How to hire SDRs and build a strong sales development ...

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1. SDRs can start inbound and transition to outbound “Many growing companies don't necessarily have the budget or scope to hire sales and business development teams separately. So they start by forming a sales development team that starts with inbound prospecting and gradually moves upstream to focus on outbound opportunities as the company's requirements for new opportunities grow.” At Avoma, we are still at the former stage. Of course, your mileage may vary. But for the scope of keeping things simple, let’s talk about SDRs as a team that owns the inbound and outbound sales efforts both.

   In Inbound and outbound mix

2. SDRs can start inbound and transition to outbound “Many growing companies don't necessarily have the budget or scope to hire sales and business development teams separately. So they start by forming a sales development team that starts with inbound prospecting and gradually moves upstream to focus on outbound opportunities as the company's requirements for new opportunities grow.” At Avoma, we are still at the former stage. Of course, your mileage may vary. But for the scope of keeping things simple, let’s talk about SDRs as a team that owns the inbound and outbound sales efforts both.

   In Hiring SDRs

3. Many growing companies don't necessarily have the budget or scope to hire sales and business development teams separately. So they start by forming a sales development team that starts with inbound prospecting and gradually moves upstream to focus on outbound opportunities as the company's requirements for new opportunities grow. “But for the scope of keeping things simple, let’s talk about SDRs as a team that owns the inbound and outbound sales efforts both.” But let’s be clear about one thing—being a product-led organization doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go outbound.

   In Hiring SDRs

4. Role of SDRs and why do you need them? “Sales Development Reps (SDRs) typically tend to be professionals in their early-career stage whose primary focus is to build a healthy and consistent revenue pipeline for the organization. They typically acquire or qualify opportunities and schedule meetings for Account Executives (AEs) who demo the product to these qualified prospects and eventually close the deal.” There are several debates and schools of thought regarding the SDR role. However, here is a couple we often come across most often:

   In Hiring SDRs

5. Here’s an example of our job description: “It gets posted on all key job boards such as AngelList, LinkedIn, etc., which obviously brings in a flood of qualified and unqualified candidates.” And keep in mind, we at Avoma are 100% remote, so none of our interviews happen in person. Our process comes from a remote-first mindset. Our Sales Development Manager (SDM) gets involved right from the screening stage, helping our recruitment team make selections, build observations, and help them develop the eye to spot the kind of candidates that fit our bill.

   In SDR candidate sourcing

6. The SDR hiring process at Avoma “We try to very clearly list the expectations from the role. For instance, we clearly list the roles and responsibilities and, more importantly, the kind of techstack experience we are looking for in a new hire.” Here’s an example of our job description:

   In SDR job descriptions

7. Our take-home assignment typically includes: “Writing a cold call script” Writing a personalized email

   In SDR role-play assessments

8. Writing a personalized email “Building a prospecting list” Doing a mock prospecting call with us

   In SDR role-play assessments

9. Brandon Lawson, our Sales Development Manager, is a master of building processes. And, we can say with confidence that the sooner you build an onboarding map and a 90-day playbook, the better it is for your SDRs. “At Avoma, the onboarding process is almost waiting on the newly hired SDR’s desk to be kickstarted on the first day. It includes everything from scheduling introductory and overview meetings with stakeholders across the board to software access, weekly goals, and more.” In the next post, we will cover the details of how to onboard and accelerate the ramp-up of newly hired SDRs.

   In New-rep onboarding

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