There is a lot more to being hired for an SDR role than just submitting applications and hoping for the best. You need to stand out!
This week on INSIDE Inside Sales, Darryl welcomes Vendition’s Head of Partnerships and sales hiring rockstar, Brian Smith. Darryl gets Brian to share his insights and opinions as to what makes an SDR candidate stand out from among the crowd, as well as what hiring managers are prioritizing these days. They share extremely valuable tips such as how you need to be a storyteller, the importance of finding a sponsor, and how to maintain the right attitude to navigate the hills and valleys of sales. Learn how to avoid your CV landing on the “No” pile of applicants on this episode of INSIDE Inside Sales!
Welcome to the inside inside sales podcast with your host Daryl frail.
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All right, my friends, how are you doing today? Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good because I personally been going through since it's been a stressful times as I juggle all that I do in my job. It is crazy. How are you?
You going through some stressful times has been stressful times has it not crazy who saw this one coming here after this whole process started number straight talk about it. My friend. This is not what I want to talk about this week and I kind of had in my head that might be a little working do is see you over here. I really want to hear more about your stick. I don't want to hear about your wife. I don't want to hear about the challenges you have. I don't want to hear but how you used to sell photocopy store directory?
So over the past few months made of you know, my role has changed once upon a time. I was a chief marketing officer vanillasoft, you know in the last few months had become a chief Revenue officer.
And and that's cause it's not you would think yourself and that is exciting and I am glad that I have been blessed and fortunate enough to have that strength, but the hearts the hardship comes when you have to actually execute a my first 30 days on the job. What I had to do was I had to assess what I had so I had kind of the first of the day's going to be a sad situation assessment and make some decisions so I can move forward the next 3 days is going to be in a rip and replace look at all. The Cadence has all the email at all the messages.
All the props are you know, everything training roll out of all the staff and make sure they get a document. That was the first 30 days needed to understand what it is you do for a critically now is analyzing them and I speak to you have the skills. Do you know how to sell? Do you know how to sell? Do you know how to open the question? How do you ask an open-ended question? You know how that's supposed to do, you know how to handle objections, you know how to do Discovery. Do you know how to do a challenge yourself? You know how to actually master account
Do you have a chance at Aldi in mine is at Medtech. Is it something else? You know, what are you doing? Can you grow the size of the deal? How do you handle competition? You know are are you are you you know what? I think you know how to ask the hard questions don't understand. OK. I don't expect you to have all the answers to what do you need? Do you need more sales skills. Skills on closing a deal right physically does and you know, how many of our reps did not have a good understanding. So we had to bring in sales Tinley Park best sales leaders including Mark Hunter to help us with some of the sales skills, and we partnered with her own in-house corporate trainers to bring the city Bill the sales enablement roof entire team.
We are both facing that we had a bigger team. I mean this was overwhelming and every step along the way they're all I was doing the same. Does this person have what they need and will they help me achieve my corporate golf at the I'm at the Pinnacle, but I can fall off this mountain and the next person to come in and I know that so I know they're looking at me and see what I'm any membership and brakes because it's like, oh my gosh new sheriff in town. What if he doesn't like me what if he actually decides to let me go what if you decide to not part of the mute? Oh, you know, what if I just don't fit what he's looking for? What about one time? I told him he was a idiot who remembers that kicks my ass out of here, and then you should pick me up on the best thing ever.
You know I eat I give them Comfort. I relieve their anxiety so they can perform and I could distract it. But what do I do to make sure I got the right team the right skill sets gold question and I decided that I needed to bring an expert in to help us with that conversation. You understand all sides of his Staffing equation to sit back and relax. You're going to like today's conversation. I'm not going to teach you how to sell a damn thing. I'm going to teach you how to be a better employee or how to get yourself the right job or if you're a leader if you have a team we're going to talk a little bit of shop for you to something for everybody. Who am I doing this with you repeat performance. I am so pleased to welcome back my good friend Brian Smith Brian baby. How you doing?
Since you've been on the show, welcome back. What is up? Sorry about that. Now when we last met up with Brian, if you don't recall go back in and we were just talking in the Green Room.
Play I can't figure out this considered one and a half right now because I don't jump places that is so exciting and you live in your living the life. I love it. All right. So Brian and your love when I talk to you know, your title is like partners of Nevada were those who don't know about Blended the movie Men We want to be the educational resource for SDR. We really want to change how companies partaken hiring FDR's. What does it look like? What is Str. Really need to know? What?
Information should they have before they get their first gig, you know, you congratulations look at your resume and see that and I probably can fit the bill with a study are typically because it's considered quote-unquote entry-level roll. Yaw roll partners.
