Hire SDRs after you can point at a message and a segment that reliably produce meetings, not before. If a founder or AE cannot book meetings from cold outreach, an SDR will not fix it, they will just fail more expensively. When you do hire, hire two rather than one so you can tell a person problem from a process problem. Ratios depend on deal size and cycle length, but the useful discipline is Aaron Ross's original point: separate the person who opens from the person who closes, and measure the SDR on qualified opportunities created, not on activity. Give them a written playbook, a defined list, and at least a quarter before you judge them.
4 hand-picked resources, 1 India-specific, 4 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
Why we picked it Lemkin gives concrete thresholds rather than principles: sell to ten customers yourself first, hire two reps not one, and here is what a VP of Sales should look like at each stage. The rule of eights section is worth the listen on its own.
On Lenny's Podcast by Jason Lemkin with Lenny Rachitsky podcast episode
Why we picked it The origin of the SDR role and of role specialisation in modern SaaS sales, condensed by the author himself so you do not have to buy the book to get the model. Read it for the specialisation argument even if the tactics feel dated.
From Predictable Revenue by Aaron Ross 15 min read
Open predictablerevenue.com →Why we picked it The mistake is not the hire, it is stepping out of sales afterwards, which Lemkin reckons about two thirds of founders do and which backfires almost every time. Six specific reasons your presence still matters, plus where to redirect your hours instead.
From SaaStr by Jason Lemkin short read
Open saastr.com →Why we picked it Built from a masterclass with Mohit Garg, former CRO at MindTickle, and written for cross-border companies selling from India, including how to structure SDR and AE teams for cost efficiency. Covers qualification, MEDDIC scoring, pipeline reviews and loss reviews in one place.
From SeedToScale by Accel by Rachit Parekh long read
Open seedtoscale.com →How outbound that works reads from a different seat.
The same ground, over in Get your first customers, our Starting Up track.
The same ground, over in Grow organically & retain, our D2C track.
