Hiring SDRs is easy. Hiring SDRs who ramp fast and stick is the hard part, and it is where most teams lose money. This is a practical guide to screening for the traits that predict success and onboarding so new reps get productive in weeks, not quarters.
The short version
The best SDRs are coachable, resilient, and genuinely curious. Those traits predict ramp speed better than a polished resume.
Most teams over-index on past sales titles and under-index on work ethic, listening, and how a candidate handles being told no.
Screen with a real exercise: a mock call or a written outreach, not just a conversation.
Ramp is a function of onboarding, not luck. Clear targets, real call coaching, and fast feedback get reps producing sooner.
Turnover in SDR seats is high across the board, so hiring for retention, not just the next quarter, is what protects the investment.
What makes a great SDR
An SDR's job is rejection with a smile, all day. The reps who win are not the smoothest talkers; they are the ones who stay steady after the tenth no, listen for the actual objection, and apply feedback the same afternoon. Curiosity matters more than charisma: a rep who is genuinely interested in the prospect's problem outperforms one who just runs a script. And coachability is the multiplier. A coachable rep with average raw skill will pass a talented rep who cannot take direction within a quarter.
Where teams go wrong
Hiring for the resume. A big logo in a candidate's history says little about whether they will dial sixty times tomorrow.
Interviewing only on personality. Charm in a room does not equal performance on the phones.
No real exercise. If you never see them do the actual work before hiring, you are guessing.
No ramp plan. A rep with no targets, no scripts, and no coaching will flounder no matter how good they are.
How to hire for ramp speed
Run a process that mirrors the job. Start with a short screen for motivation and resilience. Then give a practical exercise: a mock cold call against a real objection, or a written sequence to a sample prospect. Watch less for the perfect answer and more for whether they prepared, listened, and adjusted when you pushed back. Reference-check for work ethic and coachability specifically. Then, the part most teams skip, build the first thirty days before the rep starts: targets, scripts, a call library, and a coaching cadence. Reps ramp on the strength of that plan.
Hiring for the next quarter is how you end up rehiring every quarter. We screen and place SDRs for ramp and retention, and coaching is included so they keep getting better after they start.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for in an SDR interview?
Resilience, curiosity, and coachability. Ask about a time they were told no repeatedly and what they did, then watch how they take feedback inside the interview itself.
How long should an SDR take to ramp?
With a real onboarding plan, many SDRs are productive within four to eight weeks. Without one, it can stretch to a quarter or more, if they last that long.
Should I hire experienced SDRs or train new ones?
Both work. Experienced reps ramp faster on process; new reps often bring more hunger and fewer bad habits. Coachability matters more than the label either way.
Every leasing resume says strong communicator. Very few say how many units they leased, at what rent, and how many of those residents were still there a year later.
The short version
Leasing is a sales job with a compliance layer, and most hiring processes screen for neither.
Occupancy is the obvious metric. Renewal rate a year later is the honest one.
Affordable and market-rate leasing are different jobs with different paperwork.
The strongest signal is how a candidate handles a prospect who does not qualify.
Leasing is a sales role that nobody screens like one
A leasing agent controls the top of your revenue funnel. They answer the inquiry, run the tour, handle the objection, and get the application over the line. That is sales, and it should be screened like sales: ask for numbers.
How many units did you lease in a typical month? What was your closing rate on tours? How did you follow up with someone who toured and did not apply? Candidates who have really performed answer immediately. Candidates who processed traffic describe their duties instead.
The compliance layer changes the job
In affordable housing, leasing is not purely sales. Income qualification, waitlist rules, and preference categories govern who can move in, and an agent who treats it as a numbers game creates real exposure.
Ask directly whether they have leased affordable units, which programs, and how they handled a prospect who did not qualify. The answer separates people fast. Handled well, it is a respectful conversation and a documented file. Handled badly, it is a fair housing problem.
Screen for the year-later number
Occupancy at move-in is easy to hit if you are not selective. The number that reflects a good agent is how many of those residents renewed. Ask candidates whether they know their renewal rate, and expect the good ones to have an opinion about it even if they never had the report.
This matters more in New York than most markets, because turnover costs here are high and a rushed placement that leaves in eight months erases the value of filling the unit quickly.
What to fix in your own process
Pay structure that punishes selectivity. If commission is purely per lease with no renewal component, you have told the agent that anyone who signs is a win. Do not then be surprised by turnover.
Vague coverage expectations. Leasing happens on weekends. Discovering that after the offer is how these hires end early.
Skipping the tour test. Ask a candidate to walk you through a unit as though you were a prospect. Ten minutes tells you more than the rest of the interview.
Frequently asked questions
What should a leasing agent be paid in New York?
It varies widely by portfolio type and whether commission is included. Market-rate leasing in Manhattan pays differently from affordable housing leasing in the outer boroughs, and total compensation depends heavily on the commission structure. We can benchmark against your specific portfolio.
Is affordable housing leasing different from market rate?
Yes, meaningfully. Income qualification, waitlists, and preference rules govern eligibility, so the agent needs to understand compliance alongside sales. Someone excellent at market-rate leasing can transition, but it is a genuine learning curve.
How do I reduce leasing agent turnover?
Set realistic expectations about weekend coverage during hiring, structure commission so renewals matter and not just move-ins, and give agents enough support that they are not also handling maintenance calls and resident complaints.
Should leasing roles be contract or permanent?
Lease-up projects and seasonal surges suit contract or contract to hire well. Ongoing leasing for a stabilized portfolio is usually a permanent hire, since resident relationships carry value over time.
Hiring leasing talent?
We screen leasing agents on numbers, not adjectives.
