Article
Building Your First, Great Sales Development (SDR) Team
saastr.com
Quoted on this wiki
Every place a page here uses this source, in the order the words come in it.
By Kyle Richless, Head of Sales Development at Axiom Law “SDRs (also known as BDRs, MDRs, and LGRs etc.), are typically early-career professionals who specialize in building consistent pipeline for AEs by acquiring and/or qualifying leads.” Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%.
Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%. “So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases.” While SDRs drive sales pipeline, they themselves can (and should) be your organization’s talent pipeline. There’s no better way to cut your teeth in sales or marketing than by grinding though the hard yards of prospecting.
Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%. “So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases.” While SDRs drive sales pipeline, they themselves can (and should) be your organization’s talent pipeline. There’s no better way to cut your teeth in sales or marketing than by grinding though the hard yards of prospecting.
By Kyle Richless, Head of Sales Development at Axiom Law “SDRs (also known as BDRs, MDRs, and LGRs etc.), are typically early-career professionals who specialize in building consistent pipeline for AEs by acquiring and/or qualifying leads.” Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%.
SDRs (also known as BDRs, MDRs, and LGRs etc.), are typically early-career professionals who specialize in building consistent pipeline for AEs by acquiring and/or qualifying leads. “According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team.” So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases. And stronger, more consistent pipeline yields greater and more predictable revenue. Aaron Ross made this ideology famous.
SDRs (also known as BDRs, MDRs, and LGRs etc.), are typically early-career professionals who specialize in building consistent pipeline for AEs by acquiring and/or qualifying leads. “If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team.” So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases. And stronger, more consistent pipeline yields greater and more predictable revenue. Aaron Ross made this ideology famous.
SDRs (also known as BDRs, MDRs, and LGRs etc.), are typically early-career professionals who specialize in building consistent pipeline for AEs by acquiring and/or qualifying leads. “Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%.” So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases. And stronger, more consistent pipeline yields greater and more predictable revenue. Aaron Ross made this ideology famous.
So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases. And stronger, more consistent pipeline yields greater and more predictable revenue. Aaron Ross made this ideology famous. “While SDRs drive sales pipeline, they themselves can (and should) be your organization’s talent pipeline.” From the get-go, SDRs are on the phone with targets, operating out of their comfort zones. And the skills learned—persistence, grit, relationship building, a customer-centric focus etc. — help drive success in future roles, whether as an AE or in other leadership positions.
Frequent Payment Bonus payment should closely follow action. Quarterly payouts are ideal, as the 3-month timeframe is long enough to offset an up/down month, but not too infrequent to incentivize a rep to take their foot off the gas or throw in towel (which WILL occur with annual payouts). “An SDR should feel as if they have control over their ability to obtain quota.” 6. Emphasize the SDR/AE Partnership
Before a half dozen or so reps are up and running, it’s hard to know exactly what “Good Looks Like” specific to your organization. Every sales team is idiosyncratic. In other words, your SDRs have to be “just right” for your organization. “To find the magic formula, take a stab at creating an Ideal Talent Profile.” Once you’ve made double-digit hires this becomes easier. You can analyze your current SDR hires and distill which attributes and skillsets drive success [or lack thereof] across the team.
In Hiring SDRs
To find the magic formula, take a stab at creating an Ideal Talent Profile. “You can analyze your current SDR hires and distill which attributes and skillsets drive success [or lack thereof] across the team.” Each additional rep serves as an additional data point, so revisit and fine-tune the ITP as the team grows. Bear in mind that an SDR may beat quota and outperform peers due to reasons outside of their effort or skill. A big or warm territory can aid in over-performance. Similarly, being paired with a particularly invested AE can bolster individual SDR results. Discount for these things if possible when weighing the most sought after traits [and, generally speaking, when force-ranking an SDR team].
In Hiring SDRs
Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%. “So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases.” While SDRs drive sales pipeline, they themselves can (and should) be your organization’s talent pipeline. There’s no better way to cut your teeth in sales or marketing than by grinding though the hard yards of prospecting.
By Kyle Richless, Head of Sales Development at Axiom Law “SDRs (also known as BDRs, MDRs, and LGRs etc.), are typically early-career professionals who specialize in building consistent pipeline for AEs by acquiring and/or qualifying leads.” Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%.
So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases. And stronger, more consistent pipeline yields greater and more predictable revenue. Aaron Ross made this ideology famous. “While SDRs drive sales pipeline, they themselves can (and should) be your organization’s talent pipeline.” From the get-go, SDRs are on the phone with targets, operating out of their comfort zones. And the skills learned—persistence, grit, relationship building, a customer-centric focus etc. — help drive success in future roles, whether as an AE or in other leadership positions.
Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%. “So long as SDRs consistently generate the right sorts of leads – those which fit the companies’ ideal customer profile – conversion rates [from SDR generated leads -> qualified opportunities -> to won deals] hold true even as pipeline increases.” While SDRs drive sales pipeline, they themselves can (and should) be your organization’s talent pipeline. There’s no better way to cut your teeth in sales or marketing than by grinding though the hard yards of prospecting.
Congruent with the greater trend of specialization in B2B sales, Sales Development teams have never been more prevalent. According to a Bridge Group survey of 342 B2B SaaS businesses, ~60% have an in-house SDR team. If you exclude companies below $5M in revenue, 67% have an SDR team. Amongst those with an ACV above $100k, that number jumps to 89%. “And stronger, more consistent pipeline yields greater and more predictable revenue.” While SDRs drive sales pipeline, they themselves can (and should) be your organization’s talent pipeline. There’s no better way to cut your teeth in sales or marketing than by grinding though the hard yards of prospecting.
Quotes are verbatim and belong to their publishers. Where a quote has been translated, the original wording is kept below it.