All right. So you're all about know the hiring on the development of strs. So go back in time 2 months ago when I'm starting my cro Gabe and I want to drill down some questions on you that I think my Audience by the way, and you know this guy your statement for those who don't know. Maybe you can give me a little background on a little Adventure you suck.
I think if anything's going to surround yourself with good people honest people from having this conversation with Daryl honest person Josh Bryan and you know, I heard about the sales person that she is like a 12-hour notice basically cross country across the Denver.
All right. So I told you this cat hangs over the COO of the smartest people. So there you go. So that's his pedigree. You lived your life and he's so you've been unkind of all sides of of of the desk here. You've been that Str. Your. Delay even now you're also sourcing and he's helping build team want to start here. Let's start with this if you are building a you're a sales leader SDR leader.
Water Snowbasin what you see now what makes a good team what makes and less than 15 what are some of the tips you can give to these sales leaders that they should be looking for in an SDR handed it and I might not have thought and not the team leaders. ER listen to what they're saying because hiring managers look for these things of Brian's going to share other people. Do you want to work for us? That's where you go. You should be listening Brian. What are some of the things that that I should be considering us? For? Sure. I think the notion right now is to figure out
Things like it's a person hungry It For The Money Motivated right to me. All of those things can compression are pretty quickly. I think you should be looking for person that can be a great Storyteller. I don't know if we're trying to figure out an interview with the person you tell a good story if they can provide value and sharing a time where they can back up the information to give him with research. I've been tired to the current need for the employer interview or so on the storytelling find it quite interesting as you may recall the podcast recently. You should know that a few months back you had a wonderful episode explicitly on the art of telling a story and how it makes a dramatic device.
Worried about Ryan strongly advise family life and how his storytelling is a great way to both status of the poor. But it's also a fantastic way to speak to pains or issues are obstacles or challenges that your prospects may be facing the other client help. I called the problem. We all like a good story. We all like something that has, you know, Lessons Learned the skill Lessons Learned so storytelling makes it far more real than simply saying. Yes, we can do that. And yes that will happen know this. Well, that's just kind of stopped storytelling.
That's what you want want to actively listen to do. I keep sending you out. All right, that's my first question. We're going to take a break. You need to know if you're an scr. Orheyn. Android comes to what you should have in skills in counselling engagement is designed for starting them current stats indicate that sales rep only contact New Leads about 50% of the time make less than two attempts to contact them and are only about 35% productive CRM is the wrong tool to engage sales prospects vanilla sock is a sales engagement platform. It allows you to rapidly turn marketing qualified leads into sales qualified leads according to user reviews vanillasoft will increase your pipeline and productivity by three times or more blow your quota out of the water. How by Insurance each news.
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Okay, so we're back. So that's your ability to know where the questions you didn't hit on storytelling for diversity come into the composition of my city of Necessities or diversity of skill sets or whatever but diversity. Where does that come in in your opinion?
Ask a question. I think it's becoming number one in all facets and should be at the Mississippi should be background should be skill and here's why the sales.
Hillsboro is typically a lone wolf you write performance base rule that all have the same type of skill. Same type of background experience. Do they can't teach you? Typically they can't teach anything new to each other. Right? If I got background in Professional Services and I get hired with a guy some SAS software is entire life. We got different in each other and then from erasing cultural perspective the way I can do the king story. Tell him it's probably different than a person that has different background if you rip and I will deny happened. So I think when you hire the first candidates and it only helps communicate your value your product or service better right now to people who
Ardis have different backgrounds, right? Not everybody came from sales. Let everybody came from marketing. So when you have that different skill level on that different background, I think it helped elevator to do you see people being intentional these days about diversity would look look at other your clients of your prospects. You see that coming up in in in mm in a mandate. So for example, when I took on the role of cro, I knew I was going to need a head of marketing and he was going to need a head of sales and I knew was going to need a body and I have this stereotype composition. I would really like to be exposed to other people with other skill-set other backgrounds other cultures around at my team and make us a better team and when I ask that
You know, not once I get somebody saying really proud you're not just looking for the best person for the job literacy. It was understood by them least my circle that you know, sometimes it's not the best person just on a different skill-set. Sometimes it goes in a table that makes you stronger and better and better able to keep what are you hearing people asking choir about that? Yes or no. Yes. I think it's the conversation know from the think people are trying to figure out how to do it in a place where people aren't sure how to do it. So yes, I think the conversation is happening anything right. Practicing, you know, it's kind of a
Nebraska recruiting and evaluating talent. What do you write Smith look for in an SDR candidate?
That's such a great question. I'm looking for someone that considers himself to come back to it what I mean by that is someone that has been knocked on their butt.
