SDR and AE operating model

An effective operating model gives each account the attention it needs at its current stage. A person creates access, another advances a live opportunity, and both keep enough context that the prospect does not have to repeat themselves. Coverage should follow account temperature and contact level. For cold accounts with limited public information and generic outreach, let the SDR lead the cycles until a response arrives.¹ During that cycle, the seller can focus on pipeline or hotter leads.² For a live opportunity, the prospector can call the representative who oversees the account and work on it with them.³

Set the operating split

Choose what each side owns in your sales motion. The split depends on deal size, sales cycle, and how much context the account needs.

AE prospecting has a different structure from SDR prospecting.⁴ In transactional and small to mid market sales motions, AE and SDR prospecting may be similar.⁵ Keep prospecting in the model even with SDR coverage.⁶ AEs have less time than SDRs to prospect, but prospecting remains a critical activity for them. Teams use different endpoints: some SDR teams set introductory meetings for AEs, while others provide qualified opportunities.⁷

Write down the endpoint. Then define the work that must happen before an account reaches it, who owns that work, and what the receiving person should already know.

Build the account plan

Give the account a short point of view before asking for outreach. That gives the first message a reason to exist and tells the person doing the outreach what to test and what response would change the next move.

Pass five accounts per week with a point of view on each account.⁸ Keep the plan in a shared channel where the AE, SDR, and leaders coordinate the outreach.⁹ Use the channel to settle the target contact, message, and next action before outreach begins. Start when the outreach has a clear owner and the other person knows what they are adding.

If the account produces a response, carry the original point of view into the next conversation so the prospect hears a connected story.

Divide contact work

Give lower level contacts to the SDR while the AE works above the line.¹⁰ Salespeople can use their SDR or BDR team to reach lower level contacts.¹¹ That gives each person a distinct reason to contact the account and creates more paths into the buying group.

An AE can loop an SDR into communication with a prospect.¹² Use that loop when the SDR has the account history or when the conversation needs continuity across several contacts. Each contact should know who owns the next action.

Coordinate the live outreach

Make the prospecting session visible to the other person. The pair should know when one person is reaching out, when the other will join, and what each person is trying to learn.

An AE can act as a third voice in the BDR's outreach.¹³ In another approach, the AE tells the BDR that the AE will call unreached prospects during the session.¹⁴ Share prospecting time with the SDR so the outreach can piggyback on the same account work.¹⁵ A BDR can join the beginning of an AE's call and set the agenda.¹⁶

The prospect should have a clear reason to continue with the person best placed to advance the conversation. Keep the other person close enough to preserve context without making the prospect manage the internal handoff.

Define the handoff and keep momentum

Treat the handoff as a change in work, with the context carried forward. Booking a meeting can change who leads the conversation, while the account history, point of view, and next action stay visible.

Use sales qualified opportunities as a shared goal for both organizations.¹⁷ Review active opportunities one by one, whether the person working them is an SDR or an AE.¹⁸ Keep the same review after a meeting is booked if the account needs continued coordination. A model keeps the SDR on every call with the AE until the prospect becomes a customer.¹⁹

Before handoff, sales leaders and AEs should agree on what counts as a qualified opportunity.²⁰ Write that definition where both sides can use it during the review. The receiving person should be able to explain why the account qualifies, what the prospect wants, and what should happen next.

Choose a coverage model

Choose the coverage pattern by asking how much account context the pairing requires. A simpler account and motion may need less coordination. Complex accounts need a clear relationship between the person creating access and the person advancing the opportunity.

Opportunities have been distributed round robin to the entire team at 24%, paired directly with one AE at 34%, placed in a pod of two to three AEs at 24%, or handled through other methods at 18%.²¹ SDR tactics can include finding accounts that fit particular AEs.²² Smaller companies tend to use a higher SDR to AE ratio, with one SDR supporting fewer AEs.²³

An initial AE may need to perform SDR work when separate support is unavailable.²⁴ Add SDR support when representatives need someone else to prospect so they can keep their deal load high.²⁵ Choose the pattern that preserves enough account context for the work you expect each person to do.

What not to do

Use these checks before setting the model and revisit them when ownership starts to blur.

• An AE dominated SDR relationship is ineffective.²⁶
• Other tasks can crowd out AE prospecting, even when the AE wants to prospect.²⁷
• AEs should allocate time to the SDR relationship.²⁸
• Do not end the SDR's work automatically after scheduling a meeting when the model needs continued context. Some processes hand the prospect to an AE at that point.²⁹

Before the next planning session, write down the account endpoint, the contact level each side owns, the trigger for joint work, and the definition of a qualified opportunity. Then review each active opportunity one by one.¹⁸ Confirm who owns the next action and record what will trigger a change in ownership.