The SDR Job Is Becoming a Systems Job

The SDR job isn't disappearing — it's transforming into a systems role. And most companies aren't ready for what that actually means. In this episode, Outcraft AI co-founder Edvin Rakickas joins co-host Camela Thompson to break down why AI-assisted outbound failed for so many early adopters, what it takes to make it work now, and how one company replaced seven of eight SDRs — not by cutting corners, but by rethinking what the role should actually do.

If you're a RevOps operator evaluating AI sales tools, or wondering how your outbound motion needs to evolve, this is a grounded, practitioner-first conversation worth your time. Edvin covers the real reasons leads fail to convert (hint: it's almost never the leads), how to train an AI model when your data isn't perfect, what questions to ask vendors before you commit, and why conversation intelligence is one of the most underutilized assets in B2B sales today.

🎙️ Speakers:

- Camela Thompson, Co-Host, RevOps Co-op — https://www.linkedin.com/in/camela-thompson/

- Edvin Rakickas, Co-Founder, Outcraft AI — https://www.linkedin.com/in/edvinas-rakickas-28bb2b384/

⏱️ Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction & Guest Background

1:45 - Why early AI outbound experiments failed

4:00 - The real follow-up problem (and how AI solves it)

8:30 - What breaks before the tool is ever deployed

12:00 - Company maturity and starting before you're ready

16:00 - How the SDR role is changing