Some of that has been beaten up but I found a way to get back to the winning by myself. Right? Like for my own personal experience is a brine you want to go out on record to say you can't consistently when there's just some Isaac's Hills and Valleys. So I need to be able to find that person that is a come back here again be able to teleport to where we continually rebound it, but I would rebound it to learn and can share how they did it goes back into selling value. Don't tell me that you found a way to find success. But how did you get here? So
You're not going to win every deal.
Why do you not?
There's nobody else that you do everything textbook perfect in the end of going to make some decision you go. What did I miss something to be upset and angry with the prospect going to feel misled bitter your be talking to your boss and if it's going to be probably wouldn't you miss me to consider and not happen when you're either lose your hat when you're in a slump this we all get us once I had a conversation with Mark MacArthur about this not too long ago about you always get in a slump line resort to the same concept Comeback Kid perseveres learns and bounces back out of new package new skills new optimism, but also has the ability to put that loss behind them. Or maybe not fully behind the myth says no problem. I'm going to live to fight another day and I'm going to stay and talk about it for six months in a year and they realize they made a mistake.
I'm going to ask if the deal dad so maybe it's not today but it's maybe that is not no not forever. It's just the brain. You said he knows maybe you might be manifesting yourself a little bit here. You got some comeback story suso doesn't feel like you know, you're hanging out with back and crew on a wonderful boss that you can get cross-country talk to us about some of the hardship that you you injure. Maybe it was unexpected and how you overcame or what did you learn from your career? If you don't do that accept everything great companies great leaders, but again things will not always play out how you want to be last year. I went to two different companies within a span.
7 months 6 months, I believe six or seven months are utilizing what happened to teach other people to not make the same mistakes that both of those large deals talk about those valleys. Look what you did and how you did it how you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and continue to take it you can teach that the other people on how you did that didn't work at last.
Lights on. Hey guys. I have an exact same every second job is a homerun even though I can take when I pick every job that I take is a homerun in my career. Every second job is the one I enjoy being a second job site. So I don't bump the next game to get furloughed and I'm happy where they are before the upgrade. They knew so that they could be prepared to give your best foot forward their best presentation of them as a person What secrets do they need to research the best prepare for that interview question may not be a traditional answer you expect but I got to give credit where credit few Robert Jefferson.
Your resume needs to be able to tell a story but leave out enough information for the person to say I want to see I want to hear more about this experience. He shared a little bit with me but it's enough to where they want to poke holes in it to really get down to the trees. The second thing we've got to get out of this heroic mind to the sales people that it's all on us My Success confused Soul Eater Maka for me. I'm raising my insulin right now. That's not true. I've seen it I have company and still didn't work out. You need to find an honest with me and helping me realize this but you got to find a sponsor not just a mentor but a sponsor somebody that's willing to put their brand Milan for you somebody that's willing to say. Hey, I know he's going to succeed and I'm going to be a person that helps him or her reach that point.
What's up, Simone? One thing about LinkedIn, but that's okay. What one thing should have Ser absolutely make sure is button down and kick ass for them to not immediately end up in the no pile you looking for the next job.
No, Kyle, the number one thing you need to do.
Is truthfully build a use case around the product that you're attempting to sale of the company to work for Bill to use case put together a presentation again that shows a couple of different things that you look for an SBR right? Let me not show up on a resume creativity.
Storytelling style Nobody Does that guy and I'm telling you is if you did that to me a job, but you're not going to be in the know how I'm going to go holyshit. I need to know more about this person. That's how I think so. That would be the biggest mistake or biggest missed opportunity hiring managers make in the hiring process when it comes to evaluating candidates.
Yes, that's a great question. I'll go back to I think the biggest mistake we make in the hiring process is on the front end, but try to get some contacts. I think the way you truly when the deal is by Prospect managers are making with what they're asking for in a candidate. I think what we're asking for is not what we end up hiring ourselves. We can see that with the missed quota in the turnover rate than one question that an SDR candidates always ask a hiring manager is one thing you should always ask is.
Let's say I have this job. We're out having our favorite drink with toasting to my success.
What three things are we toasting to?
Damn, I've not heard that one before I've used variations of that would have yours is distinctly different. I would look at how do you measure success? But you're saying what are the three things were toasting is a different question because you're putting it in a love it my friend told you he was a rockstar. There's a reason he's back check-in check-out vendition follow him on LinkedIn. He is a must-listen kind of guy he hangs out with cool people he goes cut in boxes. And by the way, I did not get that invite you still talking to me talking to me no more than anything. I hope you got a little bit.
Thank you for listening to another episode of the inside inside sales podcast with your host Daryl frail.
We hope you enjoy the show. And if you did we would greatly appreciate you taking a moment to leave us a review on the platform you listening to the show from today. Also, please feel free to share this program with your friends and colleagues. Thank you. Daryl will be back again next week.