SDR Recruitment Agency in Belgium

Archetype recruits Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) for B2B SMEs and mid-sized companies in Belgium: people who prospect, qualify and book meetings for your Account Executives or field sales team. We first agree with you on the scope of the role (outbound prospecting, inbound lead handling, or both), then we headhunt and assess candidates before you meet them. We work on a retainer, with fees set in a written proposal before the search starts, and a search takes 12 weeks on average. A 6-month replacement guarantee applies. Tell us about the role and you will receive a proposal within 48 to 72 hours.

Sales Development Representative on the phone with an Account Executive in a Brussels office — The SDR qualifies, the Account Executive closes: a handover to define before you hire.

What an SDR does, and what they do not do

The SDR works at the start of the sales cycle. They identify companies that fit your target, reach decision-makers by phone, email or LinkedIn, check that there is a need, a budget and a timeline, then hand a qualified meeting to a salesperson. They do not negotiate and they do not sign. Their job ends when an Account Executive takes over the opportunity.

Not every company splits the sales cycle this way: in many teams, one salesperson does everything, finding the client, convincing them, signing, then looking after the account. Splitting that work makes sense once prospecting takes too much of your sellers’ time. It also creates a risk: if the boundaries between roles are vague, the meetings handed over are poorly qualified and the relationship between SDRs and sellers turns sour. The full role profile is in our article Sales Development Representative: job description.

The SDR, Account Executive, Account Manager chain

Before hiring an SDR, decide who they hand over to, and when. The diagram below shows a common split in a B2B sales team that separates the stages of the cycle. In your company, one person may cover more than one box.

1. SDR
Targets, contacts and qualifies prospects.
Delivers: a qualified meeting.
Does not: negotiate or sign.

2. Account Executive
Runs discovery, demo, proposal and negotiation.
Delivers: a signed contract.
Does not: high-volume prospecting.

3. Account Manager
Looks after the client after signature, renews and grows the account.
Delivers: retention and additional sales.
Does not: look for new clients.

If one person must find, convince and sign new clients alone, you are probably looking for a Business Developer: see our page on Business Developer recruitment. If your need is closing the opportunities, read our page on Account Executive recruitment. For existing clients, see Account Manager recruitment. And if your SDR will work remotely on inbound leads only, our page on Inside Sales recruitment is also relevant.

Three questions to settle before you hire

On the first call, we do not take your job description as it stands. We test it against three questions, because they decide which profile we should look for.

Outbound or inbound? An SDR who calls companies that have never heard of you needs a different temperament from one who calls back contacts who downloaded a white paper. Some companies call the first a BDR (Business Development Representative) and the second an SDR. The real split of work matters more than the title.
Who receives the meetings? A dedicated Account Executive, a field salesperson, or you? The definition of a “qualified meeting” should be written down and agreed by the person who receives it.
What career path? Many SDRs aim for a closing role after a few years. If that path exists in your company, say so. If it does not, we look for someone who enjoys prospecting for its own sake.

Language is the other decision. An SDR prospecting Flanders needs to hold a sales conversation in Dutch, one covering Brussels and Wallonia needs French, and some roles require both, plus English. We recruit in French, Dutch and English across Belgium.

Our first call isn’t about validating your brief. It’s about challenging it. Most agencies take the order, go sourcing, and come back with ten CVs. We put the requirement back on the table first: is the role properly defined, does the scorecard hold up, is the market aligned with your range? If the brief drifts, so does the sourcing. This discipline isn’t comfortable for everyone, but it’s what’s kept us in business for 33 years.
The Archetype method, since 1993

How we assess an SDR

SDR candidates interview well: talking to strangers is their job. An interview alone therefore tells you little. We run it on facts: call volumes, meetings handed over, meetings accepted or rejected by the seller. We watch one thing closely: does the candidate try to qualify the need, or to get a meeting at any cost? Your sellers will feel the difference within weeks.

Every finalist also takes the KOAN assessment, which we have used for 30 years. KOAN reads three dimensions: competencies, drivers (what moves the person forward and what holds them back) and behavioural dynamics, meaning how they react under pressure and to rejection. Within the KOAN Sales model, we look closely at perseverance, responsiveness and method, without ignoring the other dimensions. To see the candidate at work, a prospecting role-play built on your offer can be added: our assessment approach is described on our page on assessment for recruitment.

Our method, from first call to onboarding

The first call is used to take a detailed brief and challenge the role. Within 48 to 72 hours you receive a proposal. Between the first and second calls, we prepare a summary of the need, the list of open questions, the scorecard for the role, the sourcing strategy and, for exclusive assignments, an employer branding proposal. The second call presents that work. On average, an assignment is signed 12 days after first contact.

In-depth briefing: target, channel, split between outbound and inbound, definition of a qualified meeting, languages.
Written sourcing strategy for the assignment.
Structured screening: in-depth interview and KOAN.
Shortlist presentation with scorecard, interview transcripts and a validated job description.
Follow-up before, during and after the hire, including onboarding follow-up over the first three months.

Fees, timing and guarantee

We work on a retainer only, never on a success fee. You commit to the assignment and we see it through, however long it takes. Our fee is set before the search starts, in the written proposal you sign. It depends on the languages required, the seniority of the role, the technical complexity of your offer and the difficulty of the assignment.

Allow 12 weeks on average between signing the assignment and the candidate signing, plus the candidate’s notice period. A 6-month replacement guarantee applies if the candidate leaves. More than 75 to 80% of our assignments are carried through to placement. Archetype is a family business founded in 1993 and a Federgon member; our assignments are split between Flanders (48%), Brussels (26%), Wallonia (16%) and the Netherlands (10%).

About Archetype

Archetype is a Belgian family business founded in 1993 by Marc Diamant and now co-managed with Davy Diamant and Steve Diamant. A member of Federgon, it won Talent Business Innovation of the Year 2025 for its ethical and structured use of AI.

Frequently asked questions about hiring an SDR

What is a Sales Development Representative?

An SDR is the salesperson in charge of the start of the sales cycle. They identify prospects, contact them, check their need and hand qualified meetings to an Account Executive or a field salesperson. They do not negotiate or sign contracts.

What is the difference between an SDR and an Account Executive?

The SDR creates and qualifies the opportunity. The Account Executive takes it over, runs discovery, presents the proposal, negotiates and signs. The first is measured on the qualified meetings they hand over, the second on signed contracts.

SDR or BDR: what is the difference?

Both titles describe a prospecting and qualification role. When a company uses both, the BDR usually does outbound prospecting and the SDR handles inbound leads. For hiring, what matters is the real split between those two activities in your team.

How much does it cost to hire an SDR with Archetype?

The fee is set before the search starts, in a written proposal sent within 48 to 72 hours of the first call. It depends on the languages required, the seniority of the role, the complexity of your offer and the difficulty of the assignment. We work on a retainer, with no success fee, and a 6-month replacement guarantee.