Sales Development Representative (SDR) | Four-day, 32-hour week

Venture Stream is a Shopify Plus Partner and Google Partner agency working with national and international clients including Montane, Planet Organic and Start Fitness. We also build our own AI products for ecommerce, including CommerceLift and Typesmith. And we do it all on a four-day, 32-hour week.

We're growing, and we're looking for an ambitious, motivated Sales Development Representative (SDR) to join our team and be the first point of contact for potential clients. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in identifying, engaging, and qualifying prospects, ensuring a strong pipeline of opportunities for our sales team to convert into long-term clients.

You'll research target accounts, start conversations with decision-makers, qualify interest, and book discovery calls for our sales team. This is a great role for someone who loves talking to people, is motivated by targets, and wants a clear path into a full sales or account management career in the agency world. You'll report to our Head of

Sales.

Key Responsibilities

• Identify and research target accounts and decision-makers (Marketing Directors, Heads of Ecommerce, MDs) across our priority sectors: ecommerce and Shopify brands, and B2B merchants
• Run outbound campaigns via cold email, LinkedIn, phone and video to generate qualified meetings
• Follow up on inbound enquiries and marketing-generated leads quickly and professionally
• Qualify prospects on budget, needs, timeline and authority before handing over to the sales team
• Book and manage discovery calls and demos for our sales team
• Keep accurate records of all activity and pipeline in our CRM
• Test and refine messaging, sequences and call scripts, and share what's working with the team
• Work closely with marketing and delivery teams to understand our services and tailor outreach
• Hit and exceed monthly targets for meetings booked and qualified opportunities created, a blend of qualified agency meetings and software demos

About You

Essential

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Confident, resilient and comfortable with rejection: you treat "no" as part of the process
• Naturally curious, with the ability to research a business and find a relevant angle quickly
• Highly organised, with strong time management and attention to detail
• Competitive and target-driven, with a strong work ethic
• Coachable, with a hunger to learn and progress

Desirable

• 12+ months' experience in an SDR, BDR, telesales, or lead generation role
• Understanding of digital marketing channels such as paid media, SEO, social and content
• Experience with CRM and sales tools, LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Apollo, or similar
• Experience selling services to B2B or agency clients
• Comfortable using AI tools to research prospects and personalise outreach

What Success Looks Like

• First 30 days: learn our services and clients, shadow sales calls, get set up on our tools and start your first campaigns
• By 60 days: running your own outbound campaigns and booking your first qualified meetings
• By 90 days: consistently hitting your monthly meetings target

What We Offer

A starting salary of £25,000.

All Venture Stream staff work a four-day, 32-hour week to promote work-life balance and mental wellbeing. We also benefit from a great working environment, flexible working hours, hybrid working, a friendly team with a dog-friendly office, free tea and coffee, showers and changing facilities for those who commute by bike or on foot, a fully equipped kitchen and a central Newcastle location 50 metres from Central Station.

Venture Stream is committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer and actively encourages applications from individuals of all backgrounds.

Work location: Hybrid, with our office in central Newcastle

How to Apply

Instead of a cover letter, send your CV with a short cold email (three to five lines) to a Shopify brand of your choice, plus one line on why you picked them.

Our process has two stages: a 20-minute intro call, then a short role-play with our Head of Sales.

Pay: From £25,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Cycle to work scheme
• Private medical insurance
• Work from home

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1SG