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First SDR, Zero Chaos: The Outbound Hand‐Off Kit
Move from founder‐led to SDR‐assisted without losing signal, tone, or momentum.
Alexander Shartsis
August 29, 2025
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Handing your inbox to a first SDR is where founder-led outbound often breaks. The voice drifts, reply times slow, and deliverability gets risked while everyone learns on live prospects. The goal isn’t just “hire an SDR”—it’s to transfer judgment, keep quality steady, and protect domain health while meetings go up.
What “good” looks like by Day 30
A repeatable daily rhythm (research → send → reply → book → review) that survives vacations.
Consistent tone and message: the SDR can mimic the house voice without copy/paste.
A feedback loop: weekly retro that kills weak steps and doubles down on winners.
30‑Day SDR Ramp (Day‑by‑day blocks you can paste into Notion)
Goal: 10 qualified meetings by Day 30 while protecting deliverability and message quality.
How to use this ramp
Shadow before steering. Week 1 is about imitating the founder’s best work, not inventing new copy.
Tight supervision, then autonomy. Weeks 2–3 graduate control as the SDR proves judgment on replies & objections.
Own the loop. By Week 4, the SDR runs a mini Tuesday metrics ritual and ships one improvement.
Week | Focus | Outcomes | Daily Call Blocks (Mon–Fri) |
|---|---|---|---|
Week 1 | Onboard & Shadow | SDR sets up inbox, reviews ICP/Triggers, mimics founder tone | Block A (45m): Listen to 2 call recordings + take notes • Block B (45m): Rewrite 5 emails from the founder’s sent folder using the style guide • Block C (30m): Send 15 emails (founder approves) |
Week 2 | Controlled Live Reps | SDR owns replies under supervision | A (45m): Personalise 20 openers using the canvas • B (60m): Send 30/day to safe lists • C (30m): Reply‑handling with A‑R‑A templates |
Week 3 | Volume & Objections | SDR handles common pushbacks, books first 5 meetings | A (30m): Trigger mining (pull 15 fresh leads) • B (60m): Send 40/day • C (30m): Objection practice + edits to library |
Week 4 | Own the Loop | SDR runs weekly retro; target 10 meetings total | A (30m): Dashboard review + kill/keep • B (60m): Send 50/day • C (30m): Follow‑ups + calendar coordination |
Guardrails
• Stay ≤80 sends/inbox/day • Unsubscribe honored immediately • Always reference a trigger + pain in line one • Replies ≤4h SLA during work hours.
SDR Readiness Scorecard (1 point each)
Before you open the throttle, score together on these basics. 0–3: keep founder-led. 4–6: stay in Weeks 1–2 with tight supervision. 7–8: move to Weeks 3–4. 9–10: ready to scale volume.
Criterion | Score (0/1) | Notes |
Can recite ICP and top 3 pains verbatim | ||
Can write a 60‑word micro‑case in the house voice | ||
Delivers unique first‑lines for ≥80% of contacts | ||
Classifies replies accurately into the team taxonomy | ||
Books meetings without founder intervention | ||
Runs a Tuesday metrics ritual (30 min) | ||
Keeps domain health green (no spam spikes) | ||
Ships one improvement per week (sequence, template, or process) |
What to Hand Off (and what to keep founder‑owned)
Hand off now: research workflow, first-line personalisation, day-1 reply handling, calendar holds.
Keep founder-owned (for now): high-stake enterprise threads, pricing moves, custom legal/security answers.
Bridge with an escalation tree:
If Objection – Pricing/Security, SDR uses snippet → if still blocked after one reply, escalate to founder.
If Positive – Meeting, SDR proposes two times → if no pick in 48h, send nudge → if still no pick, founder sends personal note.
If Referral, SDR drafts blurb → founder sends intro if requested.
Target: 80–90% of threads SDR-owned while preserving founder leverage for the few that matter.
Ready to put this in action?
Spin up a supervised SDR campaign in under 10 minutes with Skyp: founder locks voice via prompts, SDR personalises with tokens, and each message is one‑of‑one per lead. Free 7‑day trial, then $99/mo Pro.