SDR Interview Questions and a Live Cold-Call Test for Offshore Hires
A great résumé doesn’t book meetings. Use these 12 interview questions, a live cold-call role play and a weighted scorecard to pick an offshore SDR who can actually hold a conversation with your buyers.
- Shortlist in 5–8 days
- Hire in 1–2 weeks
- 81% still on the team after 12 months
- Pay nothing until you hire
Why the interview matters more for an SDR
An SDR’s job is to start conversations with people who didn’t ask to talk. That skill shows up on a live call, not on a résumé or in a friendly video chat. When you hire an offshore SDR, the gap gets bigger: you also need to check spoken English, comfort with your buyers’ culture, and whether they can work your shift from home.
The cost of getting it wrong is high. The Bridge Group’s 2025 survey puts average SDR ramp at 3.0 months and median annual attrition at 40%, so a bad hire can cost you a quarter of pipeline before you notice.
“Most founders assume a sales hire means $80K+ a year. Our clients hire experienced SDRs in Morocco, Argentina or Mexico for $1,300–1,900 a month, working US hours, and they’re usually booking meetings within 2 weeks. The real cost isn’t the salary, it’s hiring the wrong person, so we test every candidate on live cold calls before they’re shortlisted.”Jesse Wright, Co-Founder, Talentige
Below is the process we use. It works whether you hire through us or on your own.
The 4-stage SDR interview process
- Screening call (20 min)Activity history, quota, tools and motivation. Questions 1–3.
- Skills interview (30 min)Research, written outreach and objections. Questions 4–7, plus a cold email exercise.
- Live cold-call test (20 min)Two role-play runs with feedback in between. The single best predictor we know.
- Final interview (30 min)Coachability, remote fit and goals with the hiring manager. Questions 8–12.
Through Talentige, stages 1–3 are already done before you meet anyone: you receive a shortlist of tested SDRs in 5–8 days and usually hire in 1–2 weeks.
12 SDR interview questions, with what good sounds like
Tap a category to filter, and open a question to see a strong answer and a red flag.
1. Walk me through a normal day in your last outbound role.
Strong answer: Specific numbers: dials, emails, conversations, meetings booked, tools used.
Red flag: Vague answers such as “I talked to clients” with no activity numbers.
2. What was your quota, and how did you track against it?
Strong answer: Knows the quota, the metric (meetings held vs. booked) and their attainment without hesitating.
Red flag: Cannot say what they were measured on.
3. Why outbound, and why now?
Strong answer: Likes the pace and the scoreboard; has a reason to stay in sales.
Red flag: Sees SDR work as a stopgap with no interest in sales.
4. How do you research an account before you call?
Strong answer: Two-minute routine: website, LinkedIn, a trigger such as hiring or funding, a reason to call.
Red flag: Calls cold with no research, or spends 30 minutes per account.
5. Write a three-line cold email to our ideal buyer.
Strong answer: Short, specific, one question or ask, no jargon.
Red flag: Long paragraphs, generic praise, three different asks.
6. The prospect says “Just send me an email.” What do you say?
Strong answer: Agrees, then asks one question that earns the right to keep talking.
Red flag: Hangs up and sends a brochure.
7. What would you do after 40 dials and zero conversations?
Strong answer: Checks list quality, call times and the opener; tells the manager with data.
Red flag: Blames the list and keeps going the same way.
8. Tell me about feedback that changed how you sell.
Strong answer: A concrete change and the result it produced.
Red flag: Cannot name any feedback, or argues with all of it.
9. What do you do on a day you miss your activity target?
Strong answer: Owns it, shares a plan, recovers the next day.
Red flag: Excuses only.
10. How do you stay productive working remotely on a US shift?
Strong answer: Fixed routine, quiet workspace, backup internet and power, clear check-ins.
Red flag: No plan for outages or a late shift.
11. Which CRM and dialer have you used, and how did you log calls?
Strong answer: Names tools and describes same-day logging habits.
Red flag: “My manager did the CRM.”
12. Where do you want to be in 18 months?
Strong answer: Growth inside sales: senior SDR, account executive, team lead.
Red flag: No answer, or plans to leave sales.
Skip the first three rounds: get a shortlist of SDRs who already passed a live cold-call test.
