Year-Round Quota Success Starts Now

As an SDR, success depends on consistently filling the pipeline. One of the most nerve-racking parts of the job is being held to a monthly number—but the best reps know that hitting quota isn’t about scrambling at the start of the month.

The number one reason SDRs miss their number? They start each month figuring out how to hit their goal instead of coming in with a plan. This is an even bigger problem during slow months when opportunities dry up.

If you want to hit your quota all year long, you have to start early in the year – like now. For SDRs this means prospect like crazy and track your prospect engagements. 

Early Planning – Own Your Book of Business

Whether you’re new to your Sales Development role or have been at your current company for sometime, chances are you just got a new book of business for the Fiscal Year. The best thing you can do right now is to get to know accounts. 

Your CRM and sales tools hold millions of insights that can help you prioritize. Spend a day or two (not a week, not a month—a day or two) organizing your accounts. Here’s what to look for:

• Quick wins – Past customers at new accounts, warm inbound leads, deals that went dark.
• Buying signals – Recent funding, hiring spikes, or tech stack changes.
• Account tiers – Who are the most valuable prospects? Prioritize high-intent, ICP-fit accounts.
• Key contacts – Make sure all the right decision-makers are in your system.

Once your book is organized, stop overanalyzing and start prospecting. Don’t hide behind emails and LinkedIn requests. Pick up the phone and make dials.

Track Every Engagement (Yes, Every Single One)

The one mistake I see too many SDRs make? They don’t track every person they connect with. You are probably thinking “But John was a total a**hole and hung up on me!”

Guess what? John won’t remember that tomorrow, and neither should you. Log it anyway:  

❌ BAD NOTE: “John was dick and hung up.”

✅ GOOD NOTE: “John was busy, didn’t have the time to hear me out”

See the difference? You’re giving yourself a future opportunity instead of avoiding the lead altogether. 

As rudimentary as the below table looks, this is how I have tracked engagements for 10 years. Tracking Month over Month has been super helpful for me. Most important: don’t overcomplicate it! These engagements will become your goldmine for booking meetings all year long.

February					March
Date	Company	Name	Title	Outcome/ Notes	Date	Company	Name	Title	Outcome / Notes
2/1	Acme Corp	John Doe	VP Sales	Busy, Couldn’t chat	3/1	ABC	Carol King	SR Dir Sales	Traveling won’t have time till April
2/2	Beta Inc	Sarah Smith	Dir. Sales	Heading into SKO – Call back	3/4	Alpha Co	Jenny Jones	CRO	Meeting Booked

The Best SDRs Never Start a Month Cold

The worst place to be on the first day of the month? Not knowing who you’re reaching out to.

The best place to be? Knowing exactly where your quota will come from.

Here’s how to stay ahead:

• At the start of every month, reevaluate your priority accounts and adjust as needed.
• Hit your engagement list first—brush-offs, follow-ups, no-shows, interested-but-not-ready prospects.
• Then cold call your ass off again to keep adding to the list.

Plan for the Slow Seasons

If you’re new to sales, here’s something you need to know: some months suck for booking meetings.

Slow periods:

📅 Mid-June to Mid-August – Vacations, summer break. Decision-makers are OOO.

📅 Thanksgiving to Fiscal Year-End – The end-of-year chaos. Holidays + closing the year = hard to book new meetings.

If you don’t have a plan by mid-June, You are going to stress hitting quota most of the summer. Same for Thanksgiving through Q4 close—if you don’t prepare, you’ll be scrambling. You can avoid the struggle by Leverage the engagements you built during peak prospecting months. Even if your plan falls apart, you’ll have somewhere to start.

Bonus Tip: Use Quota Relief Strategically

If you work for a great company that offers quota relief for PTO, don’t waste it in peak months.

(For those who don’t know: Some companies offer quota relief if you take 5+ consecutive PTO days—basically, your target is reduced for that period.)

If your company offers this, be smart about when you take it. Don’t burn your quota relief on months when meetings are easiest to book. Save it for July or December, when people are ghosting you anyway.

Final Takeaways

• Prospect like crazy—with a heavy focus on calling.
• Track every engagement, no matter how small.
• Plan for slow seasons so you’re never caught off guard.

Success in Sales Development boils down to consistency—consistency in prospecting and consistency in follow-up. Following these steps won’t just help you hit quota— they’ll help you crush it.