🌟 This is different than what I usually send, but this is the Fractional SDR Playbook that I’ve designed with Ryan Reisert (Co-Founder of Outbound Operators)
Here’s my thoughts:
Being an SDR as a W2 sucks.
And it’s not the job that sucks.
It’s all the BS that comes along with it. Meetings/All-hands, “coaching” calls with managers that don’t know how to cold call. I don’t have to explain further.
Tony Brophy opened my eyes to what was possible as a Fractional SDR.
If you’re still wondering “what’s a fractional SDR?” it’s this: you’re a 1099 SDR who has multiple clients.
Rather than cold calling for one company, you call for whoever hires you. You charge per hour, and get to do what your best at: Cold-calling.
No more internal meetings or other BS.
The results can be sick: if you do it right, there’s a world where you can be making $30k/mo as a fractional seller. Work wherever you want. Don’t deal with managers. Find a way to get health care on your own, etc.
But there are some rules to the game… which I’ll lay out here ⬇
Fractional SDR 101
A fractional SDR isn’t a rep or an agency - it’s a solo operator who sells live conversations as a service.
You’re not hired full-time. You’re contracted for output - conversations, completions, and activations - not meetings or vanity metrics.
Core mindset:
Treat yourself as your own client.
Cold call daily for yourself just like you would for them.
You’re not an “SDR for hire,” you’re a specialist who helps companies that already hire SDRs but need results now.
The job:
You make calls, drive connects, hand off qualified conversations.
You manage your own pipeline, tech, and reporting.
You market yourself the same way you’d market a product - through data, proof, and storytelling.
Ryan’s line sums it up:
“If you’re good at cold calling and you can’t land a client in 30 days by cold calling people who are hiring cold callers - you probably shouldn’t be doing the work.”
I’ll now get into a little about what you’ll need to get started, and some more specifics about how to land your first clients
Tech Stack
Keep it simple. Tony Brophy literally just uses Kixie as a power dialer to track dials, completions, follow-ups, and conversations had. So simple.
You don’t need enterprise software to get going - just the stack that lets you dial fast, track outcomes, and show proof. For our agency we do a little more. We use Parakeet’s SDR dashboard, Kixie for a dialer, and PipeDrive for our CRM.
Baseline setup:
Dialer/CRM – FrontSpin, Kixie, or PhoneBurner.
Lets you record, track, and report calls for clients.
Integrate dashboards to show “here’s what I did and here’s what happened.”
Lead Source – LeadMagic or LinkedIn Recruiter for targeting companies actively hiring SDRs.
Avoid bloated tools like Apollo
Use keyword filters for “hiring SDR,” “cold caller,” “inside sales.”
Data Enrichment – Next or ZoomInfo for pulling direct dials & verifying who picks up.
Bonus: use Titan X if you want connect-rate optimization (not 100% necessary)
This section isn’t 100% necessary, and the company should be doing this for you
Recording & Highlighting (Optional) – Record live sessions and cut 3-min highlight reels of booked calls or strong openings. These become your best marketing content.
Half your credibility is showing the data: completion dashboards, connect rates, booked calls, recordings. That’s your portfolio. Use the tools above to do this
How To Get Clients
You already know how - cold call.
Two paths:
LinkedIn
Start posting about what you do.
Show your numbers, show your progress. This builds inbound.
Tony Brophy started with 100 followers and built a full book of business just posting stats and offers.
Even if you don’t have a platform, if you start posting about what you’re doing, it can work.
Four content pillars you can use:
Your results
What you’ve learned as an SDR
Biggest struggles of being in sales
Personal stories - how you got where you are now
Prospect Hiring Managers
Find companies actively hiring cold callers.
Build the list (using tools mentioned above) → cold call the VP of Sales or RevOps lead.
Script can sound something like: “Hey _____, completely calling you out of the blue here, but I saw you’re hiring for SDR’s… so was hoping to tell you why {company} should consider hiring me fractionally instead of as a W2.
Speak to 100 people. If you can’t get one after talking to 100 people, this might not be for you
Pitch them on your $2K pilot - 10 days, $2,000, 20hrs of cold calling total.
Use your own cold-call game to sell cold-calling - meta, but it works.
If you do both - content + calls - you’ll never go more than a few weeks without new clients.
How / Where To Pitch Your Services
Who to target:
Founders of B2B startups between $1M–$10M ARR.
