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What Really Makes An SDR Successful in 2024? 

the sales development playbook_JGA sales development training

Summary

Being a successful Sales Development Representative (SDR) today requires more than it ever has, even since the inception of the role itself.

 

Before writing this article, we read lots of online resources that try to answer “What makes an SDR successful?”. Sadly, we found that nearly all of them offer surface-level advice like "be organized" or "stay resilient," and lack the specifics needed to win in the current environment. True success in sales development today comes from a mixture of intrinsic factors, and mastering a set of very specific skills and strategies.

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Three facts about winning sales development that we’ve observed in the last decade:

 

  • The most foundational parts of SDR success are innate, and must be found rather than taught. 

  • Once the foundation is secured, your company acts as a vehicle, playing a significant role in either propelling you forward or holding you back. 

  • Achieving SDR success isn’t always about spending more money or investing in more technology

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This article was designed to serve as a guide for revenue & SDR leaders, describing in detail each required milestone needed to achieve success at the individual contributor level.

 

Three more things to keep in mind before you read:

 

  1. The levels are in chronological order

  2. Every level is important and builds on the previous ones. 

  3. Don’t skip levels: you may be fine in the short term but eventually, you will pay the price.

Level 1: Purpose

MEANING An SDR needs to have a why and an intrinsic motivator that goes far beyond what the company requires.

 

Although many leaders try, you can't train internal fire or ignite it with a motivational speech—you can only hire for it. Some hire unmotivated people and try to give them drive, but that’s not the business you want to be in as a leader! However, you can influence and reignite existing motivation when it wanes.

 

Every SDR's purpose and internal driver is different, but there are several common ones.

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Common SDR & Sales Intrinsic Drivers

 

  • Money

  • Status

  • Philanthropy

  • Control/Agency (income, lifestyle, destiny)

  • Upward Mobility (life/career)

  • Creative Freedom

  • Competitiveness

  • Achievement

Level 2: Talent

MEANING An SDR must possess the natural talent and aptitude to perform the role at a high level.

 

Can you train a mid to bottom-tier SDR to get better at their job? If they’re really coachable and have a strong motivator, sure you can. But as a sales leader, you’re making your life much harder than it has to be.

 

The truth is, no amount of training or coaching will change the innate talent level of the person in the role. It’s much harder to turn a D player into an A player, than to turn a B player into an A player. The best leaders start by finding winners and then, through great enablement, process, and support, help them win more.

 

The solution to level 2 is to find the absolute best people possible to join your SDR team.

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3 Tips To Recruit "A Player" SDRs

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TIP 1 BECOME AN "A PLAYER" SDR LEADER AND COMPANY​

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To attract A players, you need to be an A player too. Ask yourself: What will a top performer gain from joining me and our company?

 

TIP 2 HAVE A STRONG INTERVIEW PROCESS​

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Set up a solid interview process to assess new SDR candidates and their talent level. Become excellent at identifying, vetting, and securing top performers within your SDR interview process. For more on this topic, check out our SDR hiring guide here.

 

TIP 3 PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROLEPLAY​

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Carefully observe how a candidate performs during the mock roleplay portion of the interview. Look for key traits such as raw prospecting and sales skills, coach-ability, adaptability, improvisation, and lack of defensiveness when receiving feedback

 

If you focus on hiring the best, you will build a team of high performers who you can 10X with the right support and training.

Level 3: Compensation

MEANING An SDR needs a challenging, yet motivating compensation plan that aligns their pay with the goals of their company.

 

SDR compensation plans need a good balance between the interests of both the SDR and the company.

 

Our go-to rule on deciding on a revenue vs meeting based compensation plan, is that you should only adopt a 100% revenue based SDR comp plan if:

 

  1. You have a defined ICP & buying persona

  2. You have a clear data trail for outbound close rate (>15%)

  3. You have a sales cycle shorter than 90 days

  4. You have other successful, quota hitting SDRs

 

Otherwise, stick to a meeting based or hybrid model to keep the plan attainable.

 

Once your SDRs feel that success is out of reach, they will lose their fire.

