How to Onboard New SDRs in 30 Days

Week 1: Foundation (Days 1-7)

The first week is about learning, not selling. New SDRs need to understand the product, the market, and the tools before they pick up the phone.

1. Day 1-2: Company and product orientation. Walk through the product demo environment. Have the new hire use the product as a customer would. Assign a product quiz to complete by end of Day 2.
2. Day 2-3: ICP and persona training. Review the ideal customer profile in detail. Cover target industries, company sizes, and the specific job titles they will be calling. Have them study 5 recent closed-won deals and identify common patterns.
3. Day 3-4: Tool setup and training. Set up access to CRM, sequencing tool, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, enrichment tools, and any other systems. Run a hands-on training session for each tool covering the specific workflows they will use daily.
4. Day 4-5: Messaging and objection handling. Review the current email templates, call scripts, and objection handling guide. Have the new hire practice 10 cold call role-plays with their manager or a peer mentor.
5. Day 5-7: Shadowing. Have the new SDR shadow a top-performing rep for 2 full days. They should listen to live calls, watch how the rep researches accounts, and observe how they manage their daily workflow.

Day 1-7 Milestones	Success Criteria
Product knowledge	Pass product quiz with 80%+ score
ICP understanding	Can articulate ICP, target personas, and top 3 pain points without notes
Tool proficiency	Can create a lead, build a sequence, and log an activity in the CRM independently
Call readiness	Completed 10 role-play calls with manager feedback

Week 2: Guided Practice (Days 8-14)

In week two, the new SDR starts real outbound activity with close supervision and rapid feedback loops.

1. Day 8-9: Assign a list of 25 accounts for the SDR to research and build prospecting lists for. Review their account research and contact selection for quality.
2. Day 10-11: Launch their first outbound sequence (email only) to 20-30 contacts. Review every email before it goes out for the first 2 days.
3. Day 12-14: Begin phone outreach. Set a target of 20 calls per day (lower than the full target of 40-60). Manager should listen to 5+ calls per day and provide immediate feedback.
4. Schedule a daily 15-minute check-in at the end of each day. Review activities, discuss wins and challenges, and set priorities for the next day.

Week 3: Increasing Volume (Days 15-21)

Ramp up activity volume toward full targets while maintaining quality.

1. Increase call targets to 30-40 per day. Increase email targets to 20-30 per day.
2. Have the SDR run their own daily workflow without the manager scheduling their day. Check in at midday and end of day to review progress.
3. Hold a mid-ramp review meeting with the SDR and their manager. Assess progress against milestones, identify skill gaps, and adjust the remaining onboarding plan accordingly.
4. Introduce LinkedIn outreach. The SDR should send 10-15 connection requests per day and begin incorporating LinkedIn into their multi-channel sequences.
5. Start tracking metrics against team averages (not full quota) so the SDR can see how they compare.

Day 15-21 Targets	Activity Level	Notes
Calls per day	30-40	Manager reviews 3-5 calls per day
Emails per day	20-30	Self-directed, spot-checked weekly
LinkedIn touches per day	10-15	Connection requests + engagement
Meetings booked	1-2 for the week	First meetings are a milestone

Week 4: Full Ramp (Days 22-30)

By week four, the SDR should be operating at near-full capacity with minimal hand-holding.

1. Increase all activity targets to full team levels: 40-60 calls, 30-40 emails, 15-20 LinkedIn touches per day.
2. Assign full quota for the first time (some teams assign a reduced quota of 50-75% for the first full month, then 100% in month two).
3. Transition from daily check-ins to weekly 1:1 meetings. The SDR should be managing their own schedule and pipeline independently.
4. Conduct a 30-day ramp review covering:
   • Activity metrics vs. targets
   • Quality of conversations (review 5 call recordings)
   • Pipeline generated (meetings booked, opportunities created)
   • Product and ICP knowledge (informal assessment)
   • Areas for continued development
5. Pair the SDR with a peer mentor for ongoing support after formal onboarding ends. The mentor should be a top performer who can provide coaching and answer day-to-day questions.