Part
III: Tips for Hiring, Training and Motivating a high-performing
Sales Development Team
In part 1 of our series, we discussed the business objectives for
building an in-house SD function and 5 steps for setting up a successful
SD operation. In part 2, we discussed tips for managing the lead
generation funnel including list selection, profiling, the VITO
approach, and qualifying techniques. Once you have defined your
SD operations and processes, it's time to begin hiring, training
and motivating your team.
Hiring
In a B2B sales development role, you need intelligent, educated,
and motivated individuals. Minimum skills, personality and experience
requirements should include:
| Bachelor's degree |
Positive, can-do attitude with the ability to
handle rejection |
| At least 2 year's experience in an outbound B2B
SD role |
Motivated to overachieve and be recognized |
| Consistent quota achievement |
Quick at qualifying opportunities |
| Strong communication skills (oral and written)
and professional business voice |
Strong time-management and organizational skills |
| Pro-active, persistent, and goal-oriented |
Strong team player |
| Experience partnering with multiple inside or
field sales reps |
Industry experience |
It is easier to train an experienced Sales Development Rep (SDR)
on your company and products than it is to take someone from your
industry and train them on the SD role. Beware of hiring an inbound,
customer-service type of individual. They seldom do well in an outbound,
cold-calling environment.
Step 1:
Begin your hiring process by interviewing all candidates over the
phone. After all, their job is phone-based so you need to make sure
that they can communicate effectively in this medium. They will
also be using email extensively, so make sure they can write well
and type quickly. A good method to evaluate skills is to have the
candidate treat you as if you were a prospect. Candidates who are
not serious about joining your company or do not have the experience
and skills to complete this task will likely not follow through
with this assignment.
Step 2:
Meet face-to-face with candidates who make it through the first
phone interview and prospecting assignment successfully. If they
look promising, have them interview via phone or in person with
the reps they will be partnering with to get the reps' assessment.
They will be working closely together, so a strong personality match
is essential.
Step 3:
Perform reference checks to verify quota achievement and discuss
work styles. Is your candidate self-motivated, hard-working, and
optimistic? Or does he/she complain, point fingers and cause conflict
within the team?
Training
Training your SDRs is an ongoing process. Continual monitoring
and coaching is imperative if you want a high-performing team. Initial
training should include the following areas:
Product Knowledge
* Focus on the 80% of frequently asked questions and emphasize
benefits over features
* Pricing (SDRs typically do not need detailed pricing, however,
they do need to be able to give prospects an estimate)
|
Sales Skills & Techniques
* Target market characteristics
* Elevator pitch
* Navigating to the decision makers
* Listening and probing techniques
* Qualifying criteria
* Objection-handling tips
* Closing techniques
|
Operational Requirements
Phone system, headset, SFA/CRM system
|
Company-specific Procedures
* Rules of engagement for interacting with direct sales, channel,
marketing
* Call tracking and reporting
* Process for "recycling" or nurturing prospects
|
Company Background and Competitive Environment
* Customer references
* Case studies
* Competitive positioning
|
It is very useful to create a Sales Guide that encompasses all
of the content listed above. It can be used by the entire sales
organization including channel partners.
Once your new SDRs have started their training, have them sit in
on calls with other SDRs and the inside or field sales reps they
will be partnering with. They can begin by first handling inbound
calls and following up with warm leads (web hits, tradeshow leads,
etc.) before moving on to the more challenging outbound role (cold
calling).
Motivating Your Team
Compensation
Begin with a well constructed compensation plan. A good model is
50% base, 50% incentive or 60% base, 40% incentive. The bulk of
the incentive should be tied to results that the SDR directly controls:
scheduled appointments, completed demos and qualified leads passed
to sales. The remaining incentive can be tied to revenue for qualified
leads that convert. This insures that SDRs give highly qualified
leads to their reps and if appropriate help expand contacts to drive
the opportunity to closure. To encourage high initiative and teamwork,
double pay on closed deals. SDRs often earn a fixed bonus per closed
deal while field reps earn a percentage of revenue.
Reward high performers with quarterly and annual kickers and never
cap their incentive. Your goal is to have them consistently over
achieve their quota.
Time-based programs
In addition to a fair and motivating compensation plan, use time-based
programs with incentives for achievement of specific, measurable
goals. Set both individual and team goals for qualified appointments
within a 4-6 week period. Make it fun with a theme and goodies tied
to that theme. Track progress on a white board so that the entire
team can monitor their performance vs. their fellow SDRs and the
entire team. A little competition will get your SDRs fired up and
increase productivity. Also, be sure to promote the campaign to
the entire sales organization and upper management to increase the
visibility of the team.
There is much more, but with these tips on hiring, training and
motivating your SDRs, you will have a successful and productive
organization.
Mary Gospe (maryg@kickstartall.com)
is one of the founding members of the KickStart Alliance. The KickStart
Alliance (www.kickstartall.com)
is a team of senior marketing and sales leaders who assist startups
and emerging companies develop and execute a variety of marketing
and sales goals and objectives.
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