SALES DEVELOPMENT

MODELS, METRICS, AND

COMPENSATION RESEARCH

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 Introduction Hello! And welcome to the ninth round of biennial research
focused on Sales Development.

Since 2007, we’ve been tracking the SDR (ADRs, BDRs,

MDRs, etc.) role with a focus on how metrics and
compensation change over time. For this round, 365 B2B
companies participated. We’ve organized the report into
five sections:

1. Organizational Structure
2. Ramp & Retention
3. Metrics & Quota
4. Compensation & Tech
5. Leadership

We hope this report will provide guidance as you build out

your strategy and/or think about changes to possibly bring
you closer to alignment with industry standards.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us directly.

We want to hear from you. You can email us at:
community@bridgegroupinc.com.

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 The Bridge Group is an SDR, AE & AM consulting firm
dedicated to understanding the models, metrics,
and motions that deliver scalable growth.

bridgegroupinc.com

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 COMPANIES THAT
PARTICIPATED

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 Participants
• 365 executives from a broad diversity of B2B companies
• 69% North America-based and 21% global companies
• $45M median revenues
• $52K median average selling price (ASP)

Respondents by revenues Respondents by ASP

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 How Companies GREW IN 2022
Each time we’ve published this research, readers have asked how metrics, comp, quota, tech
stack, and so on differ between the fastest growing companies and the rest.

But what exactly makes a company “high-growth”? If Company A grew from $2M to $6M, that
additional $4M represents 200% growth. Compare that to Company B who went from $200M to
$290M, that’s “only” 45% growth—but an additional $90M in revenue.

Clearly, raw growth rates don’t tell the whole story. We chose to factor in both revenues and
growth rate. We marked the top quintile (highest 20%) per revenue band as High-Growth and
the bottom quintile (lowest 20%) per revenue band as Laggard.

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 Growth rates by revenue band
75th percentile- - - 200%

149%

Median- - - 100% 93% 90%

80%
65%
62% 63%
50%
40% 40%
25th percentile- - - 40% 40%
33% 30%
30% 25%
20% 20%
13%

< $5M $5-20M $20-50M $50-100M $100-250M $250-500M $500M+

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 PART 1

ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE

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 Sales development Motion
We asked respondents, “which of the
following best describes your Sales
Development organization?”

• Inbound only groups are most common

at lower ASPs (<$25K)

• Outbound only groups are nearly 5X as

common as inbound only

• Specialized teams (i.e., separate,

dedicated inbound and outbound groups)
are more common at larger companies
($50M+ in revenues)

• Hybrid groups—those combining inbound

qualification and outbound prospecting
into a single role—are the most common
motion

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 Where SDR Groups Report
Since 2012, we’ve found the vast
majority of SDR teams reporting to Sales.

This year the trend continues with 64% of

groups sitting within the Sales org. (Note:
for companies with revenues above $5M
72% of groups report to Sales.)

It’s worth mentioning that nearly 60% of

inbound teams report to Marketing. This
makes inbound groups 2.1 times as likely
to report to Marketing as hybrid groups
and 4.0x as likely as outbound groups.

64% of Sales Development

groups report to Sales.

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 SDR Territories
The majority of Sales Development groups align SDRs to AE territories. This is most common in
larger companies, at higher ASPs, and for outbound motions.

Routing leads to SDRs round-robin is found in roughly one-fifth of companies. This is most
common in hybrid or inbound motions and at lower ASPs.

63% Align SDRs to AE territories

25% Assign leads to SDRs round-robin

21% Route SDR-sourced meetings to AEs round-robin

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 SDR Territories By Company Revenue
Controlling for motion and ASP, Route Round-Robin
round-robin usage falls and Align to AE Territories
alignment to AEs rises as
revenues increase.

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 SDR-to-AE Ratios
The average ratio is 1 SDR to 2.3 Account Executives. This has been consistent since 2018.

Two things to note. One, smaller companies are much more likely to deploy 1 or more SDRs per
AE. And two, even controlling for revenues, High-Growth companies report similar SDR-to-AE
ratios compared to Laggards.

Distribution of SDR-to-AE ratios Average AEs supported by 1 SDR by revenues

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 WHERE REPS Are WORKING
In 2018, 48% of companies reported reps in the same role working in different locations. Due to
COVID/remote/WFH, that number increased to 64% in 2020. Today, the vast majority of groups
(90% !!) are either fully or partially remote. That was nearly unthinkable just four years ago.

Distribution of responses Percentage of in-office & remote teams by revenue

In-office 5 days Fully remote / wfh

In-office + hybrid

Fully
remote / Hybrid (in-
wfh office & wfh)

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 WHERE companies are hiring next
We asked where companies were hiring for open requisitions to gauge any potential return to
the office. One-third responded that open/future hires will be local to office(s) – with an additional
7.6% responding remote now, but onsite in future.

