How to hire a sales development representative

How to hire a sales development representative, step by step

Here's a step-by-step sales development representative hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a sales development representative job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new sales development representative
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a sales development representative do?

Post a sales development representative job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your sales development representative job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a sales development representative for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a sales development representative to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a sales development representative that fits the bill.

   The following list breaks down different types of sales development representatives and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Sales Development Representative	Description	Hourly rate
   Sales Development Representative	Wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses, government agencies, and other organizations. They contact customers, explain product features, answer any questions that their customers may have, and negotiate prices.	$16-37
   Sales Representative Internship	In a sales representative internship, an intern's duties depend on the directives of a supervising staff or manager. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights while performing clerical tasks such as preparing and processing documents, greeting visitors, disseminating and organizing files, and running errands as needed... Show more	$12-20
   Marketing/Sales Representative	The job of marketing/sales representatives is to pitch a company's products and services to potential customers. They work to drive brand awareness through face-to-face consumer interaction... Show more	$20-44

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • SDR
   • Lead Generation
   • Customer Service
   • Account Executives
   • Linkedin
   • Outbound Calls
   • Saas
   • Business Development
   • Phone Calls
   • Cloud
   • Sales Process
   • Cold Calls
   • Excellent Time Management
   • Marketing Campaigns

   Check all skills

   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).
   • Handle customer service inquiries, returns, and RMA exchanges.
   • Develop a strong knowledge of SaaS sales techniques and lead management/generation.

   More sales development representative duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your sales development representative job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A sales development representative can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, sales development representatives' average salary in hawaii is 52% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level sales development representatives 56% less than senior-level sales development representatives.
   • Certifications. A sales development representative with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a sales development representative's salary.

   Average sales development representative salary

   $51,504yearly

   $24.76 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level sales development representative salary

   $34,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 5, 2025

   Average sales development representative salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Massachusetts	$66,202	$32
   2	Maine	$64,895	$31
   3	Connecticut	$63,914	$31
   4	Rhode Island	$62,786	$30
   5	Washington	$61,532	$30
   6	New York	$61,251	$29
   7	Maryland	$59,468	$29
   8	Michigan	$59,048	$28
   9	Kansas	$58,397	$28
   10	Iowa	$57,784	$28
   11	Missouri	$57,269	$28
   12	Colorado	$57,064	$27
   13	California	$56,704	$27
   14	Oregon	$56,697	$27
   15	Virginia	$56,562	$27
   16	South Carolina	$55,437	$27
   17	Indiana	$54,975	$26
   18	District of Columbia	$54,462	$26
   19	Arkansas	$54,428	$26
   20	Nevada	$54,251	$26

   Average sales development representative salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	PitchBook Data	$108,979	$52.39
   2	Cloudflare	$86,265	$41.47	17
   3	Vista Equity Partners	$86,062	$41.38	8
   4	Cohesity	$84,601	$40.67	5
   5	Moody's	$80,782	$38.84	5
   6	RE/MAX Realty One	$79,155	$38.06
   7	CrowdStrike	$76,589	$36.82	6
   8	PEAK6	$75,106	$36.11	1
   9	HashiCorp	$74,939	$36.03
   10	Databricks	$73,267	$35.22	6
   11	Bloomberg	$68,602	$32.98	9
   12	Sentinel Benefits	$68,282	$32.83
   13	Snowflake Computing	$67,153	$32.29
   14	Udemy	$66,403	$31.92	2
   15	Idera	$65,865	$31.67
   16	OutSell Consulting	$65,586	$31.53
   17	Circle Internet Financial	$65,521	$31.50	3
   18	Algolia	$65,497	$31.49
   19	Pamten Inc	$65,436	$31.46
   20	Thomson Reuters	$65,410	$31.45	19

4. Writing a sales development representative job description

   A sales development representative job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a sales development representative job description:

   Sales development representative job description example

   Are you curious, motivated, and forward-thinking? At FIS you'll have the opportunity to work on some of the most challenging and relevant issues in financial services and technology. Our talented people empower us, and we believe in being part of a team that is open, collaborative, entrepreneurial, passionate and above all fun. About the team Worldpay from FIS's growth is on the backs of every single team member. Building relationships with our end-users also entails listening to their needs to understand what other products and services may resolve their issues. By building a team focused on sales to our customers, we can continue to grow through channels we already have open. Further, by addressing hurdles for our current customers, we can continue to build trust and assure our future as their choice in a competitive market. What you will be doing As a Business Development Representative in eCommerce, you will be charged with developing and managing an identified market segment that is strategic to Worldpay from FIS's long-term growth objectives. You will be involved in identifying new target segments, collecting information that would be of assistance in developing product solutions, and understanding the revenue possibilities available to Worldpay from FIS on an annual basis, forming partnerships with key influencers in your segment. In this role you will effectively manage time, manage multiple priorities, be organized, self-motivated and successfully achieve a quota. Responsible for new account development within an established geographic territory Close business with new merchants who accept card-not-present credit card payments As an expert in the field, uses professional concepts in developing resolution to critical issues and broad design matters. Identify new merchant targets and key contact people within those merchants, loading into Salesforce.com Consistently achieve quota and proactively manage territory to maintain appropriate mix of prospects at various stages of the sales cycle Sell to C-level executives within target segments What you bring: 2+ years of sales experience Excellent presentation and writing skills Ability to thrive in a high-performance team Added bonus if you have:Deep knowledge of merchant/payment processing in eCommerceKnowledge of international payments Proven ability to exceed $1M+ quota You will have proven ability to sell business technology solutions to large companies ($250M+ annual sales) Experience selling to financial decision makers in transaction-oriented companies (CFO, Controller, Finance Manager, Director of Finance) What we offer you The chance to work on some of the most challenging, relevant issues in financial services & technology A multifaceted job with a high degree of responsibility and a broad spectrum of opportunities A modern, international work environment and a dedicated and motivated team A competitive salary and benefits A fantastic range of benefits designed to help support your lifestyle and wellbeing A work environment built on collaboration, flexibility and respect
   .
   Privacy Statement
   
   FIS is committed to protecting the privacy and security of all personal information that we process in order to provide services to our clients. For specific information on how FIS protects personal information online, please see the Online Privacy Notice.
   
   EEOC Statement
   
   FIS is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, genetic information, national origin, disability, veteran status, and other protected characteristics. The EEO is the Law poster is available here supplement document available here
   For positions located in the US, the following conditions apply. If you are made a conditional offer of employment, you will be required to undergo a drug test. ADA Disclaimer: In developing this job description care was taken to include all competencies needed to successfully perform in this position. However, for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) purposes, the essential functions of the job may or may not have been described for purposes of ADA reasonable accommodation. All reasonable accommodation requests will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
   
   Sourcing Model
   
   Recruitment at FIS works primarily on a direct sourcing model; a relatively small portion of our hiring is through recruitment agencies. FIS does not accept resumes from recruitment agencies which are not on the preferred supplier list and is not responsible for any related fees for resumes submitted to job postings, our employees, or any other part of our company.
   
   #pridepass

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find sales development representatives for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any sales development representatives they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level sales development representatives with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your sales development representative job on Zippia to find and attract quality sales development representative candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit sales development representatives, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new sales development representative

   Once you've decided on a perfect sales development representative candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new sales development representative. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a sales development representative?