How I tripled my income from SDR to AE

Let’s set the record straight: being an SDR isn’t “just a stepping stone.” The belief that sales development is only an entry-level pit stop does a disservice to the craft—and to the people crushing it every day. True, for many it’s their first role in SaaS, but top-of-funnel work demands resilience, agility, and relentless curiosity. Managing rejection, mastering new tools, personalizing at scale—these are NOT “junior” skills. I’ve seen SDRs rocket past targets and build outbound engines that fuel company growth. Want to see real leadership potential? Look at someone refining cold call scripts on Friday nights or running multi-channel tests before breakfast. Let’s stop minimizing SDR work. The grit, creativity, and discipline found here are foundational—not just for sales careers, but for building high-performing teams and companies. If you’re in the trenches right now: own it! Are we finally ready to give SDRs the credit they deserve?

I remember seeing my first AE quota. Thinking "how the hell am I supposed to close that?" As an SDR, quota was simple: → X calls → Y meetings → Hit your number Went 24 months straight without missing. Then promotion to AE changed everything. Now it wasn’t about 30 mins on a calendar. It was about companies spending real money. So I went back to what I could control: 👉 Full outbound mode. In 2 months, I booked 30 meetings. One became a $154k ARR opp. That’s when I realized: Control = outbound. And with 4–5x pipeline coverage… Quota fear disappears. My outbound rules 👇 1. Spend extra time on tiering your accounts If you don’t know which accounts matter most, you’ll waste time. Tiering = focus. 2. Know your quota inside out Understand exactly how many opps you need and which ones will get you there. 3. Experiment with new plays New business case, new channel, new approach → pipeline grows when you test. 4. Get intros whenever you can Warm paths beat cold every time. Leverage network, partners, and customers. 5. Stay obsessed with outbound New company? New stakeholder? News event? Always be prospecting. Since then? Never missed a quarter. Lowest one: 153%. Fear turned into fuel. 👉 What’s YOUR way of beating quota fear? Follow me @Jonathan for daily sales tips!

Turning Quota Fear Into Fuel Jonathan Molina’s post about staring at your first AE quota hit me. That moment when the number looks impossible and you wonder, “How on earth am I supposed to close that?” — every rep has been there. When I made the SDR-to-AE jump, I felt that same shift. As an SDR, success was simple math: calls → meetings → quota. But as an AE, the game changed. It wasn’t about filling calendars anymore — it was about building real pipeline and driving revenue. That’s when outbound became my anchor. Tiering accounts. Knowing my number inside and out. Testing new plays. Getting warm intros. Staying obsessed with prospecting. The more I focused on what I could control, the less intimidating quota became. Fear doesn’t disappear but with the right habits, it becomes fuel. That’s why I believe discipline beats panic, and consistency beats luck. Outbound is more than activity — it’s confidence. What’s the one strategy you rely on to turn quota fear into momentum? #QuotaCrusher #OutboundSelling #PipelineGeneration #GrowthMindset

How to stand out as an SDR in a massive TAM 🔥 When your territory feels endless, it’s easy to fall into “spray and pray” mode — calling anyone and everyone just to hit activity goals. But world-class SDRs know that in a large Total Addressable Market, success comes from focus, not volume. Here are 3 ways top performers win consistently: 👉 1. Prioritize using intent signals. Not every prospect deserves your time today. Focus on those showing signs of readiness — think website visits, tech changes, funding rounds, or hiring trends. These clues are your fast track to meaningful conversations. 👉 2. Tailor your message by persona. Generic pitches fall flat. Craft outreach that speaks directly to a role’s daily pain points and KPIs. A Facilities Manager and a VP of Operations care about very different things — your messaging should too. 👉 3. Time-block your day by persona or segment. Run “focused sprints” — 90-minute call blocks for one persona or industry at a time. You’ll build rhythm, pattern recognition, and sharper messaging with every call. 💡 World-class SDRs don’t chase activity. They engineer it with purpose. What’s one change you’ve made recently that’s helped you book more meetings?👇

Me: ''My SDR isn't booking'' VP Sales: ''Your SDR costs us £60k a year. Make it work or I'll spend the money elsewhere. Also they aren’t yours''. Here's 9 things I started doing: 1. Mock cold call roleplays 2. Gave feedback on cold emails 3. Tactical tips on sequence steps 4. Only gave them my best accounts 5. Bigging up the SDR to my AE leader 6. Sending a 'chin-up' after a bad week 7. Let them run parts of my discovery calls 8. Connected with the SDR's top prospects 9. Said 'great job' over posting a Slack emoji SDRs are an incredible resource. As a senior person in the team it was my job to figure out how to leverage them best. Shout out to all AE's who do this already. ♻️ Repost if this was helpful.

