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SDR-team playbook: shared workspace, roles, sender pool & approval workflow

Run an SDR team in one workspace: managers and members, a per-rep sender pool, a content-approval workflow so drafts get a human yes before sending, and a shared inbox worked toward booked meetings.

  1. Set up one shared workspace for the team

    Run the team from a single workspace so contacts, mailboxes, and campaigns are visible to everyone on it. Leads own the workspace's settings; reps work inside it day to day. See Manage Organizations & Workspaces if you're setting this up for the first time.

  2. Invite reps as Members, leads as Managers

    On Settings → Team → Invitations, invite each rep as Member (standard day-to-day access) and each team lead as Manager (can manage campaigns, contacts, and content: including approvals). Pair roles with a custom permission group if you need a tighter slice than the built-in roles offer. See Invite & Manage Team Members and Roles & Permission Groups.

    Invite reps as Members, leads as Managers
  3. Give each rep a warmed mailbox: the sender pool

    Every rep connects and warms their own mailbox (Connectors → Add Connector, toggle Email Warmup). There's no separate rotation toggle: the campaign's sender pool is simply every rep's mailbox assigned as a sender, so volume spreads across the team automatically instead of one mailbox carrying it all. See Add Unlimited Mailboxes and Email Warm-up Setup.

    Give each rep a warmed mailbox: the sender pool
  4. Build the team's outreach campaign

    Create the campaign: Campaigns → Create Campaign, Outreach, Autopilot, goal Meeting. Describe the team's ICP in Contact Search Criteria, then on Settings assign each rep's warmed connector as a sender so the pool is in place before launch. See Create an Autopilot Meeting Campaign.

    Build the team's outreach campaign
  5. Tune one shared SDR voice

    Open AI Instructions and set Persona & Voice, structure, and CTA once at the campaign level. Every rep's drafts inherit this voice, so brand consistency doesn't depend on how any one person writes: it's set centrally, not per sender.

    Tune one shared SDR voice
  6. Turn on the approval workflow: Must Approve

    In the Workflow's Content Approval step, set the mode to Must Approve (require-approve): “Emails stay on hold until you explicitly approve. No action = no send.” Unlike auto-approve's 24-hour timeout, nothing goes out without an explicit yes: the right default while reps ramp. Wire a Telegram connector so approval prompts land wherever a manager already is.

    Turn on the approval workflow: Must Approve
  7. Work the approval queue

    Managers review the drafts waiting in the needs-approval queue: approve on-brand ones, reject or fix the rest. Because the mode is Must Approve, nothing reaches a candidate's or prospect's inbox unreviewed: the gate is real, not a formality.

  8. Share the inbox and drive to meetings

    Reps triage replies together in the shared Inbox and book calls as they come in. Managers watch Analytics (replies and meetings booked) as the team's scoreboard, not opens. See Read Campaign Analytics.

Pro tips

  • Must Approve is the manager's safety catch

    Unlike auto-approve's 24h auto-send, Must Approve never sends without an explicit yes: the right default while a new rep ramps up.

  • One SDR voice, many senders

    Tune Persona & Voice once at the campaign level so brand consistency doesn't depend on each rep's individual writing.

  • The sender pool is the rotation

    There's no separate rotation toggle: assign each rep's warmed mailbox as a campaign sender and volume spreads across the pool automatically.

  • Wire Telegram for approvals

    With Must Approve, prompts land in Telegram so a manager can approve from their phone instead of living inside the app all day.

Frequently asked questions

How do I stop reps from sending unreviewed email?

Set the campaign's Content Approval step to Must Approve (require-approve): drafts hold until a manager explicitly approves them; no timeout auto-send.

Manager vs. Member: who can approve?

Managers can manage campaigns and content, which includes working the approval queue. Scope the Manager role to team leads and keep reps at Member.

How does the sender pool actually work?

Assign each rep's own warmed mailbox as a sender on the campaign's Settings tab. There's no rotation toggle: the app spreads volume across whichever connectors are assigned.

Where do managers approve drafts?

In the needs-approval queue tied to the campaign's Content Approval step; with a Telegram connector wired in, prompts also land there so managers can approve from their phone.

Auto-approve vs. Must Approve: what's the difference?

Auto-approve notifies you but auto-sends after 24 hours if you don't act. Must Approve holds indefinitely until you explicitly approve: better for a controlled team where nothing should ship unreviewed.

Should the whole team share one inbox?

Yes: one shared workspace means one shared Inbox, so reps triage replies together and managers can see the same activity the team does.

One shared SDR voice or one per rep?

Set it once at the campaign level. A single, tuned voice keeps outreach on-brand regardless of which rep's mailbox a given email sends from.

How do we measure the team?

Watch Analytics for replies and meetings booked, not opens: with a Meeting goal, that's the number that reflects real pipeline.

Getting Started

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Install with AI

Your coding agent sets up the FirstSales CLI and skills for you.

Prompt for Claude Code

I'm setting up FirstSales (https://firstsales.io), an AI outbound sales platform: campaigns, contacts, a reply inbox, deliverability and lead signals. Help me get my workspace sending real, good emails end to end, from Claude Code.

Read these first so you know how FirstSales works:
- Developer docs and API: https://developer.firstsales.io
- CLI: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@firstsales.io/cli
- Skills for coding agents: https://github.com/firstsalesio/firstsales-skills (read README.md and GUIDE.md)

Setup
1. Install the CLI: npm install -g @firstsales.io/cli
2. Install the FirstSales skills:
   claude plugin marketplace add firstsalesio/firstsales-skills
   claude plugin install firstsales@firstsales
3. Ask me if I already have a FirstSales account. If not, send me to https://app.firstsales.io to sign up.
4. Ask me to create an API key under Settings → API → API Keys, with only the scopes we need.
   Never ask me to paste the key into this chat. Tell me to run this in my own terminal, so the key stays hidden:
   read -rs FS_KEY && firstsales auth login --api-key "$FS_KEY"; unset FS_KEY
5. Run `firstsales whoami` and tell me which workspace and organisation we are connected to.

Then ask me about my business: what I sell, who I sell to (roles, company size, countries), my best customers, and what I use today for outbound (tools, lists, mailboxes). Walk me through:
1. Teaching FirstSales my business: website, offer, proof points and case studies in the knowledge base, so the AI writes like someone who knows the product.
2. Connecting my sending mailboxes and checking my sending domain: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and warm-up. If anything is unhealthy, tell me the exact DNS record to add.
3. Bringing in contacts: import my CSV or CRM export into a clean list, remove duplicates and bad emails, and block domains I must never email (customers, competitors, my own).
4. Building my first campaign: the right list, senders, steps and timing. Write the sequence with me, show me the drafts, and do not launch until I say yes.
5. Setting up Signals if it fits: find people engaging with LinkedIn posts about topics my buyers care about, and turn them into leads.
6. Inviting my team and giving each person the right access.

Once campaigns run, show me how to work the reply inbox from here: which replies need an answer, draft responses in my voice, and move good conversations into deals. If I use Cal.com, connect it so follow-ups can offer my booking link (not the first email).

Throughout, as you learn about my business, proactively suggest and help create:
- Reply templates for the questions and objections my prospects are likely to raise, based on my product, site and codebase if you can see them.
- Campaign ideas and segments worth testing, with the reason for each.

Safety rules:
- Show every change as a dry run (--dry-run) first and wait for my yes. Never send emails, launch campaigns or delete anything without my yes.
- Tell me before anything that spends credits, and how many.

Be opinionated. If the docs give a sensible default, just use it. Don't make me choose between five options.