Sales development is tough. It’s the first step in the client acquisition phase of the sales process, and a very difficult task by anyone’s standards. It is an essential piece to every company–especially those that are trying to take their business to the “next level”. That’s what makes the SDR role so unique. We are expected to do one of the most difficult parts of sales all the time…and do it well.
Many SDRs tend to be so focused on their immediate tasks at hand and often times hardly notice the person sitting right next to them. These people are in the exact same seat as us, just two feet to the right or left.
Are we too focused?
It’s a difficult question to answer.
Simply striking up a conversation with a fellow SDR can help escape the monotony of the workload, especially when we’re having a less than stellar day. It’s important for us to ask our neighbors what kind of issues they are facing–both in work and in life–because most of us in this role are not robots. We need human interaction and encouragement to be at our best. A pat on the back never hurt anyone!
Maybe you can help someone with an issue that you were able to overcome, or better yet, maybe they can help you with a nagging issue you’re facing. You might even find that you are both facing similar challenges, resulting in a collaboration of conquering the challenge as a team.
Helping people and teaching others are some of the best ways to learn.
When you make it a point to help someone to be the best at their job (or in life), it makes your job more than just a job. It’s the reward that we as humans seek. When you can make a positive impact on someone’s life, it can turn a mundane punch of the time clock each day into a worthwhile career.
Sales Development is one of the most difficult parts of the sales process, but it may be the most critical. The difficulty of sales development is what makes us into the unique people we are today. If you appreciate that uniqueness and can see how gifted your coworkers are, you may find it a little easier to “smile and dial”.
Take a minute to help someone, you never know whose career you might be helping to catapult.
-Kris Gearhart-
Kristopher is in sales development and has almost ten years of sales experience. He started his IT career four years ago in market development and then transitioned to business development. He is now the SDR Team Lead for Adobe at Inside Sales Team. Kris loves his family, the City of Buffalo, and playing & watching all major sports.
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