KPIs for a fractional SDR

An SDR can look busy and produce nothing your sales team wants. The KPIs below separate activity from results. Treat published benchmarks as a spread, not a target: they come from vendor blogs and they disagree.

The chain that matters

1. Activity: emails sent, calls made, conversations. Useful for diagnosing, weak for judging.
2. Replies and positive replies. Apollo notes that total replies, positive replies and meetings booked are three different numbers, and positive replies are much rarer.
3. Meetings booked.
4. Meetings held. The show rate is held divided by booked. Vendor blogs give show-rate benchmarks of about 65% to 70% for a developing SDR and 70% to 85% as a general range, which are rules of thumb, not a standard.
5. Meetings accepted. Your sales team confirms the prospect fits. The arithmetic quoted in several guides: qualified meetings equal meetings booked times the show rate times the acceptance rate.
6. Opportunities and pipeline. Slow to show and affected by your sales team as well as the SDR.

The number to put first

For a contract, put accepted meetings per month first, and cost per accepted meeting beside it. Divide what you pay (fee, setup and your own time) by meetings accepted. The calculator does the sum and sets it against a hire.

What benchmarks say, and why to be careful

• Qualified meetings per month: benchmarks cited in vendor blogs range from about 5 to 10 for enterprise SDRs to 12 to 15 for outbound SDRs. The definitions differ, so these do not compare directly.
• Meeting-to-opportunity conversion: one vendor blog gives a 50% target for meetings accepted by the sales team, and 40% to 60% as the average.
• A fractional rep works fewer hours than a full-time one, so full-time benchmarks overstate what to expect. Providers' own figures, such as 10 to 15 meetings a month as one provider's stated client average, are marketing claims.

Because the spread is so wide, one source recommends building baselines from four to eight weeks of your own stable data, by segment. That is the most defensible approach.

What to ignore early

Raw activity totals, vanity open rates and any benchmark with no definition attached.

Review rhythm

Weekly: meetings held and why each fits or not. Monthly: accepted meetings against the contract target. At the end of the term: cost per accepted meeting and opportunities created.

Back to hiring a fractional SDR. The targets belong in the contract terms. Or see the providers we list.

FAQ

What is a good show rate?

Vendor blogs cite about 70% to 85% as a general show-rate range. Use it as a flag, and track your own number.

What is a good number of meetings per month?

There is no neutral benchmark. It depends on hours, buyer seniority and your offer. Set a baseline from your first weeks and negotiate the target from that.

Should I measure pipeline or meetings?

Both, but meetings first. Pipeline depends on how your sales team runs the meeting.