Sales Development — P3
SALESD.SALESDEVE371.P3
Focuses on generating and qualifying sales leads through proactive prospecting (outbound cold-calling and inbound qualification), navigating company structures to reach decision-makers, conducting discovery conversations, and setting qualified appointments for account executives to close. Distinct from Account Management (which sells to and grows existing accounts) and from quota-carrying closing roles — this function tees up prospects rather than closing deals. As an individual-contributor (Professional) track, it caps at senior/specialist scope (Senior/Enterprise SDR and GTM Engineer automation specialist) and does not include first-line people management, which sits on the Management track.
Focuses on generating and qualifying sales leads through proactive prospecting (outbound cold-calling and inbound qualification), navigating company structures to reach decision-makers, conducting discovery conversations, and setting qualified appointments for account executives to close. Distinct from Account Management (which sells to and grows existing accounts) and from quota-carrying closing roles — this function tees up prospects rather than closing deals. As an individual-contributor (Professional) track, it caps at senior/specialist scope (Senior/Enterprise SDR and GTM Engineer automation specialist) and does not include first-line people management, which sits on the Management track.
Focus — Sales Development
Focuses on generating and qualifying sales leads through proactive prospecting (outbound cold-calling and inbound qualification), navigating company structures to reach decision-makers, conducting discovery conversations, and setting qualified appointments for account executives to close. Distinct from Account Management (which sells to and grows existing accounts) and from quota-carrying closing roles — this function tees up prospects rather than closing deals. As an individual-contributor (Professional) track, it caps at senior/specialist scope (Senior/Enterprise SDR and GTM Engineer automation specialist) and does not include first-line people management, which sits on the Management track.
Material SKILL differential vs the function baseline.
Responsibilities by level
What this person actually does at each level on the professional track — escalating scope, not one generic blob. Your level is highlighted.
- Conducts high-volume outbound prospecting (cold-calling) to generate qualified sales leads against meetings-set targets
- Identifies, connects with, and qualifies potential leads using frameworks like BANT to support the sales pipeline
- Uses a combination of outreach mechanisms (call, email, CRM, marketing automation) to nurture leads under defined cadences
- Generates appointments and meetings for account executives by teeing up qualified prospects (does not close deals)
- Logs and tracks all prospecting activity within the CRM following standard procedures
- Carries harder lead and meeting targets with more autonomy, moving qualified leads through a larger pipeline against quota
- Handles an inbound or outbound SDR specialization, fielding more technical qualification conversations on inbound leads to assess fit
- Navigates company structures to identify decision-makers and conducts high-level discovery conversations
- Applies ICP and persona targeting to prioritize the right prospects across multi-channel outreach
- Refines outreach messaging and channel sequencing based on prospect response data
- Carries larger quota on enterprise or named-account segments while coordinating activities of junior reps
- Mentors junior team members and guides new SDRs through onboarding and skill development
- Optimizes prospecting workflows and implements process improvements to sales cadences
- Coaches struggling reps and shares best practices through 30/60/90 day plan support
- Analyzes prospecting data and creates reports on activity, conversion, and pipeline contribution
- Builds automated prospecting systems as a GTM Engineer using tools like Clay and n8n to scale lead generation across the team
- Designs and maintains integrations across the prospecting tech stack (data enrichment, CRM, sequencing, conversation intelligence) to automate qualification and outreach
- Configures and oversees AI SDR workflows (Level 3 to Level 4) where AI handles qualification and outreach, progressing toward fully autonomous agents
- Sets prospecting cadence and data-enrichment standards adopted across the SDR function, selecting methods and tooling
- Diagnoses systemic pipeline and conversion gaps using funnel data and resolves them through workflow and automation redesign
Level guidelines
The universal leveling rubric applied to this function — how scope, complexity, collaboration, and experience step up across levels.
