Growing Up and Out of the SDR Role

5 Questions with Chelsea Leahy

Director of Training, demandDrive

Nobody wants to be an SDR forever.

The good news? Nobody expects you to be an SDR forever.

The SDR position is a great way to build out some key foundational skills – be it around sales, marketing, operations, management, or customer success.

But honing those skills and using them to move up and out of the role isn’t always clear at every organization.

Sure, there are paths built out for AE and SDR Management roles, but what if that’s not your calling? How can you take what you’ve learned as an SDR and leverage it into a different position?

We figured there was no better person to ask than our Director of Training, Chelsea Leahy.

Not only did Chelsea make a “non-traditional” transition herself, but she’s seen countless SDRs take what she’s taught them and turn it into a career outside of sales.

Structure & Questions:

1. Let’s get a little background on you and your story. Why did you become an SDR? And how did you make the move into training?
2. We look at SDRs and think, “how can I help them grow up and out of the SDR role?” Your job is all about the “growing up” side of things, but who should be responsible for the “out” portion?
3. What department do you see SDRs moving into most often? And what skills are they building to help get them there?
4. How long should someone stay in the SDR position before exploring other opportunities?
5. What are some common challenges SDRs face when they move out of sales and into a different department?