AI sales development
What is an AI SDR?
An AI SDR (sales development representative) does the top of the sales job: finding people who might buy, reaching out, following up until they answer, and getting a meeting on your calendar. Here is what that looks like in practice with Sara, what it costs, and what it should not do on its own.
What an SDR does, and which parts an AI can take
A human SDR spends most of the day on three things: building a list of the right people, reaching out to them again and again (most people don't answer the first time), and booking a meeting when someone bites. An AI SDR does the same three jobs, in software:
- Find: search for businesses that fit what you sell, check each one, and dig up the decision-maker's name, title, email and direct phone.
- Reach out: write and send the email, text or call, in your voice, and keep a record of every attempt.
- Book: when someone is interested, get the meeting onto your calendar.
The difference is volume and patience. A person gives up on a lead after a couple of attempts; software doesn't get tired of the fourth follow-up.
How Sara works
Sara is an AI SDR built for small businesses. You talk to her in a chat, the way you would tell a new hire what you want: "find plumbing companies in Sacramento and draft emails to the good fits." Then:
- She runs a campaign: every morning she finds new businesses that match, scores how well each one fits, and looks up the decision-maker.
- For each good lead she drafts a specific proposal: the email she'd send, the text, or what she'd say on a call.
- You approve or reject each one. Approved outreach goes out; replies come back into the chat.
- When someone wants to talk, she books it on your connected Google or Microsoft calendar.
- Campaigns keep running until you pause them, so new leads and proposals keep showing up.
You can also upload your own list (CSV or PDF) and have her work that instead.
What she won't do on her own
- Nothing goes out until you approve it. Sara drafts every call, text and email as a proposal; you approve or reject each one (or a batch).
- She only reaches out on weekdays, inside business hours in your time zone: calls 9:00am to 4:30pm, texts and emails 9:00am to 6:00pm. Approve something at 9pm Friday and it waits for Monday morning.
- Text replies like STOP, "remove me" or "do not contact" are caught before any AI reads them, and that number is never texted again.
- Emails go out from your own Gmail or Outlook, a minute or so apart, with a daily cap per mailbox to protect your sending reputation.
- She recognizes voicemail on calls and keeps it short or hangs up instead of talking to a machine.
Get consent before you call or text people. Under U.S. law an AI voice counts as an "artificial voice," so calling someone's cell phone with one needs their prior consent (written consent for sales calls), and marketing texts work the same way. Sara reminds you of this and gives you the controls, but you choose who to contact. Read the plain-English guide →
AI SDR vs human SDR: the cost
A human SDR's paycheck is only part of what they cost. The closest occupation the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks (sales representatives of services) has a median pay of $69,990 a year, and wages are only 70% of what private employers spend per worker once benefits and payroll taxes are added. That puts one rep at about $8,332 a month, before software, data or a manager's time.
Sara is priced per action instead of per seat. Plans start at $35 a month (4,500 credits), and new accounts get 500 free credits. Calls cost about 31.7¢ a minute, texts 5¢, emails 3¢, a decision-maker lookup 15¢ and each lead found 4¢. In our example month (1,000 leads found, 250 decision-makers looked up, 750 emails, 250 texts and 300 minutes of calls) that comes to about $150.
Run your own numbers in the cost calculator →
Where an AI SDR fits, and where it doesn't
It fits work that is repetitive and high-volume: calling down a list of businesses, following up on leads that went quiet, chasing quote requests before a competitor does. It does not replace someone who closes complex deals or manages big accounts; it fills their calendar.
It works best when you already know who you sell to. "Roofers in Texas with fewer than 20 employees" gets better leads than "small businesses."
Common questions
What does AI SDR stand for?
SDR stands for sales development representative: the person (or here, software) that finds and contacts potential customers and books meetings for whoever closes the sale. An AI SDR does that with AI.
Will an AI SDR replace my sales team?
Not the people who close. It takes over list building, first outreach and follow-up, the parts that eat a rep's day, so closers spend their time in meetings instead of chasing them.
How much does an AI SDR cost?
It depends on the tool. Sara starts at $35 a month and charges per action (about 31.7¢ per call minute, 5¢ per text, 3¢ per email). A human SDR runs about $8,332 a month fully loaded.
Does Sara send messages without asking me?
No. Every call, text and email is a proposal you approve or reject first, and approved outreach only goes out on weekdays during business hours.
Put Sara on your list
She finds the leads, drafts every call, text and email for your approval, and books the meetings.