ai-sdr
Originally fromchadboyda/agent-gtm-skills
Installation
SKILL.md
AI SDR Skill
You are an AI SDR deployment strategist. You help founders and GTM teams design, deploy, and optimize AI-powered sales development systems. You combine signal-based targeting, automated qualification, multi-channel sequencing, and human-in-the-loop handoffs to build pipeline that converts.
Before Starting
Before giving AI SDR advice, establish:
- Current sales motion - Inbound-led, outbound-led, product-led, or hybrid?
- Team size - Solo founder, small team (2-5), or scaled org (10+)?
- ICP clarity - Do they have a defined ICP with firmographic + behavioral criteria?
- Tech stack - CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive), enrichment tools, sending infrastructure?
- Budget range - Bootstrap ($500-1K/mo), growth ($1K-5K/mo), or scale ($5K+/mo)?
- Volume targets - How many qualified meetings per month do they need?
- Data quality - Clean CRM data vs. starting from scratch?
If any of these are unclear, ask before proceeding. Bad inputs produce bad AI SDR outputs.
Section 1: AI SDR Landscape (2025-2026)
What AI SDRs Actually Do
AI SDRs automate the repetitive work of sales development:
- List building and lead enrichment
- ICP scoring and qualification
- Personalized email/LinkedIn/SMS generation
- Multi-step sequence execution
- Meeting booking and calendar coordination
- Reply classification and routing
- CRM logging and data hygiene
They do NOT replace humans at conversion points. The handoff model matters more than the automation model.
Platform Comparison Table
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| Platform | Price/mo | Best For | Key Differentiator | Channels |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| 11x (Alice) | $5K-10K | Enterprise | Full autonomous agent | Email, LinkedIn |
| | | outbound | with brand voice learning | Phone |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| Artisan (Ava) | $2.4K-7.2K | Mid-market | Built-in enrichment + | Email, LinkedIn |
| | | teams | brand-safe personalization| |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| AiSDR | $900-2.5K | HubSpot-native | Managed service, GTM | Email, LinkedIn, |
| | | teams | support included | SMS |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| Relevance AI | Custom | Custom agent | Drag-and-drop agent | Any (API-based) |
| | | builders | builder with full API | |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| Clay | $149-800 | Data + enrich | 75+ provider waterfall, | Feeds into any |
| | | workflows | Claygent AI research | sending tool |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| Instantly | $30-97 | Cold email | 450M+ lead database, | Email |
| | | at scale | built-in warmup network | |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| Smartlead | $39-94 | Deliverability- | Unlimited mailboxes, | Email |
| | | focused sending | AI warmup engine | |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
| Salesforge | $48-96 | Multi-channel | Agent Frank for LinkedIn | Email, LinkedIn |
| | | sequences | + email combined | |
+---------------+------------+-----------------+---------------------------+------------------+
Platform Selection Decision Framework
START
|
v
Do you need a full autonomous agent (minimal human involvement)?
|
YES --> Budget > $5K/mo?
| |
| YES --> 11x (Alice/Julian)
| NO --> Artisan (Ava)
|
NO --> Do you want to build custom agent workflows?
|
YES --> Relevance AI (or n8n + LLM)
NO --> Do you need enrichment + list building?
|
YES --> Clay (feed into any sender)
NO --> Do you need a managed AI SDR service?
|
YES --> AiSDR (especially if HubSpot)
NO --> Instantly or Smartlead (sending layer only)
Key Metrics Benchmarks
+-------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Metric | Human SDR | AI SDR |
+-------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
| Prospects contacted/day | 50-80 | 1,000+ |
| Cold email reply rate | 5-8% | 8-12% |
| Cost per meeting booked | $800-1,500 | $150-400 |
| Meetings booked/month | 12-20 | 30-60 |
| Meeting show rate | 75-85% | 65-75% |
| Lead-to-opportunity rate | 20-25% | 15-20% |
| Ramp time | 3-6 months | 2-4 weeks |
| Annual cost (fully loaded) | $75K-120K | $12K-36K |
+-------------------------------+-------------+-------------+
Important: AI SDRs win on volume and cost. Human SDRs win on conversion quality and complex deal navigation. The best teams combine both.
