).

Touch Types SDRs Use in Touch Patterns to Prospects (Figure 13)

What touch types do your SDRs use in a touch pattern to a prospect?

99%
100% 94% 92%

80% 74%

60%
45%
41%
40%
25%
20% 15%
8%
0%
Email Voicemail LinkedIn “War dial” Social Direct mail Chat Video AI-bots

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

57% of SDR teams respond to inbound leads within an hour

Respondents report a fairly wide range in first-touch times, with 26% saying it takes under 5 minutes, and
21% saying it takes 8 hours or more (see Figure 14). On average, respondents say that 3.1 hours transpire
between a website form submission and the resulting SDR touch.

While quick response times have been connected to higher conversion rates in the past, rates must be
weighed against the time required to create the right message. In some instances, it is more important to
gather account intelligence and prepare a customized response within an hour than it is to respond in
less than 5 minutes. Quick follow up (less than 5 minutes) is most important when a prospect has shown
explicit interest, such as submitting a contact us or demo request form on the website. Leads with less
implied interest, such as tradeshow leads, require coordination of internal resources to create a
compelling message to drive engagement post-show (e.g., creating a relevant, high-value offer).

Time Between Form Submission and First SDR Touch (Figure 14)

For inbound or hybrid SDRs, how much time passes, on average, between a form submission on your website and the
first SDR touch?

Unknown
2%

8+ hours Less than

21% 5 minutes
26%

4 hours
20%

1 hour
31%

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN
Organizational design is defined as a plan that combines the factors needed to hire, train, compensate,
and retain a sales development team (see Figure 15). This section covers key variables contributing to
structuring and supporting a world-class sales development team.

The average ratio of SDRs to managers is nearly 10-to-1, up from 9-to-1 in TOPO’s last benchmark report
(see Figure 15). Simply put, SDR managers today are stretched thin and face growing pressure to help
their teams perform. This fact explains why onboarding and training is cited as one of the most critical
factors for sales development success – especially for newer SDR leaders with minimal management
experience.

The past 18 months have seen an increase in organizations investing in dedicated support resources for
sales development. The ratios of SDR to sales ops and SDR to enablement vary widely based on
company size, but most organizations create a dedicated support role once the team reaches 30 SDRs.

The investment in horizontal support resources (operations and enablement) is significant for SDR
leaders to be able to scale their teams. Having dedicated resources to focus on onboarding, training,
and enablement not only results in faster ramp times and greater effectiveness for SDRs, but also frees
up managers to do their jobs – hiring, coaching, and managing more SDRs.

Sales Development Organizational Design Dashboard (Figure 15)

REVENUE REVENUE REVENUE

CATEGORY METRIC
$0-$50M $50M-$500M $500M+

Organizational Average SDR tenure 16.8 months 14.2 months 16.5 months
Structure
Ramp time 3.5 months 3.8 months 3 months

SDR: AE ratio 1 to 2 1 to 3 1 to 4

SDR: Manager ratio 9 to 1 10 to 1 11 to 1

SDR: Director ratio 17 to 1 31 to 1 35 to 1

SDR: Support (Ops/Enablement) ratio 12 to 1 30 to 1 54 to 1

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

Only 48% of SDRs are consistently hitting quota

SDR teams are underperforming against their quota. Only a small fraction of SDRs (36%) are achieving
their quota, with another 12% overachieving against quota. However, more than half of the teams
surveyed are below 90% quota achievement, with 9% of SDRs below 50% of their quota (see Figure 16).

While common sales practices assume that 30% of sales reps will not have a long tenure in the role,
TOPO believes this is a reflection of poorly defined charters for SDR teams in many organizations. SDRs,
while expected to generate qualified meetings for sales, are asked to support a myriad of tasks that don’t
directly support their main function of generating pipeline. These tasks include inviting prospects to
events, staffing booths at tradeshows, and data cleansing and enrichment. These additional activities, in
aggregate, distract SDRs from their core job.

SDR Team Quota Achievement (Figure 16)

What is the quota achievement distribution for your team on a monthly basis?

9% 12%
Below 50% Above 110%
of quota of quota
17%
Between
50-70%
of quota
36%
Between
90-110%
of quota
26%
Between
70-90%
of quota

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For questions, email [email protected] 24
2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

SDR tenure has increased 9% to 15.5 months

In TOPO’s last benchmark, we reported the average tenure of the SDR was 14.3 months and it has now
increased to 15.5 months. While tenure increased, ramp times remain constant. SDRs receive an average
of 20 hours of onboarding before getting on a first call and 5.5 hours of ongoing training per month (see
Figure 17).

Faced with the challenge of shortening ramp times and increasing the average tenure of SDRs, SDR
teams are designing a new SDR experience. By segmenting roles and increasing responsibility, the SDR
teams are delivering what SDRs want: continuous skill development and recognition of progress.
Consistently providing recognition for performance, access to skill building, and incremental
responsibilities improve the SDR experience.

The best sales development organizations also offer training to help SDRs take on their next role. For
example, an SDR might focus on account research and contact research in the entry level, and then
handle inbound leads in their next role, learning the skills required to engage with prospects. The next
step may be combining these skill sets for an outbound role, then leveling up interpersonal
communication skills as a strategic account based SDR. All this training paves the way for them becoming
an inside sales rep.

