Jun 7, 2022
Today’s episode of the Aligned Podcast continues Sean’s
discussion with guest Ed Rusch, Chief Revenue Officer at Deck
Commerce, to understand the best way to construct a
high-functioning SDR department.
Handling the SDR workload:
- SDR teams help buyers make private commitments before a public
close.
- If you have one SDR who handles leads they come and just does
outbound when they can, what gets dropped first when the workload
is too great? The outbound calling.
- Assuming inbound teams close only 50% of leads, that’s an
inherent problem. You must have dedicated outbound callers who can
ensure the job gets done.
Use specific KPIs to understand the language, verticals,
and nuances of the selling process.
- Know the one or two KPIs most important to your audience and
accompanying sub-verticals.
- Is a conversation a valuable metric? Yes, if it achieves two
pieces of qualifying (or disqualifying) information.
- There’s a cost to everything - from emailing, writing content,
and maintenance. Getting disqualifying people off the list is the
best way to save money.
Outsourcing an SDR team:
- Outsourcing can be a powerful solution, depending on your
circumstances.
- Part of Blue Ridge’s success is (in part) due to third-party
work. However, what you do with an inbound SDR team is not the same
as a third-party team.
- Outsourced teams can support your company with the right
direction and support, but you must mitigate third-party risk by
being selective in where you deploy those teams.
- Using third-party teams to investigate adjacent verticals
outside your primary audience is a smart way to gain insight into
the viability of the vertical and in situations where having a
conversation is better than no conversation at all.
Starting your SDR team from scratch:
- First, understand that few decisions are permanent. There are
ideal and mediocre situations, and most of the ones you make will
be somewhere in the middle.
- Set expectations and metrics based on where you’re at today, in
90 days, and six months.
- After that period, adjust your KPIs and expectations as the
team matures.
- Don’t look for a level of perfection from a new sales team. If
you fail to allow growth and outsource, it will likely fail.
- Work with expectations to understand the journey and what
you’ll do later to meet expectations.
- When building an SDR team, start with an internal outbound team
that targets low-hanging fruit to secure funding and talent for
scalable growth.
For more great content from Ed, connect with him on LinkedIn.
This episode is sponsored in part by FitzMartin’s Sales
and Marketing Alignment:
Why does proper sales and marketing alignment result in a 32%
average lift in revenue? Because a unified company centered around
its prospects can’t help but thrive.
FitzMartin’s Sales and Marketing Alignment program will analyze
your current sales and marketing structure to deliver a plan based
on the needs of your prospects, bringing you increased revenue,
expansion opportunities, and (above all) a unified front when
communicating with prospects.
To set your company up for success, visit fitzmartin.com/solutions
to discover how to unify your sales and marketing for the best
results.
This episode is sponsored in part by Fitzmartin’s
Organization and Culture Alignment:
Company culture and retention are directly connected. After all,
if you fail to build good company culture, you fail to retain top
talent. At FitzMartin, we help leaders like you raise their NPS
scores from the low 60s to the high 80s (and, more importantly,
present a plan to help you do the same.)
Create your company culture based on a shared mission to attract
and retain top talent. Visit fitzmartin.com/solutions
to learn more.