You've screened the CVs. You've done the culture fit interview. The candidate seems great – good energy, asks smart questions, says the right things about resilience and curiosity.
Now comes the part most hiring managers get wrong: the skills assessment.
This is where you find out if they can actually do the job. Can they research an account? Write a decent message? Hold a conversation with a prospect without falling apart?
But here's the problem. Most SDR skills assessments don't test skills at all. They test existing knowledge, confidence under pressure, or how well someone can wing it with no context.
Then you're surprised when your new hire struggles three months in.
I've spent the last decade building and training SDR teams, including one of the UK's first SDR bootcamps. I've assessed thousands of SDRs through that programme and now at meritt. I've seen every version of the skills assessment – the good, the bad, and the actively counterproductive.
This post will show you what most hiring managers get wrong, what you're actually assessing for, and how to design a skills test that works.
Why Skills Assessment Matters (And When to Do It)
Skills assessment is time-intensive. For both you and the candidate.
You're asking someone to spend 3-5 hours researching an account. You're blocking out an hour to run the assessment properly.
That's why you do it after the culture fit interview, not before.
First, you screen for culture fit – do they align with your values, do they have the right attitude, will they fit with your team? That's a 30-minute conversation that filters out most candidates.
Then, for the finalists who pass that bar, you invest in the skills assessment.
But when you do assess for skills, do it properly. Because this is the most fail-safe way to predict whether someone will succeed.
The Three Mistakes That Ruin Skills Assessments
Mistake 1: Not Giving Candidates Context
You hand the candidate a task: "Research this company and tell us how you'd approach them."
No background on your product. No explanation of your value proposition. No details about the target account.
Then you judge them on the quality of their research and outreach.
Here's the problem: You're testing whether they already know your industry, not whether they can learn and apply information.
What you actually want to know is: can this person take information, process it, and do something useful with it?
To test that, give them the information first. Tell them about your company. Tell them about the target account. Give them the context they'd have on day one. Then see what they do with it.
Mistake 2: Using the Cold Call Role Play Wrong
Most hiring managers throw candidates into a cold call with no prep, no context, and sometimes actively try to trip them up by being difficult.
When the candidate stumbles, they write them off as "not confident enough" or "couldn't handle objections."
What you've actually tested: Their ability to perform under pressure with zero context in an artificial situation.
Real SDRs don't cold call blind. They research. They have a reason to reach out. Your role play should reflect that.
But here's the bigger issue: you're testing the wrong thing entirely.
You're not hiring someone who's already perfect. You're hiring someone you can train. What you need to know is whether they're coachable.
And you can't assess coachability from one role play. You assess it by giving feedback and seeing if they improve.
Mistake 3: No Consistent Scoring
One candidate gets dinged for something you let slide with another. Your "gut feel" creeps in and overrides the structured assessment.
You need a scorecard. Score each candidate on the same criteria, then compare them objectively.
This removes bias and makes your hiring decisions defensible.
What You're Actually Assessing For
Strip away the noise and you're assessing for four things:
1. Research Ability
Can they find relevant information about an account? Can they spot a trigger – funding round, new hire, pain point? This requires curiosity and the ability to connect dots.
2. Communication
Can they write a clear, concise message that's relevant to the prospect? Can they explain their thinking without jargon? You're not looking for Shakespeare. You're looking for clarity and relevance.
3. Strategic Thinking
Can they identify the right personas to target? Can they explain why? Can they plan a sequence beyond "I'll send an email and make a call"?
4. Coachability
This is the big one. Can they take feedback, process it, and apply it immediately?
Coachability is the difference between an SDR who plateaus after three months and one who keeps improving for years.
You assess it by giving feedback in the moment and watching what they do with it.
The Four-Stage Assessment That Works
Here's the structure. Four stages, 60 minutes total (excluding candidate prep time).
Stage 1: The Case Study (Send 3-5 Days Before)
Send the candidate a written brief:
- Background on your company: What you do, who you help, your market position
- Background on the target account: Size, industry, likely challenges, why they're a good fit
- The task: Research the account, identify 2 personas, write 1 message per persona, explain your reasoning
This tests research, strategic thinking, and communication.
