Friday Rant - Lousy SDRs (and the companies they work for) (you've been warned)

Its been a week...


But today I got a call from an SDR which was probably one of the worst I have ever received. I shouldn't have answered, but I was expecting a call.


First off, his "engrish" was awful and he didn't help his cause by speaking so rapidly I couldn't understand what his company's name was, even after I asked him to repeat it. I work for an India-based company, so I hear my share of bad english daily. But my company knows enough to NOT let them be on the front lines in reaching out to new prospects. Its not racist to expect a prospect to understand your front line employees.


And when you actually get someone on the line, you'd think the first few things out of their mouth would be golden. What little I understood had so little business value to me, it was pathetic. At least he didn't start out by asking about my day or something else frivolous.


Secondly - Do SDRs even care about the emails they send out? I see so many complaints/posts here about emailing prospects, etc. Ever think the problem is the quality of the email being sent? If your subject line doesn't resonate with me, I'll never see the body. And the body better be simple and easy to read.


Most of the emails SDRs send me go direct to spam. I never see them. So you'd think the few which actually do get through are somehow composed in a way which got through the filters and would mean something to me. NO. They don't. My 10 year old could write a better, more value-centric email then the ๐Ÿ’ฉ which gets through.


When your job is to get a meeting with the 1% you're actually able to connect with, you need to do a better job.


But I know that for most SDRs, your limiting factor might be the company you work for. I get it. I have been in the shoe's of an SDR (or equivalent). I know what its like to smile/dial for dollars. So I don't necessarily blame the SDR, but the cream rises to the top. A good SDR will use what's given to them, even when its not-so-good, and make it work. And a lousy SDR will still be lousy even with all the tools in the shed.


So SDRs - take a min to put yourself in the shoes of the people you want to meet with. Ask yourself (1) is this the right person? - it probably isn't. So then (2) how can the person I actually got in contact with help me reach my goal of getting a meeting with his/her company? Which takes us to (3) once I actually get to that person, what will resonate with that person to get them to say "yes"? If you can't answer that, get out of Sales. NOW.


That was cathartic. I'm getting off my soap box now. Have a great weekend! And may it be SDR free!

๐ŸŽˆ Mentorship
๐Ÿ’Œ Cold Emailing
๐Ÿ“ž Cold Calling
6
SaaSsy
Politicker
4
AE
Agree, lots of low quality out there but I put more blame on sales training in general over the last few years - so many SDRs have been trained in boiler plate room styles and managed for very short term metrics so they get lazy and think itโ€™s all a numbers game. But with tight budgets and so much tech to buy, the spray and pray tactics donโ€™t work.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
๐ŸฆŠ
โ˜ 
RandyLahey
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Yeah, great take. You need volume to get to quality, but you can't then only rely on volume.
TennisandSales
Politicker
3
Head Of Sales
so i think your walking a fine line about complaining about someones accent. you are kinda making the claim that if you have an accent you cant be an SDR.
i totally agree that SDRs need to put them self in the shoes of the ppl they are reaching out to. "would i open this email? would i respond to this?" is a really great filter to put on.
Pachacuti
Politicker
0
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
I have no issue with accents. I work with them every day. I do have an issue with putting someone out there who is unintelligible. Iโ€™m multilingual so I get trying to communicate in a non-native tongue. So I try extra hard and slow down my speaking quite a bit when not speaking English.
Justatitle
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
Iโ€™ll never get mad at someone trying to sell me something. That said I never have any buying power. Personal life, talk to my wife. Professionally, itโ€™s up to my boss.
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Lolโ€ฆ easy to say no when you canโ€™t say yes. Thereโ€™s a Selling lesson in there somewhere.
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