Sales Development Representative Salary
What’s the average Sales Development Representative salary?
If you want to break into tech sales, Sales Development Representative (SDR) is the most common entry-level tech sales job.
And now is a better time than ever to start your tech sales career as an SDR.
According to the 2022 Compensation Guide by Betts Recruiting:
“SDR compensation reached a new level in 2021, and base compensation for recent grads now starts at $50k. Thus, entry into tech sales is up by $10k from previous years, and this is a historic achievement for tech sales compensation.”
First, let’s look at the average SDR salary data city-by-city.
Then, we’ll look at which specific tech companies are paying the highest salaries for SDRs.
Sales Development Representative Salary – By City
If you’re graduating college or changing careers and you want to break into tech sales, it might be helpful to know which cities have the highest salaries for Sales Development Representatives.
This data comes from the 2022 Compensation Guide (PDF) created by Betts Recruiting, a recruiting firm that specializes in tech sales. Betts sourced the data from the thousands of tech sales roles they filled over the previous year.
SDR Salary By City For Recent Grads
|
SDR Recent Grad
|
Base Salary
|
OTE*
|
|
San Francisco
|
50-65
|
75-90
|
|
Los Angeles
|
50-65
|
75-90
|
|
New York
|
50-65
|
75-90
|
|
Austin
|
50-65
|
65-80
|
|
Chicago
|
50-65
|
65-80
|
|
Remote
|
50-70
|
70-90
|
*OTE stands for “on-target earnings.”
At the beginning of your tech sales career, a little experience goes a long way in terms of how much companies are willing to pay you.
If you have just six months of experience, companies are willing to pay you about 10% more on average, compared to if you have zero experience.
This makes sense because companies have to invest time and resources into training if you have zero experience.
SDR Salary By City For 6+ Months Experience
|
SDR 6+ Months
|
Base Salary
| OTE* |
|
San Francisco
|
60-75
|
80-100
|
|
Los Angeles
|
60-75
|
80-100
|
|
New York
|
60-75
|
80-100
|
|
Austin
|
55-70
|
70-90
|
|
Chicago
|
55-70
|
70-90
|
|
Remote
|
60-80
|
80-100
|
*OTE stands for “on-target earnings.”
Here’s the full 2022 Compensation Guide (PDF) by Betts Recruiting, which includes compensation data for other tech sales roles (e.g., Account Executive, Sales Manager, VP of Sales, CRO).
Sales Development Representative Salary – By Company
Next, let’s look at data for which tech companies pay their SDRs the most.
This data comes from CompGauge in April 2022. CompGauge sourced the data from entries on their website submitted by tech salespeople.
|
Rank
|
Company
|
Base Salary
|
Total Comp**
| |
|
1
|
Amazon Web Services
|
$73k
|
$92k
|
$138k
|
|
2
|
Google Cloud
|
$70k
|
$100k
|
$121k
|
|
3
|
LiveRamp
|
$55k
|
$110k
|
$118k
|
|
4
|
Lacework
|
$68k
|
$90k
|
$108k
|
|
5
|
Zoom
|
$46k
|
$83k
|
$105k
|
|
6
|
Sprinklr
|
$58k
|
$99k
|
$104k
|
|
7
|
Google
|
$55k
|
$81k
|
$104k
|
|
8
|
League
|
$56k
|
$93k
|
$102k
|
|
9
|
Aviatrix
|
$74k
|
$97k
|
$102k
|
|
10
|
Quantum Metric
|
$57k
|
$101k
|
$102k
|
*OTE stands for “on-target earnings.”
**Total Comp = OTE + Signing Bonus per year + Stock Bonus per year
CompGauge has compensation data for 200+ tech companies that hire SDRs.
Conclusion
The average Sales Development Representative salary ranges from $50,000 to $80,000, depending on city, company, and experience level.
But, you have to remember: salary is just a part of an SDR’s total compensation package. If you factor in commission, signing bonus, and stock bonus, you can make over $100,000 as an SDR.
Not sure what it means to be an SDR in sales? Watch this video …
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