Are inbound SDRs going extinct?

Aug 10, 2023

Inbound SDRs are useless and on their way out.

If you’ve been on LinkedIn lately, I’m betting you’ve probably run into this argument.

And it’s pretty compelling.

Especially if you’re only looking at the SDR role as someone that just spends all day replying to emails and sending prospects off to the right AE.

And like a meteor that came for the dinosaurs, AI and automation tools are coming at them fast.

All of a sudden, those reps look like they are becoming more and more replaceable by the day.

But before you replace most of your inbound team with an algorithm, read the rest of this revenue letter.

Because your inbound reps might be more valuable than you realize.

The messy middle

When the haters think about SDRs, they tend to think of their customers coming inbounding in two ways.

First, they’re the perfect ICP, so they can go directly to the AE.

Or two, they’re a shit ICP so they can be thrown away.

In a perfect world, it’s that simple.

But the thing is, a lot of inbounds are more of that messy middle.

I’m talking about the ICP that's…. not quite perfect, but there is a use case for the product (even if it comes with an extended sales cycle).

So what’s the right approach with them?

Should they go to AEs? Or is that a waste of their time?

Even some of the best ICPs will no show.

That’s just a given fact in tech.

So what happens then? Do you really expect your AE to chase that person down?

As cool as I think the Tesla sales call AI is, do you really see the robots chasing those prospects anytime soon?

AEs will naturally move to the next one in the funnel, leaving money on the ground.

Inbound SDRs, in the meantime, are judged by meetings book.

And if you want to take it an extra step, introduce friction to the AE/SDR handover, guaranteeing efficiency.

What if you have really complex rules of engagement?

Let’s say you have a rep that owns Coca-Cola in one region, but an inbound happens somewhere else.

Should that inbound still go to the rep?

What if they booked a 6 am slot, versus the rep being only available at 12 pm?

And as cool as a lot of these automation tools are, I have yet to find something that figures this out.

The reality is you’ll need to have a human touch sorting and figuring out who that lead actually belongs to.

And finally, they’re the only ones that should do that job

No, do not give them to outbound SDRs.

Because they should not be waiting and hoping for inbounds to land.

They need to get out there and chase outbound deals.

Feeding them inbounds doesn’t do them any favors, and it’ll probably hurt your bottom line.

While you’re here, I would love your thoughts on what we’re building at Growblocks.

Check us out and feel free to request a demo on Growblocks.com