Onboarding and Training for SDRs (Figure 17)

How much time is devoted to onboarding or training at each milestone in the SDR lifecycle?

MILESTONE ACTIVITY METRIC

Onboarding Time to first call 2 weeks

Time to full quota 3.2 months

Development Training 5.5 hours/month

Coaching (per SDR) 5.9 hours

Tenure Average time in role 15.5 months

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

SDR compensation is up by 9%
SDR compensation has increased by an average of 9% over the past 3 years, as growing demand for
SDRs is forcing managers to compete more aggressively for this entry-level talent. The majority of growth
has been in base salaries (see Figure 18).

It is not surprising to see outbound SDR teams getting paid on average 8% more than inbound/hybrid
SDR teams. Typically, these roles are associated with different selling skills and experience required to
generate a consistent volume of quality pipeline. It is common to see inbound or hybrid SDRs promoted
to outbound-focused SDR roles as a career path.

More sales development leaders today are expanding their teams outside traditional tech centers,
including Austin, Denver, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, and Atlanta. By doing so, sales development leaders
avoid the compensation battle happening in areas like San Francisco and New York City. Second, they
can steadily access new talent pools by being in close proximity to major universities and in an
environment that attracts young professionals.

On-Target Earnings for SDRs (Figure 18)

BASE COMMISSION / BONUS OTE

Average $51,460 $24,079 $75,539

Inbound/Hybrid $50,220 $22,279 $72,499

Outbound $52,700 $25,879 $78,579

SF Bay Area and other tech centers $58,390 $27,904 $86,294

Outside Tech Centers $44,531 $20,254 $64,784

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

Compensation for SDR directors has increased 12.7% in up-and-coming tech centers
The demand for experienced sales development leaders has increased sharply in the past three years,
as more organizations seek to build their SDR teams outside of traditional tech centers (e.g. San
Francisco Bay Area and New York City).

Compensation for sales development managers and directors is structured similarly to that of SDRs, with
65-70% of total on-target earnings represented as salary and a bonus based on the collective
performance against team goals (see Figure 19).

Mirroring the push to build satellite sales development teams in non-traditional tech centers is the rush to
hire sales development managers and directors in those regions due to the limited pool of qualified
applicants in these geographic locations. This fact is evident in the compensation bump for managers
and directors outside of the tech centers. SDR teams are finding it is worth paying extra to hire a qualified
leader located in the same place as the satellite team from another firm, or paying to relocate qualified
leaders to satellite locations.

On-Target Earnings for Sales Development Leaders (Figure 19)

BASE BONUS OTE

Director – SF Bay Area and other tech centers $131,346 $75,769 $207,115

Director – Outside tech centers $112,556 $69,407 $181,963

Manager – SF Bay Area and other tech centers $86,054 $50,036 $136,089

Manager – Outside tech centers $76,755 $35,151 $111,907

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2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

GUIDANCE
This year’s Sales Development Benchmark Report clearly illustrates the importance of establishing a
baseline for your sales development organization based on your GTM strategy.

• Improve the impact of your SDR program by modeling expectations (# of leads, # of accounts) and
milestone definitions (SQL and Opportunity) on best practices associated with your target market.
• Focus SDR onboarding on the core elements of the job. This includes learning personas,
executing qualification calls, prioritizing leads or accounts and contacts, and using the tech tools
given to execute these key activities.
• Leverage sales development technologies suited for your GTM strategy to help SDRs execute and
optimize well-defined touch patterns and qualification calls. Baseline essentials include CRM,
Account/Contact Data, LinkedIn, and Sales Engagement Platform.
• Adopt SDR qualification criteria aligned to your GTM strategy to deliver what sales needs to run a
productive meeting.

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For questions, email [email protected] 28
2019 Sales Development Benchmark Report April 25, 2019
A research report focused on the strategies and tactics of successful sales development organizations.

ABOUT TOPO
TOPO works with high-growth companies to transform their sales, sales development, and marketing
organizations into world-class functions. B2B organizations rely on TOPO research and consulting to
make informed strategic decisions that drive pipeline and revenue growth.

We do this by offering:

1. Data and benchmarks collected from the world’s fastest-growing companies across hundreds of
key metrics.
2. Research, best practices, and tools that make faster revenue growth a reality by focusing on
specific, actionable strategies, tactics and plays.
3. Personalized advice and support from sales and marketing’s best and brightest—TOPO analysts
and your peers from the world’s fastest-growing companies.
4. Consulting helps clients address big sales and marketing issues in a manner that’s deeply specific
to you. Our consulting work focuses on areas such as go-to-market strategy, organizational design,
and marketing/sales process
5. Events and peer networking with industry-leading practitioners to learn and share best practices
associated with top-performing sales and marketing teams

About the analyst

Dan Gottlieb, Sales Development Analyst

Dan Gottlieb helps sales, marketing, and sales development leaders adopt the patterns and plays of
high-growth companies. In addition to supporting his clients, he conducts trend research for the sales
development practice. He’s spent the last 10 years supporting some of the world’s fastest growing
companies with a deep background in B2B tech sales.

For more information

To find out how TOPO can help you grow revenue faster, contact us at:
Web: www.topohq.com
Email: [email protected]

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For questions, email [email protected] 29