Looking for Sales Development (SDR) Manager jobs? This critical leadership role sits at the intersection of sales and marketing, responsible for building, coaching, and driving the team that fuels a company's sales pipeline. An SDR Manager is the architect of the outbound and inbound lead generation engine, ensuring a consistent flow of qualified opportunities for the Account Executive sales team. This profession is ideal for those who excel in coaching, process optimization, and data-driven strategy, all while maintaining a deep understanding of frontline sales development tactics. Typically, professionals in these jobs oversee the entire Sales Development Representative team. Their core responsibility is to hire, train, mentor, and motivate SDRs to achieve individual and collective targets for generating qualified meetings or sales-accepted leads. They develop and refine outreach playbooks, manage daily and weekly activities, and ensure the team utilizes CRM and sales engagement platforms effectively. A significant part of the role involves analyzing key performance metrics like call/email volume, connection rates, and qualification rates to identify coaching opportunities and process improvements. Furthermore, SDR Managers serve as a crucial bridge, collaborating closely with Marketing to optimize campaign follow-up and with Sales leadership to ensure lead quality and smooth handoff processes. Common responsibilities for those in SDR Manager jobs include conducting regular one-on-one coaching and team meetings, setting clear performance expectations and quotas, and fostering a high-performance, collaborative team culture. They are tasked with developing onboarding programs, implementing training on messaging and objection handling, and staying abreast of best practices in prospecting and sales technology. Reporting on pipeline generation, forecasting team performance, and presenting insights to senior leadership are also standard duties. Typical skills and requirements for this profession include a proven background as a successful SDR or in a similar business development role, demonstrating mastery of outbound prospecting techniques. Leadership potential or prior people management experience is essential, alongside exceptional communication and interpersonal skills to inspire a team. Candidates generally need strong analytical abilities to interpret data and guide strategy, and proficiency with CRM systems like Salesforce and sales engagement tools like Outreach or SalesLoft. A results-oriented mindset, resilience, and the capacity to thrive in a dynamic, target-driven environment are fundamental for success in SDR Manager jobs. This career path offers a direct route to senior sales leadership positions for those who can effectively scale a company's top-of-funnel activities.
