Prepare one small research list
Use approved public sources and a short field checklist. The sales owner reviews every record and every missing fact stays visible instead of being guessed.
Role guide · Sales development
Prepare sales conversations without handing over sales judgment.
A sales development support assistant can research approved accounts, prepare lists and meeting notes, draft CRM updates, and prepare follow-up drafts. The sales owner still controls targeting, qualification, outreach, pricing, terms, negotiations, and prospect commitments.
Fit check
Use this role when the preparation rules already exist.
This is a useful role when a sales owner needs repeatable research and preparation, not a person to make sales calls. Start with one account list or meeting-prep lane that the owner can inspect quickly.
It is a poor fit when the business has not settled its target account, offer, qualification rule, source standards, or approval path.
Ready-when checklist
- The sales owner has named one repeat task group and the output needed each week.
- Approved research sources, required fields, duplicate rules, and do-not-use sources are written.
- The team has one accepted account note, list row, call-prep note, CRM note, and follow-up draft.
- A named owner reviews account fit, qualification, outreach wording, and every prospect-facing message.
- Access starts with named accounts and the lowest useful permissions. Bulk edits, exports, and admin settings stay blocked.
- The pause rule covers unclear consent, missing sources, pricing, terms, customer commitments, and unapproved outreach.
Decision rights
Let the assistant prepare the work. Keep sales decisions with the owner.
Use this as the first draft of a role brief. Replace it with your approved sources, actual examples, access limits, and named reviewers before work begins.
The table scrolls sideways on small screens.
| Work step | Assistant can do | Assistant must hold | Owner decides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approved account research | Collect company facts, public website links, contact roles, and source URLs from the approved research list. | A source conflicts, a record looks like a guess, consent is unclear, or a prospect needs to be chosen. | Set targeting, approve sources, decide account fit, and decide who can be contacted. |
| List preparation | Format an owner-approved list, check required fields, flag duplicates, and leave missing facts visible for review. | A list needs enrichment from an unapproved source, a record needs deletion, or a field changes qualification or routing. | Approve list criteria, required fields, qualification rules, routing, imports, and record changes. |
| Meeting preparation | Prepare a short, sourced account note with recent context, open questions, past notes, and approved agenda material. | The note needs a sales angle, discovery judgment, a product claim, pricing, or a promise. | Choose the meeting goal, questions, offer, discovery approach, and next sales move. |
| CRM note preparation | Draft internal call notes and next-step reminders from an approved source, then flag missing ownership or dates. | A stage, close date, probability, forecast value, owner, or system rule needs to change. | Approve CRM changes, qualification, forecast logic, ownership, and pipeline decisions. |
| Follow-up draft | Prepare a draft from an approved example and name the source, recipient, held claim, and owner review needed before sending. | The draft includes pricing, terms, availability, a custom commitment, a complaint, or any unapproved claim. | Approve wording, send authority, pricing, terms, commitments, negotiations, and escalation. |
Paid work sample
Test one small preparation lane with fictional or redacted records.
Give the candidate a short approved-source list, a field checklist, and a single approved draft example. Pay for the work and do not provide live prospect data, inbox access, or CRM admin access.
Open the review sheetAsk for these outputs
- A short approved-source list with the source URL beside every account fact.
- Five to ten prepared list rows with missing facts and duplicate questions left visible.
- Two account notes that separate sourced facts from open questions.
- One internal call-note draft with the owner, next step, and held decision named.
- One follow-up draft that uses an approved example and is marked for owner review before sending.
First 30 days
Prove one preparation lane before adding scope.
Build meeting notes from source records
Prepare two or three short account notes with source links, recent context, and open questions. The owner chooses the sales angle and any discovery questions.
Draft, do not send
Use approved examples to prepare follow-up drafts after a sales owner sets the next step. Keep pricing, availability, terms, and prospect commitments out of the draft unless the owner supplies approved wording.
Review one repeat lane
Check samples for sources, required fields, duplicate handling, held decisions, and owner review time. Add volume only when the first lane is easy to inspect.
Review checks
Review sources, drafts, and held decisions.
The role is working when an owner can see what was prepared, what is missing, and what still needs judgment. More volume is not a reason to skip that review.
- Can the owner trace every account fact to an approved source?
- Did the assistant leave missing facts, duplicates, and uncertain records visible instead of guessing?
- Did list preparation avoid qualification, routing, bulk CRM changes, and private-data collection?
- Do meeting notes separate sourced context from sales judgment and open questions?
- Did every prospect-facing draft have owner-approved wording and send authority?
- Can the owner see the prepared work, held decisions, and next review without rebuilding the record?
Plan before recruiting
Choose the next page that matches the open decision.
Compare CRM and sales operations support
Choose the CRM role when record cleanup and approved field updates are the recurring output. Use this role when research, preparation, and owner-reviewed drafts are the main need.
Open planning pageReview the sales support function
See the wider task lanes, source boundaries, and owner controls before you name the role.
Open planning pageWrite the first task intake
Name the source, finished result, blocked actions, reviewer, and pause rule before live work starts.
Open planning pagePlan a paid work sample
Test research habits, source links, held decisions, and draft preparation with fictional or redacted records.
Open planning pageEstimate the role cost
Include setup, approved tools, owner review time, and a first-month buffer. This is a planning estimate, not a salary promise.
Open planning pageBuild a provider brief
Give providers the same task example, source rules, access limits, review rhythm, and held decisions.
Open planning pageFAQ
Sales development support questions
What does a sales development support assistant do?
The assistant prepares approved account research, list rows, meeting notes, CRM note drafts, and follow-up drafts for owner review. The sales owner still decides targeting, qualification, outreach, pricing, terms, and prospect commitments.
Can a sales development support assistant send outreach?
Not as a default first task. The assistant can prepare a draft from an approved example, while the business keeps consent, outreach strategy, wording approval, and send authority with a named owner.
How is this different from CRM and sales operations support?
CRM and sales operations support centers on approved record cleanup, field rules, and pipeline hygiene. Sales development support centers on approved research, call preparation, and owner-reviewed follow-up drafts before any prospect-facing action.
What should a paid work sample include?
Use fictional or redacted accounts, an approved source list, a short field checklist, and one approved draft example. Review source links, missing-fact handling, held decisions, and whether the work stays inside the written boundaries.
Sales role planning
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Write the task, source rules, held decisions, owner review, and sample before you seek help. Build a provider brief only after that record is clear.
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