---
id: "prereq-sdr-workflows"
type: "prereq"
source_timestamps: ["§ The Hybrid Workforce for Sales Development"]
tags: ["sales", "business-process"]
related: ["claim-sdr-capacity-increase", "concept-hybrid-workforce"]
reason: "Necessary to appreciate the magnitude of the capacity increase and the strategic shift in the human seller's role."
sources: ["agentic"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-agentic"
originDay: 6
articleStem: "hbr-sig-58-agent-managers"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/02/to-thrive-in-the-ai-era-companies-need-agent-managers"
sourceTitle: "To Thrive in the AI Era, Companies Need Agent Managers"
---
# Sales Development Representative (SDR) Funnel Mechanics

## Prerequisite — SDR Funnel Mechanics

**Why you need it:** The article uses the transformation of the **SDR** role as a primary case study ([[claim-sdr-capacity-increase]]). You should understand the sales funnel — specifically the difference between:
- **High-scale / low-value prospecting** (filling the broad top of the funnel: outreach, qualification, stale-lead follow-up) — the work agents absorb, and
- **High-value deal progression** (closing) — the work humans keep.

This distinction is what makes the [[concept-hybrid-workforce]] split legible and explains why a **team can 2×+ its booked meetings without adding leads**: the human seller shifts from volume prospecting to judgment-heavy closing.