Level 4: GTM Foundations

MEANING An SDR needs a strong go-to-market (GTM) foundation to succeed, or a deep understanding of your target customer and your product’s unique selling points. This foundation must be built on top of a proven sales motion.

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Need-to-Know ICP Details

 

Here are the different aspects of your ICP that SDRs need to know.

 

  • Challenges: What challenges do your prospects face that you can solve?

  • Current Situation: What’s your prospect’s current situation, and why is it broken?

  • Trigger Events: What are the internal situations, events, and/or catalysts that create a need for a product like yours?

  • Industry: What segments are your prospects and customers in, and who do they serve?

  • Persona: Who are the key stakeholders and decision-makers within your prospect’s entity?

  • Stakeholder Navigation: How to go from account to qualified meeting and get internal buy-in.

  • Size: Employee/people count.

  • Geography: Where are your prospects located?

  • Ownership: Are your prospects private entities or public?

 

Need-to-Know USP Details

 

Here are the different aspects of your USP that SDRs need to know.

 

  • Product Features and Integrations: What does your product offer that others don’t?

  • Pricing and Packages: How do your prices and packages compare to the competition?

  • Target Audience and Market Segments: Who are you aiming your product at, and how does your strategy differ from your competitors?

  • Customer Feedback and Reviews: What do customers say about your product versus others?

  • Marketing and Sales Strategies: How do your marketing and sales approaches stand out?

  • Customer Support and Service: What level of support and service do you provide compared to others?

  • Company Reputation and Brand Perception: How is your company viewed in the market?

  • Partnerships and Alliances: What partnerships and alliances do you have that add value?​

 

Defining A Proven Sales Process

 

We use a 3 marker system to assess if a company has a real, proven sales process. 

 

MARKER 1 PRODUCT MARKET FIT

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A product that’s well-aligned with the needs of your target customer, validated through sales volume, market demand, and average contract value (ACV). Your product must solve real problems for your customers and have a clear place in the market.

 

MARKER 2 MESSAGE MARKET FIT

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A message that resonates with the needs of your target customer, validated through customer feedback and their willingness to engage and enter your sales funnel. Your messaging should speak directly to the pain points and desires of your prospects.

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MARKER 3 SUCCESSFULLY SOLD BEYOND FOUNDER LED SALES

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You’ve scaled your sales process beyond founder-led sales, with at least two Account Executives consistently hitting quota. This shows that your sales process is replicable and not solely dependent on the founder's unique skills or relationships.

Level 5: Distribution Strategy

MEANING An SDR needs the knowledge, resources, and guidelines of the outreach strategy to execute the distribution of their message.

 

Outreach Strategy

 

Your SDRs should understand the following details about your outreach strategy:

 

  • What’s the origin and nature of the list? A few examples:

    • Ex. Ice cold leads within your target customer profile

    • Ex. Prospects who’ve searched keywords relevant to your product

    • Ex. Website Visitors

    • Ex. Trade Show Attendees 

  • What’s the most effective sales channel(s) to reach the prospects?

    • Phone, email, LinkedIn, carrier pigeon?

  • If the list is marketing generated, what specific marketing channel created them? 

    • Ex. Website

    • Ex. E-Book download

    • Ex. Webinar 

  • What location in the world are you targeting?

    • Ex. City, state, region, country

  • What market segment are you targeting?

    • Ex. SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise, Strategic / Named

 

Messaging

 

Per channel, your SDRs should have a clear understanding of these key messaging pillars.

Phone

Email & LinkedIn

Open (the first 30 seconds of the call), Value Pitch (summary of the value you offer to the prospect), top 1-3 discovery questions, and a call to action

Best subject lines, what to write in the message body to address pains, establish relevance, and personalize + best converting calls to action

Video

Attention grabbing thumbnail & video hook, 30 seconds or less value-driven message, and best converting calls to action

And how they’re measuring up on the following key metrics.