| Level | Knowledge & Application | Complexity & Problem Solving | Collaboration & Interaction | Typical Degree & Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | Applies standard prospecting scripts, qualification frameworks (BANT), and CRM logging procedures to routine outreach tasks; learning the product, ICP, and sales process. | Handles routine prospecting problems with standard answers — which cadence to follow, how to handle common objections — escalating anything outside defined playbooks. | Maintains stable internal relationships with account executives and SDR peers; conducts high-level discovery calls with cold prospects under guidance. | 0-1 yrs; new grad or entry-level BDR/SDR, evaluated on meetings set or opportunities created. |
| P2 | Applies judgment in familiar prospecting contexts, adapting messaging and channel mix to persona and inbound/outbound specialization; handles more technical qualification conversations on inbound leads. | Solves moderately complex qualification and outreach problems — sequencing multi-channel touches, navigating org structures to decision-makers — within established cadences. | Builds productive working relationships with AEs and marketing; manages discovery conversations independently and hands off qualified leads. | 2+ yrs in an SDR role (months 18-24+), or strong ramp from entry level; carrying quota with routine independence. |
| P3 | Evaluates identifiable factors across prospecting workflows, cadence design, and data to optimize team conversion; applies coaching and process-improvement knowledge. | Diagnoses diverse prospecting and pipeline problems with moderate independence — why a cadence underperforms, where reps stall — and designs improvements. | Networks with senior sales professionals and AEs; coordinates project activities and mentors junior SDRs through onboarding. | 5+ yrs (BA) or equivalent; senior/enterprise SDR carrying larger quota with mentoring and process-optimization responsibilities. |
| P4 | Applies in-depth knowledge of prospecting automation, the SDR tech stack, and AI-driven outreach to deliver functional-level impact as a specialist (GTM Engineer); selects platforms and architects automated systems. | Analyzes complex variables across funnel data, enrichment quality, and automation logic; builds and tunes autonomous prospecting and AI SDR workflows to resolve systemic conversion gaps. | Coordinates across SDR, marketing, and RevOps to define automation requirements; may influence GTM tooling and process decisions across the function. | Senior IC specialist (~3-4+ yrs SDR experience plus technical/automation depth); GTM Engineer building scaled prospecting systems — an individual-contributor track distinct from first-line SDR management. |
Skills
Focus-specific skills the role applies — the relevance layer beyond the occupational base.
- Outbound prospecting
- Proactively contacting potential customers who are not expecting to be contacted (cold-calling) to generate qualified sales leads.
- Lead qualification
- Assessing whether a lead is worth pursuing using frameworks like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing).
- ICP/persona targeting
- Using an Ideal Customer Profile or customer personas to identify and prioritize the right prospects.
- Sales cadence design
- Building a repeatable sequence of sales activities for outreach, giving the team a structured framework.
- Discovery conversations
- Conducting high-level conversations to understand prospect needs and qualify opportunities.
- Multi-channel outreach
- Engaging prospects at scale across calls, emails, CRM, and marketing automation tools.
- CRM management
- Organizing and tracking the entire sales process within a CRM system.
- Data analysis
- Analyzing data and creating reports, increasingly required for senior/RevOps-bound SDRs.
- Automation platform expertise
- Building and managing automated prospecting systems and integrations across the tech stack.
- Coaching and mentoring
- Guiding junior reps through onboarding, skill development, and performance improvement.
- Salesforce
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- HEAT Software GoldMine
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Oracle Eloqua
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Sage SalesLogix
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Outreach
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Salesloft
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- ZoomInfo
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Apollo.io
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- AiSDR
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Seamless.AI
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Lusha
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Cognism
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Clay
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- SalesIntel
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- RocketReach
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- LeadIQ
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Breeze
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Gong
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Chorus
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- Calendly
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
- n8n
- Uses this tool/technology effectively during the delivery of day-to-day tasks.
Provenance
The evidence base behind this profile — every layer is sourced; quality is scored by an adversarial review panel (1–5; passes at ≥4 on the minimum dimension).
Level — P3 — Mid-Level Professional
Fully competent professional; works independently on standard projects
- Scope
- Features or a sub-system end-to-end
- Autonomy
- Works independently on standard work; reviewed on the non-standard
- Complexity
- Diverse problems; adapts existing approaches
- Impact
- Project / team outcomes
- Decision rights
- Owns implementation decisions for own scope
- Leadership
- Mentors juniors informally
- Typical experience
- 3–5 yrs
Adjacent roles
Nearest roles by structural coordinates (level + taxonomy). Distance 0 → 1; each carries its 3-state match band. How coordinates work → · Compare side-by-side →
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O*NET / SOC
- code=41-9099source=jfm-factory.resolve