Distribution of responses Percentage of in-office & remote teams by revenue

Fully remote / wfh
Unsure In-office 5 days
Local to
office(s) only

Fully Remote now,

remote / but onsite in
wfh future

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 PART 2

RAMP & RETENTION

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 Experience required at hire
Since 2010, we’ve seen a 60% fall in required experience when hiring. This year, average required
experience fell to 1.0 year.

The finding remains consistent across high-growth vs. laggard, high ASP versus low, and other
variables.

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 Experience required at hire
2010 vs. 2022
3+ years
2-3 years
1-2 years
<1 year

2020

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 Ramp time
Average ramp times sits at 3.2 months. This is consistent with findings since 2010. High-Growth
companies report modestly faster average ramp times than Laggards (2.8 versus 3.3 months
respectively).

If there’s a universal truth of Sales Development, it may very well be this: ramping new SDRs to
full productivity takes about 3 months.

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 Tenure
Breaking a multi-year trend, average tenure fell in 2022—now sitting at 1.4 years. The layoffs of
late 2022 and early 2023 should extend average tenure in 2024.

Distribution of average tenure Average tenure over time

2%

3%

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 Productivity = Tenure - Ramp
We calculated months at
productivity by subtracting
ramp time from tenure.

Doing so, we find a median

16 months of full productivity.

Median time at full productivity

is 16 months.

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 Career path
The overwhelming majority (96%) of companies offer at least one form of SDR career path. More
than half (64%) offer two or more. The prevalence of SDR-to-AE promotion paths vary significantly
between low and high-ASP companies—ranging from 77% (below $25K) to 45% (above $250K).

% offering a given career path over time

SDR-TO-AE Into an AE role

Associate, Senior,
STEP-PROMOTIONS Principal, etc.
SDR-TO-AE
Inbound, Outbound,
ACROSS TEAMS Enterprise, etc. STEP-PROMOTION

ACROSS TEAMS

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 Minimum Time from
SDr-to-ae promotion
For those respondents with an SDR-to-AE
promotion path, reps spend a median 16
months in SDR role(s) prior to AE promotion.

This varies significantly by ASP—ranging

from 11 months (below $5K) to 18+ months
(above $100K).

Median time before an SDR is eligible

for AE promotion is 16.0 months.

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 Attrition
The biggest shift from the post-COVID boom (H2-2020 to H2-2021) has been a slowing of
promotions and a significant rise in voluntary quits.

2018 2020 2022

Involuntary 15% Involuntary 15% Involuntary 12%

Voluntary 24% Voluntary 11% Voluntary 16%

Promotions 34% Promotions 21%

Median annual turnover sits at 50%. The

25th and 75th percentiles are 35% and 74%.

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 PART 3

METRICS & QUOTA

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 Daily Activities
Distribution of average dials per day Median activities per day by type

TOTAL 104
PHONE 40
EMAIL 40
LINKEDIN 16
SMS/TEXT 2
OTHER 6

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 QCS per day
Another useful metric is the number of Quality Conversations (QCs) per rep per day. We define a
QC as “a connect or response where at least one piece of qualifying or disqualifying information
is learned.”

We find an average of 3.6 QCs per rep per day.

That’s a 55% fall since 2014—dropping roughly 10% annually for nearly a decade. This is hard
data of how much more difficult the SDR role has become.

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 Daily QCS BY Dominant Channel
We categorized groups as either Email-centric, Phone-centric, or Neutral based on their most
dominant outreach channel. Responses indicate a 39% / 28% / 33% divide (email, phone, neutral).

By definition, phone-centric groups average higher dials per day. Interestingly, they also report
1.4X as many QCs.

Dials per day

QCs per day

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 # Attempts in Cadence
The average cadence/sequence has 11.3 attempts. This figure has been on the rise for a
decade. As buyers have become harder to reach, reps have increased their persistence in lock
step.

Distribution of average attempts Average attempts over time

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 Sales development Model
Broadly, SDR groups fall into three
categories. They include: 2020
1. Introductory Meetings
2022
2. Semi-Qualified Opptys
3. Fully Qualified Opptys

In prior years, the distribution was roughly

1/3rd to each. In our 2020 report, we noted
a significant shift towards the introductory
meeting model.

This year, companies are moving back up

the qualification curve.

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 Qualification level by Model
Right Profile Pain/need is Person has Compelling Money (has it Timeframe is
(firmograhics, identified authority reason (to or can get it) defined
tech, etc.) (or access) buy/change)

57% 38% 7% 6% 0% 1%
Introductory
88% 67% 63% 22% 4% 7%
Semi-Qual
94% 98% 92% 80% 48% 55%
Fully Qual

• As ASP rises, “compelling reason” and “timeframe” are less frequently included.
• Outbound motions are more likely to include “right profile” and “authority.”
• Inbound motions are more likely to include “compelling reason” and “timeframe.”

