Leading an SDR team is a nonstop balancing act. One minute, you’re coaching a new rep through a tough buyer objection. The next, you’re syncing with account executives (AEs), tracking pipeline coverage, and reporting up to leadership. There’s always another meeting, another metric to analyse, another fire to put out. It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos. (Yes, I said “analyse.” I’m based in the U.K., so consider my spellings a little British flair to keep things authentic.)

This past month, I took a step back and asked myself: What’s actually moving the needle? What habits, systems, and routines are making my team better? What’s just noise? After some reflection (and a few hard lessons), I landed on five key tips for SDR leaders—practical strategies that help me stay organised, coach more effectively, and build a stronger team in a fast-paced environment.

These aren’t just theories. They’re practical, battle-tested strategies that I’ve seen work firsthand.

5 Tips for SDR Leaders to Stay Organised, Coach Effectively, and Drive Results

Every SDR leader has their own style, but some strategies make a difference no matter how you run your team. I’ve pinpointed five key habits that help me stay on top of my responsibilities, support my team, and drive better results. Some of these lessons came from experience, others from mistakes—but all of them have made me a better leader.

1. Keep a Record of Everything You Do

Leading an SDR team means juggling multiple tasks at once. You might start the day coaching a rep, then get pulled into a forecast review, answer a question from an SDR, and troubleshoot an underperforming sequence—all before lunch. With so many moving parts, it’s easy to lose track of what’s been done and what still needs attention.

How I Stay Organised

I’ve learned that if I don’t write things down, they disappear. So, I’ve built a system to keep everything organised. It’s not complicated, but it works:

• A personal to-do list – Tracks my daily and weekly priorities so I know exactly what needs to get done.
• Individual documents for each SDR, AE, and leader I work with – Keeps track of ongoing conversations, coaching notes, and action items.
• An SDR forecasting and performance tracker – Shows team progress, effort levels, and trends over time.

These documents help me stay focused, but they also serve another purpose: accountability. If leadership asks, “What have you done to move the needle?” I don’t have to scramble for an answer. I can pull up my notes and show exactly what’s happening.

It’s a simple habit, but it makes a huge difference. When you document everything, you make better decisions, stay ahead of problems, and prove the impact of your work.

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2. Track and Plan Your SDR Training Sessions

SDR coaching is a constant. Every week, I’m running trainings, hosting call reviews, and giving feedback in 1:1s. But at one point, I realized something: I had no easy way to track what we’d covered, what worked, and what still needed improvement. This is a common challenge, which is why one of the best tips for SDR leaders is to document every training session and measure its impact.

How I Track Sales Training Sessions

Now, I document every sales coaching session so I can measure its impact. Here’s what I track:

• Session details – What we covered, who attended, and key takeaways.
• Ongoing skill gaps – Areas where SDRs need more coaching or reinforcement.
• Feedback from the team – What’s working and what needs to change.

This simple shift has made my training more intentional. Instead of just running sessions, I can look back, see trends, and adjust based on what’s actually helping the team improve. It also means that the next time someone asks what I’ve done to upskill the team, I can pull up the data—no guesswork required.

3. Listen to More Sales Calls (and Give Better Feedback)

If there’s one thing that’s had the biggest impact on my team’s results, it’s this: listening to more sales calls. I probably review five times as many calls as most SDR leaders, and I can tell you—it makes a difference.

Too many leaders rely on gut instinct when coaching their teams, but one of the most effective tips for SDR leaders is to base coaching on real conversations. The best insights come straight from the source: the conversations SDRs are having every day. The more calls I listen to, the better I understand where my team needs help and what’s actually working in the field.

Allego’s conversation intelligence tool helps me with this. The software uses AI and machine learning to analyse sales conversations. It extracts valuable insights, such as topics discussed, questions asked, speech pace, competitors mentioned, and more, providing a deeper understanding of my SDR team’s interactions with customers.  

