Podcast + Vidcast

A critical look at the decline of the traditional Sales Development Representative (SDR) model, which relied on high-volume, automated outreach to generate leads. We argue that this approach, though once highly successful and supported by technology companies like Salesloft and Outreach, became a "race to the bottom" as buyers grew fatigued and the sheer volume of low-quality outreach became ineffective. We suggest that the irony is complete as the companies that pioneered the SDR tools are now abandoning the model internally, implicitly admitting its failure. Finally, we present Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the catalyst for change, enabling a return to the Account Executive (AE) who handles both prospecting and closing, using AI to provide deep context and personalized relevance rather than relying on sheer numbers.