How much does a business development representative make?

Business development representatives typically make an annual salary of around $50,000. This can vary depending on experience level and industry, but the typical range in salary for business development representatives is $36,000 to $65,000 a year.

Is a sales development representative a good job?

Yes, a sales development representative job is good. Sales development representatives earn great money, but it requires hard work. It is also a great stepping stone towards more lucrative senior sales positions.

Is an SDR a good job?

Yes, an SDR is a good job. Sales development representatives (SDRs) jobs are excellent for those with the right combination of sales capabilities and people skills. Working as an SDR pays well if you're willing to put in the time.

Is it hard being an SDR?

Yes, it's hard to be an SDR. Working as a sales development representative (SDR) is largely a sales job. You get out of it what you put into it. No formal degree is needed to work as an SDR, although having a bachelor's degree definitely helps. Being successful as an SDR comes down to producing results. Your commission and performance evaluations come down to how much sales you are generating.

What is a sales development representative and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. LIsa Gardner Ph.D.,

John Cicala Ph.D.

A sales development representative (SDR) is a person responsible for generating new business opportunities through outbound prospecting. They use various communication channels to reach out to potential customers and qualify them as leads for the sales team. SDRs work with marketing to ensure that they generate high-quality leads and fit the ideal customer profile. They also build a pipeline of qualified opportunities that can be passed on to the sales team to close deals.

What general advice would you give to a sales development representative?

Dr. LIsa Gardner Ph.D.

Program Director, Eastern Kentucky University

"-Be open to new opportunities, even if the options do not match up perfectly with your college major.
-Find a mentor. Also, be a mentor.
-Keep learning. Read, read, read. Listen to informative podcasts. Take classes, attend conferences, and keep refreshing what you know because the world is changing rapidly, so what you need to know keeps changing.
-Volunteer with a non-profit. This will extend your social circle, perhaps give you a chance to gain skills other than those you develop at work and make you a more interesting person.
-Don't be afraid of change, especially if the change is inevitable."

ScoreSales Development RepresentativeUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,504

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 5.21%

Black or African American 3.89%

Hispanic or Latino 14.54%

Unknown 3.72%

White 72.41%

Gender

female 36.87%

male 63.13%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a sales development representative?

Pros

Exposure to different industries and markets
Ability to work with a team and build relationships
Opportunity to interact with different levels of decision-makers
Training and support provided by the company
Ability to work remotely or in an office environment

Cons

Can be repetitive and monotonous
High turnover rates in the industry
Challenging to balance competing priorities and tasks
Often requires working outside of regular business hours
Can be difficult to maintain a work-life balance.

Key steps to become a sales development representative

Explore sales development representative education requirements

Most common sales development representative degrees

Bachelor's

82.7 %

Associate

8.3 %

Master's

4.1 %

Start to develop specific sales development representative skills

Skills	Percentages
SDR	11.15%
Lead Generation	5.84%
Customer Service	5.54%
Account Executives	5.46%
Linkedin	4.66%

Complete relevant sales development representative training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New sales development representatives learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a sales development representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real sales development representative resumes.

Research sales development representative duties and responsibilities

Manage organization website and Facebook page; writing articles for websites and newsletters.
Develop social media strategies for Facebook, LinkedIn, and emerging social networks, generating leads.
Manage individual sales activities by developing highly effective, communications focuse relationship with multiple sales channels.
supply chain management and procurement software (SaaS).

Prepare your sales development representative resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your sales development representative resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a sales development representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable sales development representative resume templates

Build a professional sales development representative resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your sales development representative resume.

Apply for sales development representative jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a sales development representative job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average sales development representative salary

The average sales development representative salary in the United States is $51,504 per year or $25 per hour. Sales development representative salaries range between $34,000 and $77,000 per year.

Average sales development representative salary

$51,504 Yearly

$24.76 hourly

How do sales development representatives rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Sales development representative reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2021

Pros

Cultivating relationships with customers and accessing customers needs , I like solving their problems with the product or service that I am pre selling to them before passing the lead to a sales executive.

Cons

I am passionate about my role as a BDR and there is nothing that I don't like. I don't like to be put in a box so to speak I enjoy reaching high and don't like to limited.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020

Pros

Pay was consistent and you pick your own rate based on the commission you choose to bring in. Spending so much time together created a bond between the team where uplifting one another on bad days became part of the job. I guess it depends on your particular work environment but the bonds created kept us going.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

Communicating and helping my clients.

Cons

The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.

What is a sales development representative and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a sales development representative?

What are the pros and cons of being a sales development representative?

Sales development representative career paths

Key steps to become a sales development representative

Explore sales development representative education requirements

Most common sales development representative degrees

Start to develop specific sales development representative skills

Complete relevant sales development representative training and internships

Research sales development representative duties and responsibilities

Prepare your sales development representative resume

Choose from 10+ customizable sales development representative resume templates

Apply for sales development representative jobs

How did you land your first sales development representative job

Average sales development representative salary

How do sales development representatives rate their job?

Sales development representative reviews

Sales development representative FAQs

How much does a business development representative make?

Is a sales development representative a good job?

Is an SDR a good job?

Is it hard being an SDR?

Search for sales development representative jobs

Sales development representative jobs by state