How I Make Call Reviews More Effective

To get the most value out of call reviews, I’ve built a simple process that makes feedback more actionable:

• Set expectations early – My team knows that call reviews aren’t about catching mistakes. They’re about learning, improving, and building confidence.
• Have SDRs self-review first – Before I give feedback, I ask reps to listen to their own calls and highlight what they think went well and what could be better.
• Focus on patterns, not one-off mistakes – Instead of nitpicking, I look for trends. Are certain buyer objections throwing the team off? Are we struggling with discovery questions? These insights help me tailor coaching sessions to what the team actually needs.

Call reviews aren’t just about fixing bad habits. They’re about reinforcing good ones, too. My team knows that if I highlight something great in a call, it’s not just luck—it’s a skill they can repeat. And when SDRs see real improvement, they stay motivated to keep getting better.

4. Set Clear Goals and Track Progress

If SDRs don’t know what success looks like, they’re just making calls and sending emails without a purpose. Clear goals keep the team focused, aligned, and motivated. But setting goals isn’t enough—you also have to track progress and adjust when things aren’t working.

At the start of the year, I rolled out new KPIs for the team. But I quickly realized that without regular check-ins, those KPIs were just numbers on a slide. To make goals meaningful, I needed a system to track progress and hold the team accountable.

How I Keep SDRs Focused on the Right Goals

Here’s what’s helped my team stay on track:

• Personalised KPIs – Every SDR has individual targets that ladder up to team and company goals.
• Regular progress reviews – We analyse trends in outreach data to see if we’re improving in key areas, like connecting with the right ICPs or increasing response rates.
• Goal check-ins during 1:1s – Instead of waiting for quarterly reviews, I use weekly coaching sessions to reinforce goals, celebrate wins, and course-correct when needed.

Tracking goals isn’t just about hitting numbers—it’s about making sure SDRs feel a sense of progress. When reps can see how their work is contributing to the bigger picture, they stay engaged, competitive, and motivated to improve.

5. Stop Cloning Old Sequences—Use Data to Improve Outreach

Too many SDRs copy and paste the same outreach sequences without stopping to ask, “Is this actually working?” It’s easy to rely on what’s been used before, but if we’re not constantly evaluating and refining our messaging, we’re leaving opportunities on the table.

A few months ago, I noticed that our response rates were slipping. When I dug into our sequences, I realized we had been recycling the same messaging for too long. Prospects had seen it before, and it wasn’t resonating the way it used to. Instead of guessing what to change, we took a data-driven approach.

How We’re Improving Our Outreach

Here’s what’s working for us now:

• Regular sequence audits – Every month, we review our outbound messaging to see what’s converting and what’s falling flat.
• Collaboration across the team – Instead of SDRs working in silos, we share what’s working in emails, LinkedIn messages, and cold calls so everyone can improve.
• Targeting smarter, not just harder – We’re using insights from tools like UserGems to go after high-intent prospects instead of relying on outdated lists.

Sequences shouldn’t be “set it and forget it.” The best SDR teams treat them like a work in progress. One of the best tips for SDR leaders is to constantly refine, test, and improve your sequences based on real data.

Final Thoughts: Tips for SDR Leaders That Drive Real Impact

As my friend Ben says, “With a great team of SDRs comes great responsibility.” Our job as SDR leaders isn’t just to hit numbers—it’s to build systems, coach effectively, and create an environment where reps can succeed.

The five tips for SDR leaders I’ve shared here—staying organised, tracking training sessions, listening to more calls, setting clear goals, and improving outreach—have made a real difference for me. They’ve helped me stay focused, coach more intentionally, and drive better results.

But the real key to SDR leadership? Consistency. It’s not about chasing the latest trend or making big, sweeping changes. It’s about showing up every day, refining what works, and making small improvements that add up over time.

What’s been the most valuable lesson for you as an SDR leader? What tips for SDR leaders do you have? I’d love to hear what’s working for your team. You can find me on LinkedIn, where you’ll see the post that inspired me to write this article.

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About the Author: Jacob Partington is a Sales Development Manager at Allego. As such, he manages his team’s performance, provides coaching, and develops strategies to ensure the team meets its targets.

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Want More Strategies to Lead a High-Performing Sales Team?

Being an SDR leader is just the beginning. To take your sales leadership skills to the next level, download The Sales Leader’s Handbook. This free guide is packed with expert insights, proven coaching techniques, and strategies to drive team success. Download the Handbook Now.