Career path
AI SDR / BDR
An SDR or BDR books the first meeting. The job is research, outbound across email, phone and social, and qualifying inbound interest before handing it to an account executive. At an AI company the prospect has often heard the pitch from ten vendors already, so the work that stands out is specific research and a clear reason to talk now. Use this path to understand the seat, learn the outbound work, read the pay plan and prepare for the interview.
A 7-guide reading path
- AI SDR and BDR: Career Guide, Pay and Path to AE
Understand what the SDR seat measures and where it leads.
- Breaking Into AI Sales: Who Gets Hired and How
Map the routes in, from SDR seats to career changes out of other sales jobs.
- What Is Different About Selling AI
See how pilots, evaluations, usage pricing and risk review change an AI deal.
- AI SDR Outbound Playbook: Signals to Booked Meetings
Build account research, sequences and call openers that earn a reply.
- How OTE and Sales Pay Plans Work
Read an offer: base, variable, split, quota, ramp 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 the cold-call role play, written outreach and metrics questions.
Compensation in current employer postings
Checked September 26, 2026. Annual ranges from 6 specific employer postings. These are not market averages, comparable levels or guaranteed offers. Read the linked posting for the current range and 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.
Interview practice bank
Original practice prompts, not leaked questions or a claim about any employer’s interview loop.
You have ten minutes to research an account before a cold call. What do you look for?
Pick the few facts that create a reason to talk now, such as a hiring pattern, a launch or a stated priority, name where each comes from, and turn one into an opening line.
Write the first two sentences of an email to a head of support at a retailer.
Lead with the prospect's situation rather than the product, make one specific claim that can be checked, 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 cleanly when there is none.
Your reply rate fell by half this month. How do you find out why?
Check deliverability before messaging, compare by segment and sequence step, change one variable at a time, and say how many sends a conclusion needs.
An AE says the meetings you book are not qualified. How do you respond?
Agree a written definition of a qualified meeting with the AE, review recent handoffs against it together, and adjust targeting or questions rather than defending the count.
Why this company, and what would you want to be doing in two years?
Show that you have read the product and its buyers, and describe a path, such as closing roles or a move toward sales engineering, that uses what the seat teaches.