Hello ladies, gents, cartoon animals, and others.
Back to regular sales program since the last article.
Today’s article?
Few tips each new SDR should think about. Before we go further, you should already realize that Substack, at this point, will not be only about cold emails and sales as we started initally.
There is so much to cover when it comes to cold emails once you are done with fundamentals. We are starting to expand our horizons with SDR material and more "WiFi money” articles.
SDR life can be brutal. Depending on the company, the logo you represent, and who is above you. Meaning you should do everything you can to be a step above and hit your quota.
Take what you find valuable and tailor depending on your needs. Content in the article is meant for new SDRs or ones that are yet to break into the role.
Few practical tips each could implement.
Tip #1
Cold-calling prospects at the right time.
The tweet should be pretty self-explanatory.
Tip #2
Learn from the ones above you.
Ask your AE if you can join on a few calls.
During the call, once the prospect starts telling the pain points out, make sure to write them down. Few calls like this one should clearly overview what brings people to your service/product.
Be smart about it and use the same pain points in your prospecting. Not just in the prospecting context. But also in understanding the deeper difficulties subjects in the industry are having.
The best thing about it? Industry principles should be the same for all your prospects if the prospect fits your customer profile.
Tip #3
Don’t sleep on the prospects that answered your phone during one point of your outreach but you never managed to book a meeting with them. Sometimes the timing is off or they got drunk the night before and had the biggest hangover.
So they had a rough next day. In each case, they were not in the mood to listen to you. Keep it easy. Open your CRM scroll and find who answered in the past but you never managed to move forward.
Those should be low-hanging fruits to pick up if done right → one of the easiest ways to book a few meetings per month.
Tip #4
SDRs without strong character…
We all know it’s not easy to pick up the phone over xxx times per week as an SDR. But that will make you a monster in the long run. Hearing “No” after “No” is what builds you and what turns you into a prospecting machine.
Exactly what you need to be a good SDR.
New SDRs should not take “No” personally and become emotional about it. It’s just a part of the game. Remember, your prospects are humans too. Maybe their car broke down on the way to work or they found or that their wife is cheating on them.
Tip #5
There is more than one outreach channel.
Something new started to pop out while randomly browsing the SDR’s job postings: “No cold calling required, only cold emails.”
You should immediately disqualify this company from working there. “But that’s perfect I will not have to cold call people because I hate it anyway”. Well, you will not be hitting your quota either way.
Never should an SDR rely just on one outreach channel. Dosen’t matter how good it may be. Over time, methods and effectiveness of them change.
Back in 2018 how many cold emails could you send without ending up in the spam? Easily 100 per domain/day. Loads of companies and SDRs were into the cold email volume game back in the day. Now?
Your daily limit is maxed at about 40 emails per domain if done right. Would the same method depending on the email volume, still make you successful?
No.
Make sure you, as an SDR, experiment with different angles and try out as much stuff as possible when it comes to outreach. You will be surprised how different methods work in certain industries. Finding that sweet spot should be your goal.
Tip #6
Learn to prioritize.
When it comes to SDRs something not mentioned quite often is wrong prioritization. In the sense that it’s easy to burn 20 hours per week on most useless stuff.
Activities that will not bring you any added value or help you hit quota. It’s easy to get lost in the CRM or scroll through lead scrapers. Not to mention any other sort of admin work or reporting stuff.
You should categorize small boring tasks into “no-value add categories”.
You should categorize prospecting and outreach into “value-added categories”.
Aim to spend at least 70% of your working day in the “value-added category” otherwise, you will be setting yourself up for failure. Ensure you track your activities and how much time you spend on them.
Extra:
Automatize everything you can. We can’t cover this in-depth here as it will depend on many factors. But I know quite a few SDRs that managed to automate their reporting and admin stuff with a few easy tricks. Minimal Python skills will get you far regarding topics such as this.
Tip #7
Don’t play by the rules.
Rules could be considered a wrong term. Anything else that the mainstream tries to force onto you when it comes to your 9 - 5. All these tech companies being all about culture and people is BS. Your only goal should be to deliver and take your paycheck home.
Remember, they are not your family.
Always appear to respect “the rules” and follow orders but play your own game on the side. Work on your side income or start your WiFi money journey ASAP. The second income stream will bring you a certain IDGAF attitude that will push you to new heights. The effect it has on your performance is incomparable with anything.
Remember, it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
Conclusion
Taking a few tips into your “ daily practice” should make it easier for you to hit the quota. Small details add up and turn into the big picture. There are multiple ways to succeed in the SDR game.
Building fundamentals and playing long-term games (building skills that will help you as an SDR) is what counts. Keeping it short and to the point here.
Running your side biz that is based on lead generation?
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