Some days in sales, it feels like nothing is working. Dial after dial. Voicemail after voicemail. A few short conversations that don’t go anywhere. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, and that’s the reality of being an SDR. But here’s what I’ve learned: Those are the days that matter most. Because the effort you put in when nothing’s happening is what compounds later. You might not see it straight away, but the conversations you start today are the meetings you book next week. and the pipeline you build next month. Sales rewards delayed gratification. It tests your patience before it pays you back. That’s why consistency always wins. SDRs, what do you tell yourself on the days when nothing seems to click? #SDRLife #SalesDevelopment #TechSales #CareerGrowth #LearningByDoing #Consistency

I talk all the time about how Marketing needs to expand its impact on revenue beyond lead gen and direct attribution. Yulia’s post was a good reminder that I sometimes forget to apply that lens myself 🙃 From sales, the story looks simple: SDR spots intent signal and acts Meeting booked AE runs the deal for 2 months (50% shorter than average) Closed Won 🎉 But the reality is: The account started researching 3 months before they spoke to us They evaluated all our largest competitors Marketing moved them into a competitor-focused campaign, and it worked Engagement across 3 channels, 6 stakeholders now know our differentiators The lesson? Sales cycles don’t get shorter because your rep caught them at the right time. They get shorter because Marketing has already laid the track. Worth asking: how many of your ‘quick wins’ actually started months earlier with Marketing’s long game?

💬 Being an SDR isn’t easy — and that’s what makes it powerful. A lot of people think Sales Development is just about making calls or sending emails. But those who’ve done it know — it’s so much more than that. It’s about: 💡 Understanding your prospects before you even say “Hi” ✉️ Writing messages that truly connect 🧠 Handling rejections every single day (and still showing up) ⚡ Staying consistent when motivation dips 🎯 Balancing quantity with quality outreach 🔥 Keeping your energy high even when results take time SDRs and BDRs are more than just the “first touch” — we’re the storytellers, the bridge between potential and opportunity, and the ones who set the tone for every future partnership. So to all SDRs/BDRs out there — take pride in what you do. You’re not just building a pipeline — you’re building momentum, growth, and trust. 💪 #Sales #SDR #BDR #SalesDevelopment #ColdCalling #OutboundSales #SalesMindset

Wait… I thought it was free?" That was me a while back. An SDR reached out to me, full of energy, telling me their product was “completely free.” Naturally, I got curious. Who doesn’t like free? So I agreed to a meeting. When it was time, I got handed over to the AE. And then came the surprise—this “free” product had a price tag. Not a small one either. At that moment, my excitement turned into disappointment. Trust? Broken instantly. The AE was doing their best, but I couldn’t get past the fact that I’d been misled from the start. The conversation felt like a bait-and-switch. That experience taught me something important: 📌 SDRs shouldn’t just be chasing booked meetings. 📌 They should be setting up AEs for success. 📌 And most importantly, they should be building trust from the very first interaction. If the first touchpoint is based on half-truths, the whole sales cycle suffers. But when SDRs are honest, set the right expectations, and prepare prospects properly, the AE doesn’t just have a “meeting”—they have a real opportunity. Being an SDR is not just about numbers. It’s about building bridges . So here’s my thought: Would you rather hit quota with empty meetings, or build trust that actually converts?

If I were starting as a new SDR today, here's how I'd ensure I was successful. I would obsess over finding the top reps at the company and meet with every one of them in my first two weeks. Because most new SDRs fall into this trap: They learn the script, listen to their manager, send 100 generic emails per day, make 80 cold calls with zero research, and celebrate hitting their "activity goals"... ...while their conversion rates stay at 1% and their pipeline remains empty. Meanwhile, SDRs who focus on insights? They're consistently hitting quota: They know the prospects pain points. They know how top reps handle objections. They know tonality, common themes, because they asked. The result? Higher response rates, better conversations, and deals that actually close. Your manager is going to give you the information to understand the product. Top performers, the guys in the trenches, are going to give you the insights you need to understand the prospect. This isn't a dig at managers, good managers actually require new hires to shadow top performers. Because they understand that top performers do things differently, and they can teach it best. If you're starting on a new team, learn the product, but obsess over the prospect. Has anyone else found that shadowing top performers changed their sales game?