Role comparisonReviewed by Adroit Staffing editorial reviewPractice guidance, no data claims7 min read
The short answer
In most UK businesses SDR and BDR describe the same job. Where the distinction is real, the SDR qualifies inbound demand created by marketing and the BDR generates outbound demand from cold accounts. Read the KPIs in the job advert rather than the title: whoever is measured on self-sourced meetings is the outbound role, whatever it is called.
Key facts
- Interchangeable?
- Frequently yes — treat the title as unreliable
- Real distinction
- Inbound qualification versus outbound creation
- Harder to hire
- The outbound role, by a clear margin
- Shared next step
- Account Executive, or Team Lead for the coaching route
SDR and BDR side by side
| Row label | SDR (inbound-leaning) | BDR (outbound-leaning) |
|---|---|---|
| Where the conversation starts | The buyer raised a hand: demo request, content download, event | Nobody asked: cold accounts chosen deliberately |
| Primary measure | Speed to first response and qualification accuracy | Self-sourced qualified meetings and pipeline created |
| Hardest part of the job | Disqualifying politely and fast without losing a real buyer | Sustaining standards through weeks of rejection |
| Skill emphasis | Listening, qualification frameworks, prioritisation | Research, written outreach, phone confidence, persistence |
| Ramp time | Usually faster — demand already exists | Slower — territory research and messaging take time to land |
| Typical reporting line | SDR Manager, sometimes aligned to marketing | SDR or Sales Development Manager within sales |
| Compensation shape | Base plus variable on qualified meetings and progression | Similar structure, commonly with a higher variable element |
In teams under roughly ten people the same person almost always does both, and that is usually the right call. Splitting the roles is a scale decision, not a seniority one.
Hire an inbound-leaning SDR when
- Marketing already generates more enquiries than the AEs can handle well.
- Enquiries are going cold because nobody responds within the day.
- You need faster time to productivity from the hire.
- Your average deal is small enough that inbound volume can carry the number.
Hire an outbound-leaning BDR when
- Pipeline depends on accounts that have never heard of you.
- You sell into a defined, finite target list rather than a broad market.
- AEs are prospecting for themselves and closing less as a result.
- You can fund a longer ramp before judging the hire.
Why the titles drifted apart
The split originated in larger US software businesses, where inbound volume justified a dedicated qualification team. UK companies adopted the vocabulary faster than the structure, so both titles now appear on adverts describing identical work.
The practical consequence is for candidates: two roles with the same title can be very different jobs, and the honest question at interview is where the meetings come from and who is accountable for creating them.
How to write the advert so the right people apply
- State the split explicitly: for example, roughly 70% outbound, 30% inbound.
- Publish the measure the person will be judged on in month three.
- Say who chooses the target accounts — the hire, or a manager.
- Describe the route out of the role, because good candidates ask.
Common questions
- Is a BDR more senior than an SDR?
- No. Neither title implies seniority. Progression is signalled by seniority markers such as Senior SDR or Team Lead, not by choosing between the two acronyms.
- Should one person do both inbound and outbound?
- In a small team, yes, but protect the outbound time in the diary. Inbound is urgent and outbound is important, and urgency wins by default unless someone prevents it.
- Which pays more?
- They sit in the same band in most UK markets. Outbound-heavy roles often carry a larger variable component because self-sourced pipeline is harder to produce.
Sources and review
- Written by
- Adroit Staffing
- Reviewed by
- Adroit Staffing editorial review
- First published
- Last reviewed
This page is practice guidance from our own Sales and GTM recruitment work. It makes no claims about current market data, so it cites no external figures.