I read Trish Bertuzzi’s book ‘The Sales Development Playbook’ and it was by far one of the best sales books I’ve read in a while. The book focuses heavily on building pipeline with SDR teams. This is the fifth post I’ve wrote about this book: there was so much good information that putting it all in one post would be too long. Below key excerpts from page 161 to the end.
Use different methods. In addition to executing a multi-touch cadence, reps need to vary the media they use. This should include the following:
2. Email
*ghosting is calling a prospect, hoping to catch the live, and not leaving a voicemail.
Cadence. Kyle Porter, CEO of SalesLoft, certainly knows about cadence. In fact, his company built a product that help sales development teams execute prospecting. Kyle shared SalesLoft’s 7x7 cadence which includes seven attempts for each new prospect over a span of seven days. The pattern follows:
Day 2- It’s a phone call with no voicemail.
Day 4- It’s another email.
SalesLoft has found that for their market seven touches in seven days works best. For many of my clients it is nine touches in fifteen days. Don’t get hung up on the numbers, you will find your unique formula with trial and error.
them. One way to do this is to demonstrate relevancy. For example, your reps could reference something happening in their industry, with their role, at their company, or that they shared in an interview or on Twitter. Prospects don’t care that your reps made two other attempts. “Haven’t heard back from you after my last call” and “Following up on my recent email” aren’t good enough reasons to call again. Each message should build on the previous and offer something new. Referencing previous attempts wastes precious airtime and often comes off as hostile.
Time is limited. It is my personal belief that reps shouldn’t take up the beginning of their voicemails saying their name and company name. It wastes valuable real estate, and it makes them sound like everyone else.
No Contact. An account shouldn’t be marked “no contact” until at least two prospects have said no (or not responded).
Next steps. Closing out a discovery call without a confirmed next step is just a waste, so have a process in place to make sure it does not happen and trach those outcomes.
· Total activities per day
· Attempts per lead
These are the metrics that leaders can manage and reps can control. Telling reps, “Hit your number; I don’t care how you get there,” is great bravado and terrible management. Informing your reps that activities will lead to z results is real leadership. The Objective metrics you’ll want to measure include the following:
· # of quality conversations/rate
· “Bad data” rate
number of quality conversations is one of the most important indicators of rep proficiency. Does a given rep have the ability to arouse curiosity and launch a conversation with a prospect? Or is the rep being shut down and kicked to the curb form the get-go?
No shows. If you are setting introductory meetings, the cruel truth is that no-shows are a reality. A no-show rate of 15 percent to 20 percent is normal. Any more than that and you should evaluate whether your reps are sparking curiosity or badgering prospects to accept meetings they don’t ever plan on attending.
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