What an SDR actually does
Cold email + cold call + LinkedIn outreach to schedule discovery calls for Account Executives. It’s a numbers game with a writing skill — you’re evaluated on calls booked per week, not closed deals.
Skills that matter
Clear written English. Comfort with rejection. Salesforce / HubSpot / Outreach / Apollo / Lemlist. Research speed: can you find a prospect’s pain point in 90 seconds? Voice clarity for cold calls.
Pay structure
Base $30k–$60k/yr + commission $20k–$60k/yr. Top SDRs at well-funded startups OTE $80k–$120k. African remote SDRs typically earn slightly below US local but well above local market.
How to break in
Build a portfolio of cold email templates you’ve written (the company doesn’t exist yet — just write them). Make a Loom of you giving a 60-second cold call pitch. Apply to YC-backed SaaS startups specifically — they hire SDRs constantly.