Vercel cut 10 SDRs to 1 — $5k a year

Vercel's COO Jeanne Dewitt Grosser says the company took a 10-person sales development rep team down to one. The whole thing now costs about $5,000 a year.

That's the kind of cut that makes people nervous — especially in sales orgs built around outbound prospecting. But the math is straightforward: if you're selling into a tight segment (developers, engineers) and the product sells itself through the developer loop, you don't need a squad of people dialing for appointments.

The bigger signal is that this isn't a one-off. AI-assisted outreach and warm developer communities are compressing the traditional SDR funnel. Teams that used to justify a dozen reps are now running leaner. The ones that adapt — or get left behind — will decide who's actually moving revenue in 2025.

Why this matters for us: if your side hustle or small shop is doing cold outreach, you're about to see the cost of doing that go way down — and the competition get way more aggressive.