Building an SDR Team Takes 730 Days, Not 90

Hello Predictable Revenue community,

I was on the Collin Cadmus podcast this week geeking out about sales development, and it was honestly one of the most fun conversations I've had in a while. If you're thinking about building or scaling an SDR team, you might want to check out some highlights below - I've included a link to the full episode at the bottom.

Too many founders think they can spin up an SDR team and see meaningful ROI within 6 months. The reality? It takes at least 2 years to see consistent returns. And no, hiring more SDRs won't speed things up - just like how nine pregnant women can't produce a baby in one month.

TL;DR:

• Building an SDR team takes at least 24 months: 6 months to hire, 6 months to test campaigns, and 12 months to see consistent performance

• Start with just two SDRs and a dedicated manager - more SDRs often lead to worse results in the beginning

• The most valuable asset from outbound isn't immediate meetings but the nurture pipeline you build - most companies give up right before this goldmine begins paying out

Why SDR Teams Need a 2-Year Runway

The most frustrating conversation I have repeatedly with founders goes something like this:

"We need pipeline for next quarter, so we're launching an SDR team now."

Those conversations are never fun because you’re about to crush someone’s hope for the next quarter (and maybe a raise). After being a part of thousands of new SDR program builds, one thing is clear: building an effective SDR function requires at least a 2-year commitment. This isn’t an opinion—it's supported by data across companies of all sizes.

Here's the actual timeline for building an SDR team:

Months 1-3: Hiring your sales development leader. This often takes longer than expected because finding someone who can both execute and build systems is challenging.

Months 4-6: Hiring your first two SDRs. Why two? Because if you only hire one and they leave, you lose all momentum. With two, you have redundancy while keeping your team lean enough to test effectively.

Months 7-12: Testing campaigns, messaging, and approaches. The first campaigns rarely work out of the gate. Effective outbound requires iteration and optimization.

Year 2: This is when you are finally seeing consistent results with both your cold AND nurture sequences running simultaneously. Your nurture pipeline coming online nearly doubles the output of the team.

But many companies don’t want to make long-term investments, they want a quick fix, and they’re disappointed when they don’t get it. As I explained to Collin (this feels weird to write): "It’s like building a formula 1 car, and then the client drives it around the track for the first time and say 'Wow, what a great car!' But then throws it in the garbage because it took 17 months instead of 6 months to build."

This fundamental mismatch between reality and client ROI expectations is precisely why we shut down our outsourced SDR service at Predictable Revenue in Q1 of this year. Companies would sign up expecting meaningful results in 3-6 months, and we'd consistently see them churn right as the systems were starting to show repeatable success. It felt bad selling a service where we knew most clients wouldn't stick around long enough to see the real benefits – so we stopped.

The Hidden Value Most Companies Miss Entirely

What's particularly frustrating is seeing companies abandon their outbound efforts right as they're about to pay off.

The most valuable asset of any SDR program isn't the immediate meetings booked - it's the nurture pipeline you build along the way. All those "check back in 6 months" conversations, all those relationship foundations and callback dates - they compound over time into a predictable revenue engine.

This is what I've seen repeatedly: companies churn after 6-9 months, right as things start working. Then, predictably, they come back two years later saying:

"You'll never believe how many deals we closed from outbound!"

My response? "Actually, I will. I walked you through this math two years ago." Consider the timeline from above, here’s how your team’s effectiveness will level up through those cohorts:

• Months 1-3: 0% effective

• Months 4-6: 20% effective

• Months 7-12: 50% effective

• Months 13-24: 100% effective

The mistake people make here is not realizing that their current effectiveness is on a curve and that curve will continue to improve. If you judge a program by the first 6 months, you’re looking at the wrong data.

Why Starting Small Produces Better Results

Another counterintuitive insight: starting with more SDRs often makes things worse, not better.

When you launch with 10 SDRs (as many venture-backed companies have tried), what typically happens is:

- Two natural "builders" thrive in the ambiguity

- Eight others struggle without a clear playbook

- Resources get wasted as you try to figure out what works

The first few months of any SDR program are about learning - what messaging works, which prospects respond, how to structure follow-up. This learning phase is crucial, and it happens more efficiently with a small, focused team. Having 8 SDRs that are struggling to figure things out and don’t thrive in ambiguity is a great way to crush the culture.

Start with just two SDRs and a dedicated manager. Use this core team to develop your playbook and processes. Once you've found something that works consistently, then you can consider scaling.

The Real SDR Math

When founders ask me how quickly they can see value from an SDR team, I walk them through this timeline:

- Time to ramp an SDR to fully productive: 3 months

- Time from sequencing a prospect to booking a meeting: 1 month 

- Time from first meeting to close: 2 months (typically double your average sales cycle)

That’s a 6-month lag time between start and your first opportunity to close a deal (assuming a 30-60 day outbound sales cycle). And that math assumes you get everything right the first time.

- Time for the impact of nurture sequences to kick in: 6-12 months

That's a 12-month timeline just to get started and another 6-12 months before you’re seeing anything predictable. Can it happen faster? Sometimes, with luck or if you have extreme product market fit. But planning on a shorter timeline is setting yourself up for disappointment.

What To Do Instead

If you're determined to build an SDR function, here's the right approach:

1. Reset your timeline expectations - Commit to at least 2 years

2. Start small but sufficient - Two SDRs plus a dedicated manager

3. Invest equally in cold and nurture - Build systems to track and follow up with prospects who aren't ready now

Most importantly, understand that the early months are about investment and learning, not immediate ROI. If you're not willing to commit to the full timeline, you might be better off exploring other growth channels first.

The companies that succeed with outbound are the ones that recognize it's a long-term strategic advantage, not a quick revenue fix.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you tried building an SDR team? Did you give it enough runway? Hit reply and let me know.

Collin

P.S. You can listen to the full conversation with Collin Cadmus here.