"The corporate SDR is accountable for booking sales demos across all verticals for the closing representative. They will be responsible for proactive calling and lead activity management owning the prospecting stage from . . ." Zzzzzzzzz.

Sorry. Nodded off there.

After a scan of more sales development job descriptions than I can count, I can tell you that’s how the vast majority sound. In a word: dreary. They are about as captivating and inspiring as the operating manual for my toaster. Most of us were taught that a job description should, well, describe the job. But that’s totally backwards.

A job description should sell the job. If you can’t capture attention and interest, who the hell cares about the fine print.

Your job descriptions are content assets that should be attracting top talent. If done well, you’ll be selling the sizzle, while every other hiring manager will be documenting the chemical makeup of the steak.

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Sales development as a function, role, and profession has seen serious change lately. In recent years, we’ve had a significant rise in stature, a host of new SDR-focused technologies, and even a conference all its own.

One constant is a thirst for the metrics behind the sales development function.  To make sense of the changes and trends, we researched and collected insights from 355 B2B companies. Our 2016 Sales Development Metrics and Compensation report is available today, and we have a ton to share with you.

What’s inside the report

This is our sixth round of sales development research since 2007 covering:

• Reporting structure
• Models, territories, and SDR to AE ratios
• Experience, ramp, and tenure
• Compensation, quota, and career path

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Last month, I spent an afternoon at SalesLoft in Atlanta. SalesLoft has done an outstanding job hiring a gender diverse team and, having met a few “#LadyLofters” at various events, I asked CEO Kyle Porter if I could spend some time with the women in his organization.

First, the numbers:

• 81 employees
• 23 women (28%)
• 13 managers/department heads
• 5 women managers/department heads (38%)
• 30% of all employees report to women managers

I know that many companies struggle to hire women in sales/tech and I wanted to know SalesLoft’s secret.

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My first job in B2B technology was as a . . . get ready for it . . . telemarketing rep.

My job was to book appointments for my field reps. I had a phone, a list of names, and the #1 best-selling CRM of the late 80s and early 90s: a spiral-bound notebook.

I have to tell you I did a hell of a job with just those few resources. Fast forward to today. Telemarketing has evolved into Sales Development. No longer the red-headed stepchild, it’s now the launch pad for outstanding companies and amazing careers.

As Sales Development has grown in stature, so has it grown in complexity. If you want high growth, explosive growth, the kind of growth that weather satellites can see from space then you need to build this role into your strategy (and not bolt it on as an afterthought).

Enter the playbook

I'm extremely excited to announce the official release of The Sales Development Playbook. The book is available now on Amazon and the initial reviews are unbelievably gratifying.

I was compelled to write this book because of a major problem I’m seeing. There’s a fundamental misunderstanding of how to “do” sales development. Again and again, I see

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