Why Is OpenAI Still Hiring SDRs?

If you spend five minutes on LinkedIn right now you’ll see two dominant narratives in sales:

But when you actually talk to operators running revenue teams, the story looks a little different. Sales development is evolving fast. Buyers are harder to convince internally. And the playbooks a lot of sellers still use… honestly haven’t caught up.

AI is supposedly killing SDRs. So why is OpenAI hiring a Head of Sales Development? They’re not replacing it. They’re actually scaling it. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

So what’s actually going on? Most people are confusing motion with ownership. AI will absolutely kill a lot of the motion SDRs do:

That’s the repetitive work. But the function doesn’t disappear, it evolves. Someone still has to:

I’m not seeing great companies hire armies of SDRs anymore. I see them building pipeline machines, where AI runs the motion and humans run the strategy. And I don't know if most people are ready for that.

That’s exactly what we’re digging into at the free virtual AI SDR Summit on April 9. No paid tickets, no paid sponsors, no paid speakers. Just real people sharing what's working.

If pipeline matters to you this year, you should probably show up.

AI is changing how pipeline gets built. But there’s another problem that’s been around a lot longer, and most sales teams haven’t figured it out.

Calling out SaaS sellers: your buyer enablement sucks. As a CRO armed with a big budget, I'm on a mission to invest in game-changing technology. But, let's get real for a moment, I've got a bone to pick with all you SaaS sellers out there:

YOU HAVE TO ENABLE YOUR BUYERS

You might think your sales process is a breeze:

But it's high time we give it a makeover. Here's the reality check:

Seriously, folks. In today's challenging economy, you honestly think you can just demo your way into my wallet? Do you really believe that after a barrage of demos, I'll just hit "buy now"?

Think again my friend. I've got to sell this stuff internally, and that's where you need to step up your game. Every purchase requires:

Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’ve enabled the buyer because you:

That's lazy stuff. I need custom stuff. You've got to empower the buyer to be an internal superhero and convince their teams that this is THE solution. If you don't, well, you're leaving it all up to the buyer. And trust me, you'll end up hosting a 'Project Cancellation Party.' That's just a fancy way of saying 'YOU SUCK' for not aiding me in selling it internally, despite my HUGE pain.

Look, help your buyers make the switch. You've got a killer product; now, enable us to be the heroes in our organizations.

All of this change happening in sales development is also creating a lot of confusion for people in the role. I had a conversation about this recently that stuck with me.

A friend told me the other day he’s scared he’s falling behind in the world of SDR.

It's just changing so fast...

He said he doesn’t even know who to follow anymore or where to start learning. And honestly… I get it. There is a lot going on.

So we decided to do something about it. We’re hosting a virtual event called the AI SDR Summit.

Just operators & thought leaders sharing what’s actually working in modern sales development. Now we need the best people in SDR land. Who should we invite to speak?Who are the operators pushing the craft forward right now?

Shoot me a message or comment, so we can make sure the best voices are part of it.

Alright, enough sales talk for a second. There’s one more business topic I need clarity on.

The most awkward moment in business has nothing to do with AI. It’s the hug vs handshake decision. You know the moment. Suddenly you're stuck in that weird half-hug where nobody knows where their arms are supposed to go.

For years I was a hug guy. Then the pandemic happened and we all discovered the fist bump, which felt like the safest diplomatic option humanity has ever created.

Now we’re in this strange middle ground. Some people are still hugging. Some are firmly handshake. Others just hover awkwardly waiting for the other person to make the first move. It’s basically a real-time social negotiation.

Personally, I’ve drifted back to the safe zone: Handshake. Fist bump. High probability of avoiding the awkward half-hug. But I’m heading to a few events over the next few weeks, so I’m curious…Where do you land in the great workplace greeting debate?

Handshake, hug, fist bump...or the dangerous “wait and see” strategy.

Sales development is evolving fast.

AI is changing how pipeline gets created. Buyers need more help selling internally. And a lot of people in the profession are still figuring out what the future looks like.

That’s exactly why we’re hosting the AI SDR Summit on April 9. If SDR, outbound, or pipeline creation matter to you this year, it’s probably worth showing up.

Don’t half-hug your SDR strategy ;)

That’s it for today. Connect with me on Linkedin if you actually want to understand what an Autonomous Organization looks like in the real world.