Thinking of building an outbound sales development representative (SDR) team but not sure how to manage it? We’re not going to lie to you—building and maintaining an SDR team is costly, time consuming, and requires constant action. But when managed properly, it’s worth the investment.
To effectively manage an outbound sales development team, you should:
- Create an SDR Organization Structure
- Start With Top-of-Funnel Sales Team Managers
- Make Sure Everyone Understands the Sales Process
- Set Realistic and Attainable Goals
- Guide SDR Teams on How To Prioritize Their Day
- Take the Time to Consistently Train SDRs
- Motivate SDRs By the Numbers
- Keep the Momentum and Drive Alive
Create an SDR Organization Structure
If you want to manage an outbound sales development team that gets the results you want, you have to have a proper SDR organization structure. Everyone on the SDR team should have clear roles and responsibilities so your outbound sales process runs smoothly and productively for the long haul.
Many small businesses make the mistake of putting both selling and sales development tasks in the hands of sales and account executives, which can leave them feeling burnt out and with a lead generation strategy that flops or isn’t sustainable. Starting from the top of the funnel, here are a few of the most critical SDR team members to have when kicking off your business growth strategy:
Sales and Account Executives
Gives sales presentations to qualified prospects and leads generated by SDRs
Sales Managers
Oversees the metrics of the SDRs and makes sure they’re accelerating in the SDR role
Sales Development Representatives
Engages with outbound prospects, qualifies leads, and sets sales meetings
Start With Top-of-Funnel Sales Team Managers
To establish an effective sales development team plan, you must start by connecting with the top-of-funnel sales team managers.
Sales managers act as liaisons between account executives and SDRs. They collaborate with account executives to learn what potential customers are looking for in a B2B partnership. They can relay this information to SDRs so they can pitch to prospects better.
On the other hand, if account executives are wasting time in sales meetings with prospects who aren’t ready to buy, they can communicate that with the sales team managers. From here, sales managers explore ways that SDRs can set account executives up with better sales appointments with qualified prospects closer to the end of their purchasing cycle.
Sales managers are also responsible for keeping SDRs on task and on track to hit their monthly goals. If SDRs are behind pace for the month, sales managers can collaborate with them to strategically plan a different course of action to hit their quotas. If there seems to be a gap in the sales process, sales managers can collaborate with both account executives and SDRs to provide a solution that aligns with everyone’s everyday procedures.
Make Sure Everyone Understands the Sales Process
Consistency is key when it comes to an outbound sales development process that yields consistent and predictable results. Everyone on the SDR team should know the process and follow it day in and day out. The moment a team member decides to implement a sales strategy they think may be more efficient than the previous approach, that’s when things start to fall apart.
If you want to make adjustments to the sales process, this decision must be agreed upon in the team. Additionally, the individual or team members suggesting the change should have some proof or insight behind their reasoning for updating the sales process. This can help other team members understand their perspective and how it’s more efficient for moving leads through the sales pipeline.
Set Realistic and Attainable Goals
Setting realistic and attainable for sales teams to hit is essential for keeping their motivation and confidence in full swing. Without setting goals, sales teams have little to no motivation to get things done and don’t know how much revenue they should be generating for your business on a monthly basis. Setting unattainable goals, though, discourage your SDR team from hitting them because they’ll feel like they’re falling behind. This can risk your lead generation program falling apart, so all the hard work you’ve put into it has gone to waste. Creating a sales development team plan on what goal you want to hit and how they’re going to hit them is vital for keeping the sales cycle pumping with new prospects and qualified leads who are ready to take the next step in their buyer’s journey.
Guide SDR Teams on How To Prioritize Their Day
Effectively managing SDR teams includes guiding them on prioritizing their day to see the most impact from your business growth efforts. When SDRs sit at their desks each morning, they should have a game plan for their work day. This can include asking questions like:
- How should I organize my day?
- Should I prioritize leads or accounts?
- How do I know my approach is practical?
While SDRs can ask themselves these questions, it’s also important that they go over this with their sales managers and ask for their insights on what they have planned. This gives the sales managers a look into how SDRs plan on attacking their goals and meeting their quotas.
Creating a daily game plan can also help SDR teams build habits and get better results. Rather than sporadically sending emails or making phone calls throughout the day, sales reps can strategically plan their day to increase contact rates and executive tasks more efficiently. This also avoids the risk of task pile-up, which is both overwhelming for the SDR and can negatively impact the effectiveness of the sales development process.
Take the Time to Consistently Train SDRs
Consistent sales development representative training is vital for managing an SDR team that presents your business with positive results. Outbound sales development practices like cold calling and emailing are constantly changing, meaning an SDR team’s approach should align with the current state of the sales and marketing industry.
When you take the time to consistently train your SDR team on new sales strategies and techniques, you have the opportunity to further advance your business growth efforts and ROI. And when SDRs are performing well in their role, they have more drive to continue to grow within their position to make more money for your company and earn a higher commission check. Training SDR teams consistently is mutually beneficial to your business and your employees, increasing the likelihood of retaining high-performing employees.
Motivate SDRs by the Numbers
Sales reps aren’t just relationship builders—they’re also numbers people. Numbers often drive SDR teams because it allows them to see their impact for the company. Using sales metrics to measure an SDR’s success is beneficial because they can see where they’re at with hitting their goals.
SDRs can also use these numbers to strategize and learn where they could advance their sales skills to further succeed in their role. Be it measuring the number of decision-makers they’ve identified, sales appointments set, or revenue generated, having access to these numbers can help them stay dialed in and ambitious.
Keep the Momentum and Drive Alive
Being a part of an outbound sales development team is hard work, and they won’t hit all their numbers every single day. To effectively manage a sales development team, managers must keep their SDR teams eager to succeed. Ambition and drive go a long way when managing a sales team. When the going gets rough, it’s important that everyone supports each other and acknowledges that a bad sales day doesn’t equate to a bad sales team.
Key Takeaways
Creating a sales development team plan is vital for building and sustaining a business growth strategy that yields long-term results. While it may not be easy and require a few tweaks, it’s worth the time and financial investment.
Many small to medium-sized businesses don’t have the resources or sales skills to manage their sales development teams internally. When they don’t, they seek extra assistance from third-party lead generation companies.
Sapper Consulting empowers growing businesses across the United States to build their sales pipelines and generate new sales opportunities through outsourced lead generation services. Our SDR teams have all the sales knowledge, insights, and tools to pique the interest of potential buyers and secure high-converting sales meetings. If you need a hand acquiring a high-performing SDR team, contact the business growth experts at Sapper!