Sales leaders hiring SDRs but frustrated with performance.
Agencies or consultants that sell lead gen and need fulfillment.
Where:
LinkedIn (posting + DM outreach).
Job boards / keyword searches for “SDR,” “cold caller,” “lead generation.”
Your existing network - referrals close fastest.
Pitch structure (Ryan’s pilot pitch):
“You’re hiring cold callers. The problem is, they don’t make enough dials and cost you ~$100K a year.
I charge $200/hr. You can test me with a $2K pilot (10 hours).
In that time, I’ll produce as much output as a full-time rep working all week.
If you like the results, we move forward monthly at $6K–$8K for 30–40 hours.
I start this week - you get results this week.”
It’s fast, tangible, and framed as a test, not a retainer.
Pricing Model
Keep it stupid simple.
Starter Pilot:
$2,000 for 10 hours of calling.
Goal: show efficiency and quality of conversations.
Ongoing Retainer:
$4,000–$8,000/month for 30–40 hours.
Equivalent to 1–2 hours/day of calling.
Anchor Rate:
$200/hour baseline for quoting custom projects.
Upsells (once established):
RevOps setup - build their CRM/dialer dashboards ($3K–$5K setup). If you know how to do it
Training & Coaching - teach their team the same process. Same thing. If you’re qualified
Reporting & analysis - provide weekly summaries tied to completions.
Remember: companies will pay premium rates for output they can see. Show dashboards and results; that’s what justifies price.
Other Specifics
Success checklist:
Client provides list + messaging before you start.
Don’t. Build. Lists. For. Anyone. They should know their ICP better than you do. Offering to build lists for companies is a kiss of death.
You record calls (with consent) for transparency.
You market yourself daily - post, share, cold call, repeat.
You never call without data: quality list > volume.
You track “completions,” not meetings - completions = reached the ICP and had a real conversation.
Common mistakes to avoid:
Taking clients without clear messaging.
Doing work for equity or commissions only.
Letting clients run your schedule.
Overcomplicating your stack early.
Growth path:
$2K pilot → prove output.
$6–8K monthly → consistent income.
Add 3–4 clients → $15–25K/month business.
Build content and referrals → hire callers under you → fractional agency.
Ryan’s model is proof: 3–4 clients maxed out Tony Brophy’s calendar and brought $20K+ months.
What To Do From Here
1) Get started. Build your list and make your first 20 calls. 90% of you won’t get that far. You should have everything you need now.
2) If you want to join a program that is basically this business in a box, DM and book time with Ryan.
Side note - it costs a lot of money. $500 to book time with him. ABSOLUTELY worth it in my opinion - but only do it if you’re really serious. I’m 99% it will work for you if you go all-in.
3) I’m debating taking on 2-3 people to coach myself. I’m not 100% sure I wanna do it - but if enough people ask me to do it, I will. (No, it wouldn’t be free. Prob charge $2k to coach you through it for a month). Email me back if you’d want this.
Closing Thoughts
None of this is meant to be easy. But business 101 = build a business around a skill of yours. If your skill is cold-calling, and your dream is to be an entrepreneur, then this is for you.
If ONE person takes this by the horns and does it, I’d be stoked. But most people don’t take action, so I don’t have high hopes.
There is no business you will find that will be easy. Just ones better suited for your skillset. But for this business in specific, I’m telling you EXACTLY what will work and what you need to do if you really wanna build it.
Remember, there is no free lunch. And also remember Hormozi’s line:
“Figure out what you want, ignore the opinions of others, then do so much volume that it would be unreasonable for you not to succeed”
Go get em.
And hit me if you have questions.
Jordan Winston
Co-Founder @ Not Your Dad’s Media
Founder of this newsletter you’re reading
🌉 Background: was an AE for a while, hated that, built Pink’s which is an all encompassing home service company, built that, hired a CEO, now building Not Your Dad’s Media
👑 What’s Not Your Dad’s Media and why is the name so awesome? Ah I’m so glad you asked. Not Your Dad’s Media is a content and brand building machine. We build brands for founders that aren’t cringey and act as the arbiters of good views for your company, your voice, and your brand.
🙈 What you didn’t know about me:
I peel my bananas upside down, I apparently love to climb on tables, I love to put my thoughts in as many places on the internet as possible, and choosing a name for companies is my favorite thing ever
Did You Know? We’re launching a founder led content agency in a month? Check out our website here
Till next time,