Sales Development Representative

Position Overview
The Sales Development Representative (SDR) will play a pivotal role in supporting Cleo's US-based Channel Sales team by generating qualified pipeline of new partners and expanding use of partner-sponsored solutions. Based in India and working in alignment with US business hours, the SDR will become a product knowledge expert on Cleo's SaaS integration platform while identifying key partners in Cleo's Ecosystem and assisting the Channel team in driving new business.
A strong understanding of core business processes, particularly Order-to-Cash (O2C) and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) is essential to credibly engage with prospects and articulate Cleo's value proposition. You will also leverage AI-powered sales tools to prospect smarter, personalize outreach at scale, and maintain best-in-class pipeline hygiene in Salesforce.
What You Own
Pipeline Development

• Proactively prospect outbound opportunities to generate new business pipeline for the US Channel Sales team.
• Manage and qualify inbound leads generated through channel partner activities, marketing campaigns, and digital channels.
• Research target accounts using AI-enriched tools (Clay, Apollo AI, ZoomInfo) to identify leadership personas, target verticals, and alignment with Cleo's solutions.
• Partner with Channel Account Executives to identify, source, and develop net-new pipeline across assigned verticals.
• Identify prospective customers with cash flow vulnerability for Cleo InvoicePay, specifically suppliers to large retailers with extended payment terms.

Partner Ecosystem Engagement

• Engage ERP and platform partners (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Microsoft) to identify joint go-to-market opportunities.
• Support Channel AEs in managing partner-sourced leads from identification through SQL handoff.
• Maintain accurate records of partner activity, pipeline status, and next steps within Salesforce.
• Build relationships with partner teams and stay current on the Cleo partner ecosystem and solution integrations.

Outreach & Messaging

• Craft and execute personalized, multi-channel outreach sequences (email, LinkedIn, phone) to target personas.
• Use AI writing tools (Claude, Lavender, or equivalent) to personalize messaging at scale without sacrificing quality.
• A/B test subject lines, call scripts, and LinkedIn messages; share learnings with the broader SDR team.
• Continuously iterate on outreach based on reply to rates, conversion data, and AE feedback.

Salesforce & Pipeline Hygiene

• Log all outbound activities, call notes, and lead statuses in Salesforce within 24 hours.
• Maintain clean contact and account records with no duplicate entries, no stale stages.
• Support accurate pipeline forecasting by ensuring all qualified leads are properly staged and timestamped.

Success Metrics (First 12 Months)
Performance will be evaluated against the following KPIs. Targets reflect expectations for a fully ramped SDR (Month 4+).
Metric
Definition
Target
Outbound Activities / Week
Calls + emails + LinkedIn touches
75+
SQLs Generated / Month
Sales Qualified Leads passed to Channel AE
10+
Pipeline Sourced (Qtly)
New pipeline attributed to SDR outreach
$150K+
Salesforce Data Quality
% of activities logged within 24 hrs
98%+
Email Reply Rate
Positive replies to personalized sequences
≥ 8%
Time-to-First-Touch
Speed from lead assignment to first contact
< 4 hours
What You Bring
Required Qualifications

• 1-3 years of B2B SaaS sales, business development, or inside sales experience.
• A strong understanding of core supply chain business processes Order-to-Cash (O2C) and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) and the ability to translate these into prospect conversations.
• Demonstrated experience with AI sales tools (Clay, Apollo AI, Lavender, Claude, or equivalent) for prospecting and outreach.
• Hands-on experience with Salesforce CRM and sales engagement platforms (Outreach, Salesloft, or equivalent).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, with the ability to engage US-based stakeholders.
• Self-motivated and goal-oriented with a track record of meeting or exceeding weekly and monthly KPIs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Familiarity with ERP or integration platforms (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics).
• Prior exposure to channel sales, partner ecosystems, or indirect sales models.
• Experience working across time zones in a distributed, global team environment.
• Strong research skills with the ability to build account maps and identify multi-threaded buying groups.

AI Fluency Standards
Cleo is building an AI-first sales organization. This role is expected to actively leverage AI across prospecting, outreach, and pipeline management.
AI Competency
Application to SDR - Channel Role
Proficiency Expectation
Level
Priority
AI-Powered Prospecting & Account Research
Use Clay, Apollo AI, or ZoomInfo to build and enrich prospect lists, identify buying personas, and surface intent signals for Channel AE prioritization
Independently builds targeted prospect lists without AE direction; enrichment accuracy >= 90%; reduces research time by 40%+
Practitioner
Critical
Personalized Outreach at Scale
Leverage AI writing tools (Claude, Lavender, or equivalent) to craft high-quality, persona-specific email and LinkedIn sequences without sacrificing authenticity
Sequences are personalized per account and persona; reply rates >= 8%; does not rely on generic templates
Practitioner
Critical
Prompt Engineering for Sales Workflows
Write effective prompts to generate objection-handling talking points, call prep briefs, partner ecosystem summaries, and competitive positioning content
Uses AI as a daily productivity layer; outputs are polished and business-ready with minimal manual editing
Practitioner
High
Salesforce & CRM Intelligence
Leverage Salesforce AI features (Einstein, activity scoring) to prioritize daily outreach queues, identify stale pipeline, and surface re-engagement signals
Logs 100% of activity within 24 hrs; uses AI-assisted prioritization to focus top-of-funnel energy on highest-probability accounts
Practitioner
High
Critical Evaluation of AI Outputs
Review and validate all AI-generated content - prospect data, outreach copy, research summaries - before acting or sending; flag inaccuracies to the team
Never sends unreviewed AI output externally; identifies and corrects hallucinations in prospect data or company summaries
Practitioner
Non-Negotiable
Examples of AI Fluency in this role include: using Clay or Apollo AI to auto-enrich prospect lists, using Claude or Lavender to personalize email sequences, and using Salesforce AI features to prioritize daily outreach queues.
Key Behavioral Competencies
Competency
Behavioral Indicator
SDR Minimum Bar
AI Fluency
Uses AI-powered tools to research, personalize outreach, and iterate on messaging
Adoptive - actively uses AI tools in day-to-day workflow
Pipeline Ownership
Proactively hunts opportunities; does not wait for inbound flow
Capable - consistent outbound activity against weekly KPIs
Business Acumen
Understands O2C, P2P, and supply chain pain points in prospect conversations
Capable - can articulate Cleo's value in business terms
Cross-Cultural Communication
Engages US-based partners and prospects with clarity and cultural fluency
Adoptive - adjusts style across geographies and personas
CRM Discipline
Maintains clean, accurate, up-to-date records in Salesforce
Capable - zero data hygiene exceptions
Growth Mindset
Seeks feedback, iterates on messaging, shares learnings with the team
Capable - demonstrates learning agility from coaching sessions