Can you define the SDR sweet spot? The perfect combination of skills and mindset to take your results to the next level?
How valuable would that be… More appointments, more pipeline, more sales. Faster promotion to AE or wherever you want to go within the company.
At Tenbound, we’ve given this a lot of thought and developed a simple diagram for SDR success.
While this is simple, like anything else, it’s not easy.
But with hard work and determination, anyone can get there.
We call it the Amazing SDR Trifecta.
The Categories of The Amazing SDR
As a Sales Development Representative, you’ll need to draw upon three broad categories to generate quality leads, blow out your quota and get promoted:
- Industry and Persona Knowledge
- Prospecting and Sales Skills
- Gritty and Entrepreneurial Mindset
You obviously need each one, but it’s where they overlap that things get interesting. Just one is not enough. You might see some success with a combination of any two.
But this is the SDR Trifecta. We’re aiming for the intersection of all three in the middle.
That’s the sweet spot that creates the Amazing SDR.
Industry and Persona Knowledge
This refers to your ability to a) speak intelligently about the various industries — both broad and niche — that your solution is targeting, and b) understand the specific pain points and struggles of the individuals within it.
You’ll be speaking to experts within their industries, and you need to demonstrate that you know it and them.
Otherwise, why would they trust you and your offer?
Prospecting and Sales Skills
Ultimately, your job is to sell them on you and your solution, even though you won’t actually be closing the deal.
That requires sales soft skills like persuasion, painting a mental picture, asking the right kind of questions, removing resistance and friction, basic communication abilities, and more.
Without them, you’re unable to adequately qualify leads for the account executives on the sales team, and the system breaks down.
Gritty and Entrepreneurial Mindset
Sales development is not an easy job. That’s the harsh reality. You’re cold-calling individuals who in most cases do not want to be cold-called. They don’t know you or your product.
That’s a tough sell. Literally.
Have you got the mindset and mental fortitude to push through that? Can you think outside the proverbial box to find new approaches and techniques when the old ones fail?
When 1 + 1 = 0
This is clearly a situation where ‘two out of three ain’t bad’ doesn’t apply. In fact, you might as well have none of them if you don’t have all three of them.
Industry/Persona Knowledge and Prospecting/Sales Skills? You may see some sporadic success, but it’s not going to be consistent, and if things get challenging, you lack the determination to power through.
Prospecting/Sales Skills with Gritty and Entrepreneurial Mindset? You’ve got the know-how and drive to get your foot in the door, but lack credibility without being able to discuss the industry and individual pain points. You’re spraying and praying.
Gritty and Entrepreneurial Mindset with Industry/Persona Knowledge? You’re working hard, finding creative solutions, but not seeing any results (i.e. sales-qualified leads) because you can’t close the “sale” for the appointment.
You’ve got to develop and hone all three for supercharged results day in, day out.
Find and stay in that sweet spot.
As a manager, how can you enable this trifecta through recruiting, hiring, training and coaching? It may be time to rethink your program. Call Tenbound today to discuss how we can help.
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