Career path
AI SDR / BDR
An SDR or BDR books the first meeting. The job is researching companies, reaching out by email, phone and social media, and checking whether people who reach out first are worth an account executive's time. At an AI company the prospect has often heard the pitch from ten vendors already, so what stands out is specific research and a clear reason to talk now. Use this path to understand the job, learn outreach, read the pay plan and prepare for the interview.
Read these 7 guides in order
- AI SDR and BDR: Career Guide, Pay and Path to AE
See how an SDR is measured and where the job leads.
- Breaking Into AI Sales: Who Gets Hired and How
See the ways in, from a first SDR job to switching over from another kind of sales.
- What Is Different About Selling AI
See how pilots, side-by-side tests, usage-based pricing and risk reviews change an AI deal.
- AI SDR Outbound Playbook: Signals to Booked Meetings
Research a company, then write the emails and call openers that get a reply.
- How OTE and Sales Pay Plans Work
Read a sales offer: base pay, commission, the split between them, quota, ramp time and accelerators.
- Companies Hiring AI Sales Roles
Compare the AI companies hiring sales roles and what their postings ask for.
- AI SDR and BDR Interview Guide
Prepare for the practice cold call, the writing exercise and the questions about your numbers.
Pay in employer job postings
Checked September 26, 2026. These are yearly ranges from 6 real job postings. They aren't market averages, the jobs aren't all at the same level, and no one is promised these numbers. Open the posting for the current range and the full package.
| Employer and role | Location | Posted range | What the range covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogo SDR | New York City (on-site) | $70,000-$75,000 base; $100,000-$105,000 OTE | The posting states both: base salary for a New York City candidate, and on-target total cash including $30K commission. Equity and benefits are in addition. |
| Harvey Sales Development Representative | San Francisco (hybrid) | $110,000 OTE, 80/20 split | On-target earnings: 80 percent base salary, 20 percent variable. Equity and benefits are in addition. |
| Writer Sales development representative | San Francisco, Chicago or New York City (hybrid) | OTE $90K – $110K | On-target earnings; the posting gives no split. It lists commission and equity. |
| Cohere Business Development Representative | Toronto (hybrid) | CA$115K – CA$170K | On-target earnings for Toronto and Montreal, in Canadian dollars; the posting says actual OTE depends on individual performance. Equity is in addition. |
| Baseten Sales Development Representative - Outbound | San Francisco or New York (hybrid) | $80K – $110K | The posting's compensation field, plus equity. It does not say whether the range is base salary or OTE. |
| Perplexity Business Development Representative | San Francisco or New York City (hybrid) | $75K – $120K | The posting's compensation field, which also lists commission and equity. It does not say whether the range is base salary or OTE. |
Who is hiring: Companies Hiring AI Sales Roles. Compare the AI companies hiring SDRs and BDRs, with each listing's pay plan and the date it was checked.
What the job posts name
From 52 postings at 27 employers, read September 2026. The percentage is the share of those employers that name each one.
The full SDR / BDR ranking, signature tools and new ones on the radar →
Interview practice
Practice questions written for this site, not leaked questions or any employer’s real interview. Open one to see what a strong answer covers.
You have ten minutes to research a company before a cold call. What do you look for?
Pick the few facts that give a reason to talk now, such as who they're hiring, a launch or a goal they've announced. Know where each fact came from, and turn one into your opening line.
Write the first two sentences of an email to a head of support at a retailer.
Lead with the prospect's situation, not the product. Make one specific claim they can check, and ask for a small next step.
A prospect says they already use a competitor's AI product. What do you say next?
Ask what it handles and where it falls short, listen for a gap worth a meeting, and end the call politely when there isn't one.
Your reply rate fell by half this month. How do you find out why?
First check whether your emails are reaching inboxes at all. Then compare results by type of prospect and by step in the sequence, change one thing at a time, and say how many emails you need to send before drawing a conclusion.
An AE says the meetings you book aren't qualified. How do you respond?
Agree with the AE, in writing, on what counts as a qualified meeting. Review recent handoffs against it together, and change who you target or what you ask instead of defending your numbers.
Why this company, and what would you want to be doing in two years?
Show you've read about the product and who buys it, and describe a path, such as moving into a closing role or toward sales engineering, that builds on what the SDR job teaches.
