When this topic matters
When building or expanding a sales team, you need to know what role you are actually looking for. SDR, telesales, and appointment setter are different roles with different outputs.
Many companies make the mistake of hiring an "SDR" but expecting telesales work, or vice versa. The result is frustration on both sides.
What happens in practice
SDR (Sales Development Representative) primarily focuses on qualification and generating meetings for Account Executives. They do not negotiate prices or sell. They pass qualified opportunities.
Telesales typically works on the entire cycle — from first contact to closing. Usually for smaller deals or standardized products.
Appointment setting is even narrower: the goal is to schedule a meeting, often without deeper qualification. Suitable for specific campaigns or events.
Why it often breaks
When you measure SDR on meeting quantity without regard to quality, you get unqualified meetings. AEs waste them, SDR is demotivated.
When you hire an appointment setter for SDR work, qualification competence is missing. And vice versa — SDR as appointment setter is overdimensioned and will soon leave.
How to think about it
First decide what you need: just meetings (appointment setting), qualified opportunities (SDR), or the entire sales cycle (telesales).
Then set KPIs matching the role. Measure SDR on qualified meetings and pipeline value. Telesales on closed revenue. Appointment setting on meeting count with defined minimum.
What you gain and what you lose
SDR model separates qualification from closing. You gain specialization and scalability. You lose relationship continuity (handoff).
Telesales model keeps the entire cycle with one person. You gain relationship. You lose scalability and specialization.
Appointment setting is cheapest but also least qualified. Suitable for high volume, not complex B2B.
When to use what
SDR model makes sense for complex B2B deals with longer cycles where AEs need to focus on closing.
Telesales works for standardized products with shorter cycles and lower deal values.
Appointment setting is suitable for events, webinars, or as a supplement to other activities.
SDR qualifies and hands off. Telesales sells. Appointment setter books meetings. Each role has different KPIs and requires different competencies. Do not mix them.