Book a free hiring call →Pay nothing until you hireHow to run the live cold-call test
This is the part most teams skip, and the one that matters most. Give every candidate the same scenario so you can compare them fairly.
- Brief (5 min)The candidate gets a one-page brief: your product, buyer and one reason to call.
- Run 1 (5–7 min)A live call with a manager playing a busy prospect who raises 2–3 real objections.
- Feedback (3 min)One specific coaching point, for example “ask a question before pitching”.
- Run 2 (5–7 min)Same scenario, new objection. Score how much of the feedback they apply.
Objections to use
- “Just send me an email.”
- “We already have a provider for that.”
- “There’s no budget this year.”
- “I’m not the right person.”
- “Call me next quarter.”
What to listen for
- The first 15 seconds: a clear name, company and reason to call, without reading from a script.
- Questions before pitch: strong SDRs ask about the prospect’s situation before describing features.
- Calm under pushback: they acknowledge the objection and respond, rather than arguing or giving up.
- A clear ask: every call ends with a specific next step: a meeting time, a referral or permission to follow up.
- Improvement on run 2: this shows how coachable they are. A candidate who applies your feedback straight away will keep improving after the hire.
Score every candidate the same way
Gut feel favours confident talkers. A weighted scorecard keeps the decision about the skills that book meetings. Here’s an example weighting for phone-led outbound:
Extra checks for offshore SDRs
- Spoken English on a phone line, not a video call. Video hides clarity issues that show up on a phone call with background noise.
- Second language, if needed. Test Spanish, Portuguese or French with a native speaker if the SDR will call in that language. See SDRs by country for languages by market.
- Shift commitment. Confirm the exact hours and time zone in writing before the final interview.
- Home setup. A quiet room, a headset, reliable internet and a backup for power or connection outages.
- Tool familiarity. CRM, sequencer and dialer experience shortens ramp, but coachability matters more than any one tool.
Common interview mistakes
- Hiring on the résumé. Past titles don’t prove a candidate can open a cold call.
- Only one role-play run. You learn the most from the second run.
- Testing with friendly objections. Use the ones your real buyers raise.
- Skipping written outreach. Most SDR touches are emails and LinkedIn messages.
- Letting it drag on. Good SDRs get offers quickly. Aim to decide within a week of the first interview.
What it costs once you’ve found the right SDR
Experienced offshore SDRs typically earn $1,200–$2,000 a month through Talentige, depending on the market, compared with about $9,500 a month for a fully loaded US SDR. Clients typically save 72% compared with a US hire. See the full breakdown in offshore SDR cost, or compare models in in-house vs. offshore SDRs.
| Market | Typical monthly pay |
|---|---|
| Mexico | $1,300–$1,900 |
| Colombia | $1,300–$1,900 |
| Brazil | $1,400–$2,000 |
| Argentina | $1,300–$1,900 |
| Morocco | $1,300–$1,700 |
| South Africa | $1,400–$2,000 |
| Egypt | $1,200–$1,800 |
| Philippines | $1,200–$1,800 |
Meet SDRs who already passed the cold-call test
Tell us your buyers, languages and calling hours. You’ll get a shortlist in 5–8 days.
Book a free hiring call →Pay nothing until you hire · Shortlist in 5–8 days · Hire in 1–2 weeks
Questions about interviewing SDRs
What are the best interview questions for an SDR?
How do you test an SDR candidate?
How long should an SDR interview process take?
What should an SDR scorecard include?
How do I check an offshore SDR’s English?
Should I give SDR candidates a script for the role play?
What are red flags in an SDR interview?
Does Talentige test SDR candidates before I meet them?
How much does an offshore SDR cost?
What if the SDR I hire doesn’t work out?
Related SDR guides
Sources
- The Bridge Group, SDR Models, Motions & Metrics: 2025 Research Report, February 6, 2025 (351 B2B companies): median SDR on-target earnings $80,000, average ramp 3.0 months, median 10 initial meetings held per month, median 6 converting to opportunities, median annual attrition 40%. bridgegroupinc.com
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation – June 2026 (released September 9, 2026): private-industry wages 70.0% of total compensation cost. bls.gov
- Talentige placement data (October 2026): 1,750 hires for 483 clients since 2015; shortlist in 5–8 days; hire in 1–2 weeks; clients typically save 72% vs. a US hire; 81% of placements still on the team after 12 months; typical monthly SDR pay by market.