My SDR got promoted and no new one in sight.
I am already so busy with acct management it's tough to have time to prospect.
HELP!!
Wolfof7thStreet
How to manage prospecting as a full cycle rep?
14
I’ve always been a full-cycle AE, and have never been given tools for automation. My tips:
1) Keep consistent with your prospecting efforts. It’s easy to get “too busy”, never let it get in the way of some calls if only to keep your game tight. Put time on your calendar for a minimum of 2 hours/week, you can break it up however fits your week the best.
2) Develop a cadence that goes from cold outreach to when you’d typically get the lead and stick to it.
3) Ask current clients for referrals.
Those are all great tips, thank you! How do you go about asking for referrals?
I always keep it really casual, and I usually only do this via phone or in person.
"Hey Steve, I'm so glad we were able to accomplish X, Y and Z for [Their Company]. Do you have any colleagues with similar issues/bottlenecks/cost saving initiatives that might benefit from a consultation with me/[your company]?"
Or if you're in a smaller geography and you think they may be connected to certain companies that you want in:
"Hey Steve, now that we've had a chance to earn our stripes for you and everything is implemented- I hoped I could ask you a favor? (<-- people love to be "helpful") I'd really like to connect with someone at X Company or Y Company because I know I could help them with these same issues that we solved for you guys! Do you know anyone at either of those companies that you could introduce me to?"
"Hey Steve, I'm so glad we were able to accomplish X, Y and Z for [Their Company]. Do you have any colleagues with similar issues/bottlenecks/cost saving initiatives that might benefit from a consultation with me/[your company]?"
Or if you're in a smaller geography and you think they may be connected to certain companies that you want in:
"Hey Steve, now that we've had a chance to earn our stripes for you and everything is implemented- I hoped I could ask you a favor? (<-- people love to be "helpful") I'd really like to connect with someone at X Company or Y Company because I know I could help them with these same issues that we solved for you guys! Do you know anyone at either of those companies that you could introduce me to?"
Super helpful, thank you! Definitely makes sense that itd come across weird in a typed message
The best prospecting AE I knew always felt way behind.
But he had fully-auto email sequences (with the exception of the first email, where he’d add the TINIEST amount of personalization), and he’d supplement them with calls a day or two each week. He’d use tricks like name dropping to show he did a little research (“do you and [name of colleague or higher up] have a process in place to X?”).
Also once or twice a week he’d add a crap load of new people to sequences and get those fired off.
The dude was praised in the Slack channels all the time: “Joey closed another self-sourced deal!”
The dude even made time to meet with me almost every week to see if there was any way he could help me. The dude was the best salesperson I’ve ever met.
Love this experience, and definitely agree that theres potential to be really successful with or without an SDR. I need to work in more automation for sure,thanks for the tips!
Part of my role is to prospect still. I allocate 30 minutes every day to prospecting and then block in a few cold calling sessions each week. You just set your structure and keep to it.
Do you feel that this gives you enough time? Do you also have help on top? I usually time block but making it more scheduled makes sense to me. Thanks!
We use Wednesday from noon to Friday to prospect between meetings. Monday - Wednesday before noon are for new calls, emails and sequence activations.
It’s never ended and we’re always busy.
so to clarify, the first half of the week is mostly new outreach, and the second half is mainly followup work? (around meetings all week ofc)
I like the strategy of breaking up the week like that
Yeah bc everyone’s gone Thursday Friday so gotta set your meetings m-w
This can be tough to master if it's your first time. First, how are you paid? New logo bonuses? Are commissions the same for new accounts vs existing ones? In the ent space, assuming all things are equal, I would focus on new logos > existing accounts > prospecting. New logos and prospecting will flip flop depending on your workload. An example would be: If you are working on several RFP's put most of your time to secure those new customers and your remaining time taking care of your current customers. If you are in a period where you are not actively working on getting contracts signed you would spend the majority of your time filling your pipeline i.e. prospecting. The balance you want to find is always having new logos to close while keeping your customers happy. (obvious but much more difficult to execute well).
I do get new logo bonuses which is why prospecting is so top of mind. I have a very greenfield patch but already have closed a few deals to get me close to my number. Now I want to keep those customers happy and find a few net new logos for the $$$. I think that taking your advice, and some others, I will try to lay out at the start of the day/week when I will prioritize prospecting vs new logos vs acct management. Thank you for the well thought out response!
You are probably over compensating for “account management” to create a sense of busyness for yourself, managing buying customers ain’t that hard/time consuming. The best sellers (and leaders) I’ve ever worked with have one thing in common - they were laser focused and managed their work time with machine like precision.
A good perspective and probably (definitely) true! Thank you
The best prospecting AE I knew always felt way behind. But he had fully-auto email sequences (with the exception of the first email, where he’d add the TINIEST amount of personalization), and he’d supplement them with calls a day or two each week.
Those are all great tips, thank you! How do you go about asking for referrals?
You probably are doing more than you are giving yourself credit for.
Block off certain times each day to prospect. Research deeply on the clients you really want to win to set yourself apart from your competition. Anyone can read who the players are on a website. Show that you have done your due diligence.
Block off certain times each day to prospect. Research deeply on the clients you really want to win to set yourself apart from your competition. Anyone can read who the players are on a website. Show that you have done your due diligence.
Part of my role is to prospect still. I allocate 30 minutes every day to prospecting and then block in a few cold calling sessions each week. You just set your structure and keep to it.
I would if I knew someone I could trust.
I would if I knew someone I could trust.
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