You are ready to recruit
You can describe the target customer, show a credible offer, name the manager and fund the role beyond base salary. Candidates can see how their work will be supported.
Hiring your first SDR? Define the job before opening the vacancy.
A new salesperson needs more than a target. Give them a clear audience, a credible offer, coaching and a useful handoff into sales. If those are missing, decide who will build them.
Division50 publishes this guide and offers managed sales services. The recommendations explain buying trade-offs, not an independent ranking or a claim that one model always wins.
Reviewed · Sources and method
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Meet the team behind the managed option.
Our founder explains Division50's approach. Your brief determines the services and responsibilities we propose.
Which route fits your team?
Hire when the role, manager and budget are ready. If you need help building research, messaging or outreach operations first, scope that work with a partner rather than expecting one new hire to create an entire sales department. This guide covers hiring readiness; the team comparison covers the longer-term operating model.
You need to build the process
The list, message, qualification or CRM handoff is still unclear. Assign those tasks internally or buy a defined setup and delivery scope before scaling headcount.
You need temporary support
Use limited external capacity for a documented gap while recruiting. Keep prospect ownership and offboarding clear so the new employee inherits usable work.
Real results
Explore our client work.
These named engagements report booked meetings. They are not controlled tests against freelancers or internal teams, and they do not establish attendance, closed revenue or a forecast for your business.
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Describe responsibilities and quality standards before inventing an activity quota.
- Audience and channels
- Name target sectors, account size, buyer roles, territory and channels. For Dubai or Riyadh, test the language and working-hours requirements of your buyers rather than infer them from a CV address.
- Qualification and handoff
- Define what makes a meeting worth accepting, the information captured and who runs discovery. Make the difference between booking and closing explicit.
- Manager and tools
- Identify the coach, product expert, CRM, approved accounts and data sources. State what the hire will own and what support is available.
Evaluate judgement with a realistic work sample.
Use a fictional account and sample contact details. A hiring exercise should not become unapproved outreach to real prospects.
- Account research
- Ask the candidate to explain why an account fits, what evidence they used and which facts they would verify before contact.
- Message and conversation
- Review a short outreach draft and role-play an objection. Look for relevance, listening and accurate claims rather than a memorised high-pressure script.
- CRM handoff
- Ask for a concise meeting note and next step. Agree the exercise length and compensate substantial work; use the same criteria for every candidate.
Budget for employment and onboarding, not just an offer letter.
Employment obligations depend on the country and arrangement. Check them with the appropriate payroll and legal advisers before hiring.
- Employment setup
- For a UK employee, GOV.UK's checklist includes payroll, pension responsibilities and employers' liability insurance. Other jurisdictions have their own requirements; do not copy one country's deductions or exit costs globally.
- Onboarding milestones
- Plan product learning, approved messaging, system access, practice and supervised outreach. Check readiness before launch; a new hire is not automatically productive on a fixed calendar date.
- Feedback and progression
- Review qualification and conversation quality alongside activity. Revisit the offer and audience if response is weak rather than blaming the person from one small sample.
Your questions, answered.
Should our first sales hire be an SDR?
Only if prospecting and qualification are the gap. If nobody can run discovery or close suitable opportunities, hiring an SDR alone will not complete the sales process.
What should be in an SDR job description?
Include the audience, territory, channels, responsibilities, qualification rules, manager, tools, compensation structure and handoff. Separate required skills from tasks the company will train.
Should we ask candidates to contact real prospects?
Use a role-play and fictional account for assessment. Do not give candidates live customer access or ask them to execute an outreach campaign as an interview task.
Can Division50 help while we recruit?
A temporary or managed scope can be discussed around the gap. Agree ownership, access and the transfer plan before work begins, so an internal hire can take over without duplicated outreach.
Does outsourcing remove the need for a sales manager?
It can provide agreed delivery management, but your business still needs an owner for product context, approvals, qualification feedback and the wider sales result.
Is there a guaranteed faster route to the first meeting?
No. Recruitment, onboarding, readiness and actual buyer response all matter. Compare a realistic launch plan and the support available rather than an agency promise against an assumed worst-case hiring delay.
Sources and method.
Reviewed on 31 August 2026. Our decision framework is Division50's editorial advice. The linked official sources support specific service, platform or employment context; they do not establish a universal price, sales result or ranking.
Use current quotes for commercial decisions and qualified local advice for employment or tax requirements. Client stories describe their own engagements, not the expected results of every delivery model.
Let's work out what your team needs.
Bring your audience, current sales process and the gap you want to close. We will discuss the responsibilities Division50 can take on and what should stay with you.