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

Cleo is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.