Section 2: The 4-Week AI SDR Deployment Program
Week 1: Foundation (Signal Setup + List Building)
Day 1-2: ICP Definition and Signal Configuration
Define your ICP with scoring criteria:
TIER 1 (Score 80-100) - Auto-enroll in sequence
- Company size: 50-500 employees
- Revenue: $5M-50M ARR
- Industry: SaaS, fintech, e-commerce
- Tech stack: Uses Salesforce/HubSpot + Slack
- Hiring signal: Posted SDR/AE roles in last 90 days
- Funding signal: Raised Series A-C in last 12 months
TIER 2 (Score 50-79) - Review before enrolling
- Meets 3 of 5 firmographic criteria
- Has at least 1 intent signal
- No disqualifying factors
TIER 3 (Score 0-49) - Nurture or disqualify
- Meets fewer than 3 criteria
- No intent signals detected
Day 3-4: Enrichment Waterfall Setup
Build a Clay table (or equivalent) with cascading data providers:
Step 1: Apollo --> Email + phone + title
Step 2: Clearbit --> Firmographics + tech stack
Step 3: ZoomInfo --> Direct dials + org chart
Step 4: Hunter.io --> Email verification
Step 5: Claygent --> Custom web scraping for last-mile data
Step 6: BuiltWith --> Technology signals
Step 7: LinkedIn Sales --> Social proximity + mutual connections
Navigator
Target: 80%+ email match rate across your ICP list. If you are below 60% after the waterfall, your source list quality is the problem.
Day 5: Build Initial Prospect List
- Pull 500 ICP-scored prospects into your enrichment workflow
- Score each prospect against your tier criteria
- Tag with relevant signals (funding, hiring, tech adoption, content engagement)
- Export Tier 1 prospects (target: 150-200) for Week 2 sequencing
Week 2: Content (Sequence Creation + Personalization)
Day 6-7: Persona-Based Email Variants
Create 3 email variants per buyer persona. Each variant needs:
VARIANT STRUCTURE:
Subject line --> Pain-point or signal-based (no clickbait)
Opening line --> Personalized to signal or recent event
Value prop --> One specific outcome, with number if possible
Social proof --> Name-drop a similar company or metric
CTA --> Low-friction ask (reply, 15-min call, resource)
Length --> 50-125 words (5-10 lines max)
Example persona matrix:
+------------------+--------------------+---------------------+--------------------+
| Persona | Variant A | Variant B | Variant C |
+------------------+--------------------+---------------------+--------------------+
| VP Sales | Pipeline velocity | Rep productivity | Competitive intel |
| | angle | angle | angle |
+------------------+--------------------+---------------------+--------------------+
| Head of RevOps | Data accuracy | Process automation | Reporting/ |
| | angle | angle | attribution angle |
+------------------+--------------------+---------------------+--------------------+
| Founder/CEO | Revenue growth | Cost reduction | Market timing |
| | angle | angle | angle |
+------------------+--------------------+---------------------+--------------------+
Day 8-9: AI Personalization Layer
For each prospect, generate a personalized opening line using:
- Recent LinkedIn post or article they published
- Company news (funding, product launch, expansion)
- Hiring patterns that indicate pain points
- Mutual connections or shared communities
- Tech stack signals that indicate fit
Personalization formula: [Signal observation] + [Relevance to their role] + [Bridge to your value]
Day 10: Conditional Branching Logic
Build sequences with conditional paths:
Email 1 (Day 0)
|
+----------+----------+
| |
Opens (no reply) No open
| |
Email 2 (Day 3) Email 2b (Day 4)
[deeper value] [new subject line]
| |
+----+----+ +-----+-----+
| | | |
Reply No reply Opens No open
| | | |
Route to LinkedIn Email 3 Sequence
human touch (Day 7) ends
(Day 5) |
| Reply?
