An SDR or BDR seat at a B2B software company is the standard front door, and it is genuinely open to people with no sales background because companies hire for coachability and work rate. In India you have a real advantage: a large set of companies selling to the US and Europe from Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune and Delhi, so you can get global-market reps without leaving. Apply with evidence rather than intent, send the hiring manager three prospect accounts you researched and the emails you would write. The first year is unglamorous volume work, and it is also the fastest way to learn what makes a buyer respond.
4 hand-picked resources, 1 India-specific, 4 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
Why we picked it The single most practical starting point for a founder who has never sold: do things that do not scale, and do the selling yourself. Alstromer ran growth at Airbnb, so the advice is specific rather than motivational.
On Y Combinator Startup School by Gustaf Alstromer ~30 min
Why we picked it The longest-running benchmark on SDR quota, ramp, ratios, comp and time to promotion, drawn from hundreds of B2B companies. Treat the absolute numbers as US-weighted and the ratios as transferable when you plan an India-based team.
From The Bridge Group Benchmark report
Open blog.bridgegroupinc.com →Why we picked it The whole book is readable free on the web and it is the reference text for anyone doing B2B sales for the first time, founder or first hire. Chapter one on mindset changes is worth reading the week you start.
From foundingsales.com by Pete Kazanjy 13 chapters, free to read online
Open foundingsales.com →Why we picked it Girish Mathrubootham built a Nasdaq-listed company from Chennai, and the lesson about betting on people rather than pedigree is the one that shapes how Indian GTM teams get hired. Encouraging for anyone breaking in without the right logos on their CV.
From The Works (Freshworks) by Vishnu Prasad ~10 min read
Open freshworks.com →How gtm roles and career paths reads from a different seat.
