We are now less than 5 weeks away from Funnel 26’, and we are happy to announce today the theme of our Keynote with Morgan Ingram is:

Making Sales Human in AI World: The New Way to Do Outbound in 2026

With Angela Frackowiak, Illango Dhandayudham, Sara Angell and Jonathan Mayer discussing how to make the transition from 2nd to 3rd line leadership, and one of our workshops, led by Jay Glenn will be how to calculate CAC, this is shaping up to be a CANT MISS event!

We are excited about these incredible leaders being part of our conference and joining all of you in Austin!

More announcements to come soon!

Funnel 26 will be the first of its kind, a conference where the best global VPs of sales development are going to be talking to the best heads of sales development, directors, third-line leaders sharing their strategy and their vision for how the function will look like, giving access to those that come to the best sales development leaders in the globe with workshops, with networking, with everything that is kept true to what SDR leaders of USA and EMEA does but on a far grander scale.

We're really excited to be partnering up with Anastasia Chihai from ATX SDR Leaders to deliver this conference for YOU!

So we really look forward to seeing you all there!

The hardest part of being an SDR manager isn’t the tactics. It’s the transition.

You go from being good at doing the work to being responsible for how the work gets done. And most people hit that wall around month six.

That’s where this is written from.

Not day one optimism.
Not year three confidence.

But the uncomfortable middle where you’re meant to have answers, and you’re still figuring it out.

Here’s what I learned the hard way.

1. I’d get a mentor outside my company, immediately

When I first became an SDR manager, I assumed I needed to prove myself internally, saying ‘im ready’ and felt weak reaching out.

So I kept everything close.
Tried to solve problems alone.
Didn’t want to look like I was struggling.

That was a mistake.

What I actually needed was someone outside the org who had:

Not someone to help me manage my team. Someone to help me manage up.

Inside your company, everyone has context, politics, and incentives.
Outside, you get perspective.

That perspective would have saved me months of second-guessing. When i Finally secured the mentor, my leadership ability accelerated.

2. I’d run a listening tour, but I’d be disciplined about it

Everyone tells new managers to “do a listening tour”.

Most of them then change everything within two weeks.

I’d do it differently.

I’d sit with:

And I’d ask the same core questions every time:

Then I’d write it all down. And I wouldn’t change a thing for 30 days.

Not because everything is right. But because pattern recognition takes time.

Early changes feel productive. They’re usually reactive. So many times ive seen people come in and burn everything down on day 1. They do not last.

3. I’d plug into an SDR leader community and actually use it

There are questions your company can’t answer honestly.

Questions like:

That’s where community matters.

Not for motivation.
For calibration.

Groups like SDR Leaders of EMEA, USA, or APAC exist because no single company has all the answers. I’ve avoided bad decisions simply by sense-checking with people who had already made them.

Feeling alone is one of the fastest ways to make poor calls.

4. I’d stop pretending imposter syndrome isn’t part of the job

Around the six-month mark, most new managers feel it.

The doubt.
The anxiety.
The sense that everyone else knows something you don’t.

Early on, I tried to hide that.

I thought confidence meant having everything under control. What it really meant was not asking for help when it was available.

Once I became more open, with my VP, with my team, with peers, things shifted.

Feedback stopped feeling like criticism. It became coaching.

The anxiety never fully disappears. But you can use it as a signal instead of a threat.

5. I’d be intentional about respect, not just results

SDRs know when they’re treated as a cost centre.

They feel it when:

I learned that respect isn’t a value statement. It’s operational.

Celebrate wins publicly.
Share credit loudly.
Make sure the wider business understands the cost of a meeting and the impact of a great SDR team.

That’s how you keep talent. That’s how trust compounds.

The mistake that cost me the most

For too long, I thought being a good manager meant owning everything.

In reality, it meant asking senior people for help and not doing it.

They were willing. I just didn’t ask.

If you’re six to twelve months in and struggling, you’re not behind.
You’re right on schedule.

The job isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about learning which questions actually matter.