Perfecting the SDR mindset is something that many struggle with throughout their entire careers. But, once perfected it leads to being a rockstar as an SDR and moving the trajectory of your career forward. It’s crucial that you don’t compare yourself to others, get organized, create an efficient process, find mentors & grind with a tenacious approach.
Comparing Yourself to Others
The technology industry is a fast paced environment and when you enter it as an SDR, let’s face it, you are at the bottom of the food chain. You could focus on all the things you don’t know and how much better your peers are, but where will that get you? It’s so important to focus on your individual “wins” and if you are too busy focusing on others’ success then you will overlook your own. Start by taking things day-by-day: daily dial quota, daily meetings set quota, etc. Don’t think about where you need to be at EOM or where your peers are. As you dial in on this daily perspective you will start to see daily “wins” for yourself that you can celebrate which will make the job more enjoyable overall. The key here is to become a lion and work your way up the food chain little by little by getting 1% better everyday.
Getting Organized
Organization is often overlooked when we have so much on our plates. With that said, starting from the beginning will help you stay on top of things. Color coordinate your calendars, arrange your email inbox with folders & keep up to date with it, create folders in your google drive or PC drive, etc. Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” There’s no “right” way to be organized, so find something that works for you and stick with it, as long as it’s working.
Creating an Efficient Process
Efficient means achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense, so the goal with creating an efficient process is to help you hit your number with the least amount of effort or time put in. As SDRs we have to migrate back and forth between different tools to accomplish our day-to-day tasks. Set yourself up for success by blocking out time in your day for specific things. For example, I task everyone in my pipeline within the first 3 hours of each day. By doing so, I am able to hit my daily dial quota of 75 dials by 10 or 11 am each day. From there, I’m able to spend the rest of each day adding more accounts into my pipeline. At this point it becomes a cycle because you are setting yourself up with meetings to set by continuously adding more into your pipeline and it just feeds itself from there.
Find Mentors:
Being an SDR can be a very lonely role, especially in today’s virtual world. It’s so important to find mentors around you that want to help you succeed just as much as you want to. How do you find one? – NETWORK! Put yourself out there and talk to people. At first it’ll be uncomfortable, but once you find people you can add to your inner circle the rewards are never ending. Things to look for in a great mentor is someone that will be a cheerleader for you and shout out your individual wins, so you don’t have to. A great mentor is also someone who will provide feedback in a way that you best receive it.
Tenacious Approach
Do what you were hired to do: GRIND! As an SDR, you’ll have more bad days than good days, especially as you start out. The biggest thing you have to remember is that all the work you put in will eventually pay off. Approach each day with the same daily goals and do everything you can to hit them. If you don’t hit them, make up for it tomorrow. If you put 100% effort into every day, you’ll not only see the results $$$ wise, but you’ll also feel accomplished on those days that weren’t as successful. This will lead to hitting your quota in the first 2 weeks of the month and then you’ll have 2 full weeks to blow past your quota. David Fortin once said, “Go beyond. Earn more. Stand out.”
In closing, we are all in sales to make money! Don’t spend your time focusing on others or on your losses and force that energy into building more pipeline for yourself. Go the extra mile and become a product expert, learn from your top performing peers, & go into every single day wanting to be better than you were yesterday.
-Kylee DeMers-
Kylee DeMers is currently an Outbound Enterprise Sales Development Representative at ZoomInfo and is working her way up towards an Account Executive role. She enjoys building personalized relationships with clients and tailoring a solution that’s best for them. Outside of work, she spends most days with her husband and two dogs. The best way to reach her is by email at kylee.demers@email.zoominfo.com.
Leave a Reply