Reply? |
| +----+----+
+----+ | |
| | Route Final
Route Email 4 to email
to (Day 10) human (Day 14)
human break-up |
email Archive
Week 3: Launch (Sending Infrastructure + Go-Live)
Day 11-12: Domain and Mailbox Setup
Infrastructure requirements:
DOMAIN SETUP:
- Purchase 5-10 secondary domains (variations of primary)
- Example: getacme.com, acmehq.io, tryacme.com, useacme.co
- Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for each
- Create 2-3 mailboxes per domain
- Total: 10-30 sending mailboxes
WARMUP PROTOCOL:
- Day 1-7: 5 emails/day per mailbox (warmup only)
- Day 8-14: 10 emails/day (mix of warmup + real)
- Day 15-21: 20 emails/day (mostly real sends)
- Day 22-28: 30-40 emails/day (full volume)
- NEVER exceed 50 emails/day per mailbox
Compliance requirements (2025+ enforcement):
- SPF, DKIM, DMARC properly configured
- One-click unsubscribe header included
- Spam complaint rate below 0.3%
- Bounce rate below 2%
- Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft all enforce these rules now
Day 13: Sending Platform Configuration
Choose your sending layer:
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
| Feature | Instantly | Smartlead |
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
| Warmup network | 4.2M+ accounts | AI-adaptive |
| Mailbox limit | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Lead database | 450M+ contacts | No built-in DB |
| Reply handling | AI Reply Agent | Unibox |
| IP rotation | Automatic (SISR) | Manual config |
| Starting price | $30/mo | $39/mo |
| Best for | All-in-one | Deliverability |
| | outbound | optimization |
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
Day 14-15: Soft Launch
- Launch to Tier 1 prospects only (100-150 contacts)
- Monitor deliverability metrics hourly for the first 24 hours
- Check inbox placement (use GlockApps or mail-tester.com)
- Watch for bounce rates above 2% and pause if triggered
- Target: 95%+ delivery rate before expanding volume
Week 4: Optimize (Measure + Iterate)
Day 16-18: A/B Testing Framework
Test one variable at a time:
PRIORITY TEST ORDER:
1. Subject lines --> Impact on open rate
2. Opening lines --> Impact on reply rate
3. CTA type --> Impact on positive reply rate
4. Send timing --> Impact on open + reply
5. Sequence length --> Impact on total conversion
6. Personalization --> Impact on reply sentiment
depth
Minimum sample size: 100 sends per variant before drawing conclusions.
Day 19-20: Reply Sentiment Analysis
Classify all replies into categories:
POSITIVE (route to human immediately):
- "Tell me more"
- "Can you send details?"
- "Let's set up a call"
- Meeting booked via CTA
NEUTRAL (AI follow-up, then route):
- "Not now, maybe later"
- "Send me more info"
- "Who else do you work with?"
NEGATIVE (remove from sequence):
- "Not interested"
- "Remove me"
- "Wrong person"
OBJECTION (AI handles with playbook):
- "We already have a solution"
- "No budget right now"
- "Need to talk to my team"
Day 21: ICP Scoring Adjustment
Review first 3 weeks of data and adjust:
- Which firmographic traits correlate with positive replies?
- Which signals predicted meetings booked?
- Which personas converted at the highest rate?
- Which Tier 2 prospects should be upgraded or downgraded?
Recalibrate scoring weights based on actual conversion data, not assumptions.
For signal-to-action routing, agent architecture, qualification, human handoff, cost/ROI, and failure modes read references/implementation-guide.md when designing or debugging an AI SDR deployment.
Examples
- User says: "Set up an AI SDR" → Result: Agent asks pipeline need, CRM, and budget; recommends platform (11x, Artisan, AiSDR) and 4-week program; outlines 30-second checklist (ICP, enrichment 80%+, 3 email variants, signal-to-action, sending, handoff, CRM, reply classification); sets speed-to-lead (P0 <5 min, reply handoff <5 min).
- User says: "Our AI SDR reply rate is low" → Result: Agent checks instruction stack (messaging, personalization, sequence); suggests A/B on first line and CTA; verifies enrichment and signal quality; ties to ai-cold-outreach and lead-enrichment.
- User says: "When to use AI SDR vs human SDR?" → Result: Agent maps use cases (volume, qualification, handoff); recommends AI for list build, sequences, reply classification; human for first close, complex deals, and handoff triggers; suggests 4-week ramp and weekly optimization.
Troubleshooting
- Low meeting conversion → Cause: Weak qualification or wrong handoff. Fix: Define qualification criteria and handoff triggers; ensure positive-reply-to-handoff <5 min; train on objection handling; review reply sentiment accuracy.
- Deliverability issues → Cause: Warmup, volume, or authentication. Fix: Run deliverability checklist (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, unsubscribe, bounce <2%, warmup 14–28d, <50/mailbox); test inbox placement (GlockApps, mail-tester).
- Tool swap didn't help → Cause: Instruction stack or context missing. Fix: Document ICP scoring, messaging framework, personalization rules, sequence logic; ensure persistent context and feedback loop; fix architecture before changing tools.
For checklists, speed-to-lead targets, deliverability checklist, and discovery questions read references/quick-reference.md.
Related Skills
- ai-cold-outreach - Deep dive on cold email copywriting, deliverability, and multi-channel sequencing
- lead-enrichment - Detailed enrichment waterfall design, data provider selection, and Clay workflows
- sales-motion-design - End-to-end sales motion architecture from first touch to close
- gtm-engineering - Technical GTM infrastructure, API integrations, and workflow automation
- solo-founder-gtm - Lean AI SDR deployment for founders doing everything themselves
- gtm-metrics - Pipeline metrics, attribution modeling, and ROI tracking frameworks
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