SDR best practice for individual sales representatives
August 31, 2023
As a full-time Sales Development Representative (SDR), mastering the art of outbound sales can feel like a never-ending quest. However, there are clear, battle-tested best practices to help you get better results faster. Here are practical tips to turn your day-to-day work into a lead-generation powerhouse.
Best Practices for SDRs:
- Work with a Tailored Script for Your Niche:
- Don’t worry about knowing everything off the bat. Your focus should be learning a well-crafted script that walks you through key sales touchpoints: the intro, impact statement, buying atmosphere, high-level questions leading to more specific ones, a pitch that resonates with the information shared, trial closing questions, and finally, closing questions.Practice until it feels natural—don’t sound robotic when talking to prospects.
- Rebuttal Manual Ready:
- Always have a rebuttal manual prepared for common objections like, "I don’t have time," "I’m in a meeting," or "We don’t have the budget." Efficient objection handling can make or break a deal and should be second nature for any SDR. Know how to handle objections like the back of your hand. Don’t let another week pass without being able to smoothly navigate responses like "just send me an email."
- Manage Your Lead Pipeline:
- Have 200 qualified leads with clean data (phone, email, etc.) lined up for the week. If by the end of the week, that number drops to 120 due to incorrect data or unreachable contacts, fill the gap with new leads to ensure you're always working with a full list.
- Lead Reassignment (Flipping Leads):
- If you aren’t clicking with a prospect but know they are a qualified buyer, don’t waste time. Pass the lead on to a colleague (this is known as “flipping the lead”) by reassigning it in your CRM.
- Email Warmups Before Calls:
- While emails and LinkedIn messages can warm up leads, remember that executives don’t buy software through emails. They buy after multiple conversations—so pick up the phone.
- KPI: 50 Dials a Day Minimum:
- The metrics are clear. With switchboard calls, you should aim for a 1 in 12 connection ratio, while direct lines or mobile numbers yield a 1 in 7 ratio. This means 50 dials a day should result in 4-5 solid pitches daily, 25 per week, and up to 1,000 pitches a year.
- With good infrastructure, these numbers can scale significantly.
Organize and Track Your Work:
- Build Your List Outside of Calling Hours:
- Admin tasks, like building your lead lists or cleaning data, should be done outside calling hours (9 am to 5 pm). Top performers often build their lists on weekends or Friday evenings.
- Log Every Communication in Your CRM:
- If it’s not in the CRM, it didn’t happen. No entry means no bonus or commissions. Internal discussions about prospects should also be logged as “comments” in the CRM for transparency, especially in the case of turnover, parental leave, or holidays.
- Prioritize Inbound Leads:
- Stats show that if you reach an inbound lead within five minutes, your chances of closing the deal increase significantly. Always prioritize these hot leads.
- Confirm Your Appointments:
- It's vital that you confirm your appointments by showing up to the meeting you’ve set for the prospect. Nothing kills credibility faster than missing a meeting you worked hard to book.
The SDR Formula for Success:
- 8-12 Touchpoints Rule:
- It typically takes 8 to 12 touchpoints to move a prospect toward any kind of action. Your CRM should have sequences that reflect this: send email 1, send email 2, call, send a LinkedIn invitation, call again, send a LinkedIn message, and so on.
- Creative Outreach:
- Since it takes 8-12 touches, the key question is: how quickly can you make those touches in a way that feels creative rather than like a nuisance?
- Leverage Inside Information:
- Once you gain insight into a company’s strategy, use that information in subsequent calls to other executives in the same company. Use it as part of your impact statement and pitch them. The more buy-in you have from multiple business units, the higher your chances of closing a project.
Focus on Decision-Makers:
- Executive-Level Outreach Only:
- Avoid wasting time pitching to anyone below the executive level. Deals rarely close at the middle management level, and even if they do, it’s not scalable.
- Referrals Are Gold:
- Even if the prospect doesn’t move to the next step, always ask for referrals.
Phone Calls Are Still King:
- Maximize Your Time on the Phone:
- Phones remain the best channel to book qualified meetings and engage with executives. Even if you generate a lead via email or LinkedIn, you should always follow up with a phone call.
- BANT:
- A meeting has no value unless it meets the criteria of BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timing).
- The real value is delivered once the meeting takes place and net revenue is created. Before that, it’s all just hypotheticals. Always remember: cash in the bank is the ultimate goal.
- Owning the relationship up until the demo doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think like an AE and book meetings that turn into revenue.
Training and Upskilling:
- Upskill to Increase Efficiency:
- The more skilled you become, the more leverage you gain. For instance, if you're converting 1 out of every 10 calls, upskilling could allow you to close 3 out of 10 with the same amount of effort.
- Make Repetitions a Daily Habit:
- Make as many repetitions as you can and train every day to make small adjustments. Over time, these small changes compound and make you hyper-efficient.
- Handle Objections Automatically:
- You should know how to handle objections, like "Just send me an email," without missing a beat. It should be automatic.
- Always Learn from Every Call:
- Even if you don’t book a meeting, gather valuable information on every call. You can always use it later to refine your approach.
Mindset and Discipline:
- Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions:
- It’s better to appear uninformed for a moment than to be ignorant for a lifetime. If you don’t understand something, ask your prospect to clarify. You might not close the meeting today, but you’ll be better prepared for the next call.
- You’re Here to Find Problems, Not Pitch Solutions:
- Your goal is to find problems that your solution can address. Once you’ve validated that the prospect wants to solve the problem, then you book the meeting.
Train Hard, Win Big:
- "He who sweats more in training bleeds less in battle":
- This sales wisdom comes from the ex-military, George S. Patton Jr. Make sure you train hard on your skills before hitting the phones. You can even practice on AI-simulated calls to fine-tune your approach.
- The Job Is Repetitive—Embrace It:
- Like an athlete who practices free throws or kicks, SDRs need to embrace the repetition. It’s the same basics over and over again. Practice makes perfect, and there’s no silver bullet.
- Watch Your Language:
- There are certain keywords that can blow a deal. Always pay attention to what you say and how you say it.
- Play the Part:
- Executives book meetings with SDRs every day. If you sound like an executive talking to another executive, you’ll win more often than not.
- Ignore the Noise:
- Ignore LinkedIn gurus pushing bad advice. Some say the SDR role is dead; others preach strategies that don’t work. Trust your internal dashboards and data to show what’s working.
With these best practices in your toolkit, you’re well on your way to becoming an SDR powerhouse. Keep dialing, keep learning, and most importantly—keep closing.