Should the SDR ord report into marketing or into sales?

I've worked at companies where SDR org reported into marketing and others where they reported into sales.


What do you think is best? Pros and Cons?

🧢 Sales Management
🏢 Org Chart
7
salesnerd
WR Officer
3
Head of Growth
My answer to this question has remained the same for ~5 years now. 

SDR reports to whichever executive cares the most about it. 

Your VP of Sales is passionate about making SDRs successful and moving them up through their org? It goes to sales. 

Your CMO wants to make every SDR into a product knowledge badass who can run an amazing demo? All you, CMO.  
ri_ri
WR Officer
1
Account Executive
Yeah, I agree with this. I've worked at a company where it was under marketing, and that caused a lot of friction with sales leadership and they were unwilling to promote SDRs to sales, and kept hiring from outside the org
salesnerd
WR Officer
1
Head of Growth
Very annoying. Unless the sales role requires like 20 years of sales experience, SDR should be a stepping stone. 
ChefK
Good Citizen
2
SDR
Sales because SDRs have a quota and it is a real sales role. I am an SDR and I do everything from prospecting, cold calling, emailing, video outreach and discovery to find a use case for our software before I hand off to my AE. 
ri_ri
WR Officer
0
Account Executive
Yeah that's a good sales org. I've worked at companies where SDR just books a meeting without qualifying the prospect at all
PeterSwan
Opinionated
1
Sales Specialist
Sales. It's a sales role. We build the pipeline, we bring in new leads, we qualify them until they convert to opportunities. 
swerve
WR Lieutenant
0
Account Executive
Marketing. Modern CMOs are comp’d on pipeline generation and own the messaging. SDRs are better suited to roll into that org, provided there are quality checks (e.g. meeting progresses to next stage) that eliminates the spaghetti being thrown at the wall issue.

We currently have SDRs reporting to sales, and there’s constant tension/competition because marketing’s on the hook for enabling the prospecting best practices, but doesn’t get credit for the meetings SDRs set. It’s a bad vibe.

Naysayers will say having SDRs accountable to sales improves alignment with sellers, but I haven’t seen that be the case.
ri_ri
WR Officer
0
Account Executive
I did, however, work at an org where it fell under marketing and that meant sales leadership dismissed SDRs when it came to promotions and kept hiring outside of the org. Now that's on sales leadership at that org, but wondering if anyone else has seen that.
swerve
WR Lieutenant
1
Account Executive
That’s a bad culture problem and wouldn’t necessarily get fixed with a different org structure. I’m at a place where SDRs get passed over for promos and they report to sales.
ri_ri
WR Officer
0
Account Executive
why do you think that is? damn these sales orgs going outside of the org to hire for AE's
SaaSsyB
Opinionated
0
SDR Manager
I’m genuinely curious about this. What is the tension over “credit” this is all trackable through campaigns/MQL’s and LIM within the CRM -  

As an SDR who has reported to both Sales and Marketing during restructures I can say that SDR’s alignment within the revenue org is far more valuable.  
swerve
WR Lieutenant
0
Account Executive
That’s interesting. Why was it more valuable?
SaaSsyB
Opinionated
1
SDR Manager
I work on a pretty large and senior SDR team - when we changed to work under marketing our meetings were geared to marketing initiatives.  Where as SDR’s need to be fully focused on creating pipeline and generating revenue through their partnership with their AE with or without the help of marketing.  

It was a team consensus that we should fall under revenue, and it swayed from our priorities being affiliated with marketing.  

Also, I work in the strategic segment.  I only have a few hundred accounts and I work on a fully outbound model. My AE and are true partners and collaborate on everything so it makes sense we fall under the same umbrella.   

While I understand this may work in other orgs, it is not a model I have seen done well or make sense to the people actually performing the role.   
swerve
WR Lieutenant
0
Account Executive
This is a great discussion, thanks for sharing. Seems like it comes down to culture in many ways, since you clearly have a good connection with your AE counterpart.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
🦊
Sales
6

Should sales or marketing be over SDR teams?

Question
11
3

BDR/SDR - Marketing or Sales?

Question
13
11

SDR/BDR under Sales or Marketing

Question
11