Your First Week with an AI SDR
An AI SDR can take the repetitive part of prospecting off your reps' plates: dialing, leaving voicemails, asking the same qualifying questions. Your reps then spend more of their day in real conversations. The first week sets the tone. Go slow, test a lot, and keep your reps involved. This plan assumes a five-day rollout.
Before day one
Gather these:
- Your qualifying questions. Three to five questions that decide whether a lead is worth a rep's time.
- A consented lead list. Only people who agreed to be called, ideally with written consent that covers AI voices. The FCC treats AI voices as artificial voices under the TCPA.
- Your calling window. Hours in the lead's local time.
- Transfer contacts. Which reps get transferred calls and their phone numbers.
- Your do-not-call list. So the agent never calls someone who asked you to stop.
Day 1: Set up and listen to yourself
- Set up your account, team, and phone numbers.
- Write the agent's opening. It should name your company, and give the reason for the call.
- Enter your qualifying questions and what counts as "qualified."
- Set your calling window and retry schedule. Start with a moderate schedule rather than the most aggressive one.
- Call the agent yourself. Play a lead. Try an easy yes, a hard no, and a "stop calling me."
Do not call real leads yet. Day one is for hearing what your buyers will hear.
Day 2: Test with your team
- Have three or four reps call in or receive test calls and act as tough prospects.
- Test warm transfers. Does the rep's phone ring? Does the rep get the notes? What happens if no one picks up?
- Test voicemail. Is the message short and clear, with a callback number?
- Test a stop request. Confirm the call ends politely and the number lands on your do-not-call list.
- Collect feedback in one shared document.
Update the agent's instructions based on what you heard. Small wording changes make a big difference.
Day 3: Go live with a small batch
- Upload a small list of fresh, consented leads. Twenty to fifty is plenty.
- Have one or two reps on standby for transfers.
- Listen to calls live if your tool allows it. Many AI calling tools let reps listen in and coach the agent mid call by typing or talking.
- Review every recording from the batch at the end of the day.
Look for:
- Did the opener land? Did people stay on the line?
- Did the agent ask questions clearly and wait for answers?
- Were transfers smooth?
- Were dispositions accurate?
Day 4: Coach and adjust
- Pick the three weakest calls from day three and figure out why they went wrong.
- Update the agent's instructions. Common fixes include shorter questions, better answers to common objections, and clearer transfer wording.
- Run a second small batch and compare.
- Connect your CRM if you have not yet, so calls, notes, and dispositions show up where reps already work.
Let your reps lead the coaching. They know your buyers. When they see the agent improve from their feedback, they start treating it as their assistant, not a threat.
Day 5: Review and plan week two
Hold a 30-minute team review. Cover:
- What worked. Which openers, questions, and transfers went well.
- What broke. Missed transfers, confusing answers, wrong dispositions.
- Compliance check. Every call inside the calling window, every stop request honored, every lead consented.
- Numbers to watch. Connected calls, conversations, transfers, and meetings booked. Record your own baseline. Do not compare to outside averages.
Then decide on week two: more leads, more lead sources, or more reps on transfer duty.
Common first-week mistakes
- Starting with old or bought lists. Use fresh, consented leads first.
- Too many questions. Every extra question loses people. Keep it short.
- No backup for transfers. If no rep answers, the agent should book a callback or create a task.
- Skipping recordings. You cannot coach what you have not heard.
- Leaving reps out. The rollout works best when reps help shape the agent.
The goal
By the end of week one, you should have an AI SDR that sounds like your team, follows your rules, and hands real conversations to your reps. It will not be perfect. It does not need to be. It needs to be honest, compliant, and improving every week.