Candidates who submit generic, low-effort work show you what you need to know. Candidates who dig in and personalise their approach are worth bringing in.
Stage 2: Presentation (10 Minutes)
Ask them to walk you through their case study. Listen for:
- Clear, structured thinking
- Logical connection between research and your product
- Communication without jargon
Stage 3: Cold Call Role Play – Round 1 (5 Minutes)
Give them context. Tell them:
- Who they're calling
- The prospect's role
- A trigger event (recent hire, funding, expansion)
- The goal is to understand the situation and book a meeting
Play the prospect realistically – busy but not hostile.
Watch how they open, whether they ask questions or just pitch, and whether they stay calm.
Don't judge harshly yet. This is the baseline. The real test comes next.
If candidates want to prep their cold calling skills beforehand, point them to this free cold calling course.
Stage 4: The Coachability Test – Round 2 (10 Minutes)
After the first role play, stop. Give specific, direct feedback.
Not: "That was good, maybe be more confident."
Instead: "Good opening, but you pitched before understanding their situation. Next time, ask how they currently handle [X problem]. Listen, then explain how we help. Try again."
Then run the role play again.
Watch for:
- Did they listen to the feedback?
- Did they apply it?
- Did they improve?
- How did they react – open or defensive?
This is the single most predictive part of the entire assessment.
If they improve, you've found someone coachable. If they argue or repeat the same mistakes, you've found someone who'll be difficult to manage.
The Candidate Brief Email Template
Subject: Next Step – SDR Skills Assessment for [Your Company]
Hi [Candidate Name],
Thanks for the great conversation earlier. We'd like to move you forward to the skills assessment stage.
This is a practical exercise designed to see how you research, think strategically, and communicate. It's also a chance for you to see what the role involves.
What we need from you:
Research & Outreach Strategy
We'd like you to research [Target Company Name] and prepare a short outreach plan.
Background on us:
- What we do: [1-2 sentence summary]
- Who we help: [Your ICP]
- Why clients choose us: [Key differentiators]
Background on the target account:
- Company: [Target Company Name]
- Industry: [Industry]
- Size: [Employee count]
- Why they're a good fit: [Brief explanation]
Your task:
- Research [Target Company Name]
- Identify 2 key personas (include job titles and explain why)
- Write 1 outreach message for each persona
- In 2-3 sentences per persona, explain your reasoning
Timeframe: Please send this by [Date – typically 3-5 days]
What happens next:
We'll review your submission, and if it looks good, we'll invite you to a 60-minute interview where you'll present your research and do a coached cold call role play.
Resources:
If you want tips on cold calling, check out this free cold calling course.
Questions? Reply to this email.
Best,
[Your Name]
Use a Scorecard to Stay Consistent
The biggest mistake hiring managers make is scoring candidates inconsistently.
The solution is simple: use a scorecard.
At meritt, we've built one that covers all four stages and weights coachability appropriately (it's the most predictive part). You score each candidate on the same criteria, then compare them objectively.
Access the free SDR Skills Assessment Scorecard
This removes bias and makes your hiring decisions defensible. It also helps you give better feedback to candidates who don't make it through.
Or Let meritt Run the Assessment for You
If you're reading this thinking "this sounds like a lot of work" – you're right. It is.
But it's worth it if you want to get hiring right.
If you'd rather not spend the time building case studies, running assessments, and scoring candidates, that's exactly what we do at meritt.
We run this exact process for every SDR candidate. We assess for research ability, communication, strategic thinking, and coachability. We only introduce you to people who've passed our structured assessment and demonstrated the traits that predict success.
You get shortlisted candidates who are already vetted. You skip straight to the final interview.
Final Thoughts
Skills assessment isn't optional if you want to hire SDRs who succeed.
But most hiring managers do it wrong. They test existing knowledge instead of learning ability. They judge candidates on one cold call with no coaching. They rely on gut feel instead of structured scoring.
The result? Mis-hires, high turnover, and underperforming pipelines.
Follow this process – case study, presentation, two-round role play with coaching, consistent scoring – and you'll make better hires.
It takes time. But it's the most fail-safe way to assess whether someone can do the job.