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 Monthly quotas
Introductory meetings Semi-qualified opptys Fully-qualified opptys

Stage 0 Passed 14.3 Stage 0 Passed 10.8 Stage 0 Passed 9.0

Stage 1 Converted 7.8 Stage 1 Converted 6.3 Stage 1 Converted 5.8

Across the board, average quotas fell from 2020 to 2022—this is consistent across ASP, motion,
model, High-growth versus Laggard, and so on.

The global median of Stage 0 Passed is 11. It is higher in an inbound motion, at lower ASPs, and
for smaller companies. It is lower in an outbound motion and at higher ASPs.

Since 2018, Stage 0 and Stage 1 quotas have fallen 29% and 40% respectively.

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 Quota attainment
On average, 63% of reps in a given
group achieve quota.

Where there has been remarkable

consistency around this metric over the
years, we note a 5.8% absolute (and
8% relative) decrease since 2020. This
is despite the accompanying fall in
quotas themselves.

63% of SDRs achieve quota in

a given group.

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 Sourced pipeline per sdr
The median pipeline generated per SDR
fell to $2.8M. (Note this is raw pipeline, not
“forecast” nor “closed won.”)

There is wide variation across

companies—some generating less than
$1M in pipeline while others exceed $7M
per SDR annually.

Median pipeline is $2.8M. The 25th and 75th

percentiles are $1.7M and $4.2M respectively.

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 PART 4

COMPENSATION & TECH

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 SDR compensation
ON-TARGET EARNINGS $80K
We find median on-target earnings of $80K and
a 68:32 (base:variable) split. BASE $55K
Continuing a decade long trend, median SDR VARIABLE $25K
OTE grew only modestly. For comparison, the
median sales price of existing single-family
homes has doubled over the same period.
OTE in $Ks
Note: compensation varies rather significantly
by region (e.g., $80K in Chicago is equivalent to
$99K in San Francisco.) We recommend using
the St. Louis Fed’s Cost of Living Calculator to
localize.

Median SDR on-target earnings have grown at just

0.74% CAGR nominally for more than a decade.

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 ote as a factor of
experience at hire
High-growth companies offer marginally higher OTE, but there is compression at the lower range of
required experience.

High-Growth

Laggard

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 Acceleration technologies
We found the median sales tech
stack consists of CRM plus 5.0
1%
additional tools.

High-Growth companies report one

additional tool, on average,
compared to Laggards.

While median tools per group is 5.0

+ CRM, the average is 4.7.

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 Technology adoption lifecycle

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 Tech stack gap
Across ASP and company revenues, High-Growth companies deploy technologies more often
than Laggards.

Laggard
High-Growth

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 Sales engagement platforms
You’ll note that Sales Engagement Platforms (SEP) span several of the tech categories previously
covered. As such, we chose to report their usage separately.

74% of companies above $5M in revenues report using a SEP. That’s up from 66% in 2020.

HIGH-GROWTH 81% have SEP

MID-RANGE 71%

LAGGARD 53%

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 PART 5

SALES LEADERSHIP

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 First-line leadership
Excluding companies with revenues below $5M, we find the vast majority of groups are led by
“Managers.”

Distribution of first-line leaders Leader profiles

2%

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 Rep-to-Manager Ratio
The median number of SDRs reporting to a single first-line leader is 8. This is consistent with our
findings since 2016. As revenues increase, front-line leaders support more SDRs.

Distribution of reps per front-line leader Average # of SDRs per front-line leader by revenue

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 Leadership compensation
Manager total compensation has remained relatively flat in real terms since 2016 (posting a
compound annual growth rate of just 0.96%).

Compensation for Directors and Vice Presidents, by comparison, has grown modestly faster
(1.7% CAGR).

2016 2018 2020 2022

MANAGER $129K $127K $128K $137K

DIRECTOR $174K $172K $177K $193K

VICE PRESIDENT $220K $215K $226K $243K

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 Leadership compensation By ASP
Controlling for company revenues and other factors, front-line leaders’ on-target earnings
rise as ASP increases.

$5-25K $25-50K $50-100K $100-250K $250K+

MANAGER $138K $141K $133K $144K $151K

DIRECTOR $169K $205K $188K $210K $221K

1 1
VICE PRESIDENT $190K $295K $325K
1 Too few rows to provide meaningful data

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SDR, AE & AM Consulting + Execution

SCALABLE GROWTH, DELIVERED.

For over two decades, we’ve been focused on “more” for our clients -
more conversations, more pipeline, more growth. Over 478
companies have relied on our thinking to make their numbers.
Consulting

PRACTITIONERS FIRST, CONSULTANTS SECOND.

Behind our ideas are our people. Rooted in sales leadership, our Research Execution
team members have built groups, led teams, and carried quotas. We
don’t just research sales strategies, we live them.

HOLISTIC APPROACH, TARGETED SOLUTIONS.

No two companies are the same, especially when it comes to sales
motions. Our team identifies the key variables that make your go-to-
market unique. We’re here to help take the guesswork out of growth.

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 THANK YOU!
Questions or comments? Hit us up at COMMUNITY@BRIDGEGROUPINC.COM

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