Phone KPIs

Number of Calls Made, Connect Rate, Set Rate, Show Rate, Close Rate

Email KPIs

Number of Emails Sent, Number of Emails Delivered, Open Rate, Reply Rate, Set Rate, Show Rate, Close Rate

LinkedIn KPIs

Number of Connection Requests Sent, Connection Acceptance Rate, Direct Message Reply Rate, Set Rate, Show Rate, Close Rate

Video KPIs

Number of Videos Sent, Open Rate, Watch Time, Reply Rate, Set Rate, Show Rate, Close Rate

Level 6: Technology

MEANING An SDR needs to achieve mastery of their available tool stack, plus possess the ability to use the tools together in the ideal SDR workflow.

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A solid technology strategy should build on the previous levels (but never seek to replace them). The purpose of sales technology is to increase your pace of output, and/or improve the quality of your execution.

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But if you haven’t solved for drive, talent, compensation, and GTM strategy; tech will only fill a leaking bucket. Get those right first, and tech will do wonders for you.​

 

Three Areas To Solve For In Terms Of SDR Technology​

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  1. Technology Understanding: Knowledge of how to use the main software categories + other tools unique to your tech stack

  2. Technology Integration: How the tools integrate / work with one another

  3. SDR Technology Workflow: How the tools work together to create an ideal workflow

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Here are the top categories we believe your SDRs should be well versed in.

 

  • CRM (Customer Relationship Management ex. Salesforce)​

  • SEP (Sales Engagement Platform ex. Outreach)​

  • Data (Data Enrichment Platform ex. ZoomInfo)​

  • ABM (Account Based Marketing Platform ex. 6sense)​

  • Social (Social Selling Platform ex. LinkedIn Sales Navigator) â€‹

Level 7: Enablement

MEANING â€‹An SDR needs constant training, coaching, and development from sales leadership to maximize their potential and achieve skill mastery.

 

Continuous enablement helps grow an SDR's skillset and their ability to execute. Great enablement is a journey and not an event, it should span from initial onboarding until their last day at your company.

 

There are two main types of enablement: training and coaching.​

 

SDR Enablement Methods

 

ENABLEMENT TYPE 1 SDR TRAINING

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Training creates fundamental knowledge and skills where they didn’t exist before. The best training is interactive and conversational. Think of training as knowledge transfer.

 

ENABLEMENT TYPE 2 SDR COACHING & INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT

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Coaching, on the other hand, should be done when the skill already exists at a basic level. The key to good coaching is recognizing that the knowledge or behavior you want them to implement is already within them. Instead of just giving the answers or providing feedback, guide them to find the answer themself. When you teach your SDRs to think independently, they’ll develop the ability to come up with the right answers on their own in the future, without your help..

 

NOTE: Like we’ve mentioned in a few of the other levels, there is no substitute for true intrinsic motivation or talent. Coaching moves the needle but is not a true replacement for levels 1-3. Spend 75% or more of your time on recruiting A players and you’ll see the return of your time spent on enablement greatly increase.

Level 8: Cross Functional Support

MEANING An SDR needs support from adjacent departments like Sales, Marketing, Operations, and Human Resources.

 

Once all of your foundational pieces are in place (levels 1-7), reach out to other teams to support your SDRs. Here are a few examples:

 

LEVERAGE SALES & MARKETING

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Leverage sales and marketing to share effective messages and new data about prospects gained in sales demos, SEO, and ad campaigns. This speeds up the feedback loop and keeps your SDRs in tune with what the market is responding to.

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LEVERAGE PRODUCT

 

Leverage Product to quickly communicate new feature updates to the SDR team. The goal is to shorten the time between launching a new product / feature and creating pipeline opportunities around them.

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LEVERAGE HUMAN RESOURCES

 

Leverage HR to ensure your team members are supported from an employee standpoint, and that they have full access to the benefits and perks offered by your company.

 

Revenue is a team sport. Every department has a role in driving success, and leveraging them can make a big difference in helping the overall company reach its objectives.

CONCLUSION

Thanks For Reading.

We hope you enjoyed the content and gained clarity on what it takes to win in today's SDR environment. 

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If you're looking for guidance as you scale your SDR program, feel free to check out our resource center or solutions page to learn how we approach client engagements.

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