SDR onboarding checklist: a 30/60/90-day plan for new reps
The average SDR ramps in about three months and stays 1.9 years (Bridge Group, 2025). Onboarding decides how much of that time is productive. This checklist is for the manager. What to set up, what to teach and what to check before each gate.
SDR (sales development representative) and BDR (business development representative) are the same job at most companies. Everything here applies to both. Reps who move on to cloud sales can use the AWS Account Executive interview guide. For ramp benchmarks and ramped quotas, read our SDR ramp time guide.
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Before day one
Much onboarding time is lost in week one, waiting for logins. Have all of this done before the rep starts:
- ☐ CRM, sequencer, dialler and LinkedIn access set up and tested
- ☐ A starter book of accounts assigned, smaller than a full book
- ☐ A buddy named from the current team
- ☐ A first-week calendar sent before day one
- ☐ A library of the best recorded calls chosen
- ☐ Certification modules and dates shared
- ☐ Ramped quota and comp plan given in writing
Days 1 to 30: learn
The goal this month is readiness, not meetings. Split the checklist into what they need to know and what they need to do.
- ☐ Explains the product, core use cases and three customer outcomes in plain English
- ☐ Describes the ideal customer profile and top personas
- ☐ Knows the main competitors and how to position against them
- ☐ Knows the meeting acceptance rules and lead SLAs
- ☐ Knows outreach compliance basics (PECR and UK GDPR in the UK)
- ☐ Shadows live calls every day in week one
- ☐ Role-plays daily with the manager or buddy
- ☐ Drafts cadence steps for review
- ☐ Makes first supervised calls in week three
- ☐ Logs every activity cleanly in the CRM
Days 31 to 60: execute with support
The rep is live, but on a smaller book and with plenty of coaching.
- ☐ Live on the starter book with protected daily call blocks
- ☐ Weekly call review with the manager
- ☐ Manager co-listens live at least weekly
- ☐ AE feedback captured on every meeting
- ☐ Weekly 1:1 using the ramp dashboard
- ☐ First held meeting by about week six (an internal target)
See inside
Days 61 to 90: own it
The rep takes a full book and starts working accounts, not just contacts.
- ☐ Full book of accounts
- ☐ Three or more contacts worked in each top account
- ☐ Account plans for the top ten accounts
- ☐ Runs the right cadence for each motion
- ☐ Reviews own call recordings weekly
- ☐ Teaches one thing to the next cohort
What to track on the ramp dashboard
| Measure | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Certification modules passed | The first gate. No full book until it's done |
| Quality conversations a week | The best leading indicator. The 2025 Bridge Group median is 4.1 a day for SDRs overall. Expect a new rep to start below it |
| Meetings held and accepted by AEs | The outcome. Count held and accepted, not booked |
| Days to first held meeting | There's no reliable public benchmark, so set your own and compare cohorts |
| Attainment against ramped quota | The gate for months two and three |
For the full metric set, see our SDR KPI dashboard guide.
Common onboarding mistakes
- Handing over a full book before certification, because the team is busy. It burns good accounts on an untrained rep.
- Onboarding by slide deck. Reps learn by listening to calls and role-playing, not by reading.
- No co-listening after week four. Weekly live coaching through day 60 is where most early gains come from.
- One-off onboarding. Review the programme after each cohort, using ramp time and attainment in months four to six. Fix the weakest step.
Once reps are live, give them a cadence per motion. Our cold outreach cadence templates are a good starting set.
Sources
Questions
What should be on an SDR onboarding checklist?
Access and a starter book before day one. Product, customer and compliance certification in month one. Supported live prospecting with weekly call reviews in month two. A full book with account plans in month three. And a clear gate at the end of each phase.
How long should SDR onboarding take?
Plan for about 90 days, with full quota from month four. The 2025 Bridge Group study puts average SDR ramp at 3.0 months.
What should a new SDR achieve in the first 30 days?
Certification, not meetings. Product and customer knowledge, three graded role-plays and first supervised calls in week three. Quota starts in month two, at around half of the full number.
Also: SDR first week plan, SDR daily schedule template, free SDR training.
Related guides
SDR and BDR ramp time
A 30/60/90-day plan, ramped quotas and a certification checklist.
SDR and BDR interview questions
18 questions by competency, a role-play and a weighted scorecard.
SDR manager first 90 days
Learn, stabilise, improve: a week-by-week plan for new managers.
SDR onboarding plan in Notion
A page per rep with a plan, checklist and check-ins.
Turn this into a programme you can run
14 Notion modules and 6 working trackers for SDR leaders. KPI library, comp calculator, cadence builder, interview scorecard, tool scorecard and a 90-day roadmap. £29, one payment, plus VAT for UK and EU buyers.
Treat benchmarks as starting points. Tune them to your market, deal size and sales cycle. Every figure shows its source and year.