SDRs are the new face of the enterprise selling process.
Enterprise buyers are more sophisticated than ever. They are more educated on technology, better informed of their options, and they are more empowered to make decisions for themselves. Marketing's job is to make a positive impression on social media and funnel them towards the company. When it's time to buy, a whole different toolkit is required.
Long deal cycles need trust and momentum.
A social media impression might be the first impression of the company, but SDRs are the ones on the front lines tasked with getting the right information to the right people to really get the ball rolling. They put the product on the negotiating table. Their value is determined by how well they know the customer, the technology, and their command of their company's value proposition.
Escalating momentum in these early stages requires hyperspecific knowledge.
Jobs in enterprises are very specific. People are hired to do one specialized task very well. Speaking generally about your technology or solution doesn't provide much value to anyone. If you're selling Legos, and you're looking to sell them to a dinosaur enthusiast, you'll say "hey! you can use LEGOs to build a dinosaur!" instead of "you can build anything you want."
But what if an SDR can help with that very specific task? When there is direct, unquestionable alignment, magic happens and everyone wins.
SDRs need to be trusted by the customer to not only understand the value of what's on the table, but also the value of what's not on the table. Great SDRs respond to customer needs, and don't push agendas.
Prospects will not have agendas pushed on them.
The last thing anyone wants is to have someone's agenda pushed on them. Especially when it interrupts their work. Agenda-pushing is very obvious when it occurs. It will instantly lower the level of trust in the room and probably get you ghosted.
Trust is everything.
This one is really obvious, but it gets forgotten too often in the midst of quotas and cold calling. Modern technology has turned spamming into a common tactic for generating a response. The prospect's trust for SDRs has already been eroded by your competitors and social media, so how do you break through with someone conditioned to not trust you?
SDRs need to become product and industry experts.
What prospect is opposed to a genuine meeting with an industry expert who can help them achieve their goals?
Most companies start out by hiring people who already understand their industry and customers. As companies scale in size and complexity, they need dedicated enablement teams and materials to keep everyone up to speed. In fast-moving industries like tech, this function is becoming increasingly important. How do you explain elastic load balancing to people who struggle with email clients?
The same goes for new hires who probably have a minimal background in the space. Companies who want to succeed put immense resources into developing their employees into industry and subject matter experts.
