> [!meta]- Document Info > **Author**: [[Tim Babcock]] > **Full Title**: Sales Prospecting Is Becoming an Engineering Problem > **Category**: #articles > > **Summary**: Sales prospecting is shifting from a manual process handled by entry-level Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) to an automated, engineering-focused approach. Founders are encouraged to implement software tools that streamline prospecting, allowing future SDRs to manage and optimize these automated pipelines. This change will require hiring individuals with technical skills and a mindset for building efficient sales processes. > > **Source**: [Original URL](https://www.readamplified.com/sales-prospecting-is-becoming-an-engineering-problem) ## 📄 Full Document → [[Sales Prospecting Is Becoming an Engineering Problem]] ## 🔦 Highlights & Commentary - **Prospecting is actually an engineering problem**, and founders should think about it like a configurable, tuneable pipeline. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jke0tt6d2ew9077e3bss2h2t)) - Note: Thesis - In my work at Amplify, I’m starting to see forward-thinking sales teams hold off on hiring SDRs and instead use (often haphazardly) patched-together software pipelines to manage their prospecting. They are treating prospecting like an engineering problem. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jke0wwf9ekwj47rqnb18vakq)) - My bet is that the SDR will move away from a low skill, high input job and instead become more of an ops-focused builder and maintainer of a humming pipeline. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jke0x5svafjrhsr3pe3xnpk9)) - you **instantly** know who visits your website via a tool like RB2B or Koala (RB2B can even ping a Slack channel as visitors hit the site). From there, visitor information is piped to a data tool like Clay, which can enrich the profile and fill out an email template that Apollo can send. It’s all automated, with as much room as you want for manual intervention. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jke0ymrcr3dhzv54s38ww49f)) - Then, you pipe those profiles into ChatGPT, which generates a personalized line or two to add to your templates before Apollo sends them out. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jke0z9bepe2hvgbx4qa024y3)) - Note: TAM matters a lot here, wrt whether or not we need to automate messaging. - SDRs of the future will be conductors of these pipelines, expanding, adjusting, and tuning them to be faster and more efficient over time. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01jke1090pke5jexcen445cnfz)) - Note: "GTM Engineering" as a function vs. "GTM Engineers" as a role. Some fuzzines here.