I built an Inbound SDR position myself [successfully] but now have nothing to show for it...

This is my first post in this community, so I apologize in advance if it's not formatted correctly or posted in the right spot. I also apologize that this is a bit long, but there is a fair bit of context that I feel is relevant to explain before I ask for advice.


I've been working for my current company for 9 months now - we are a start-up that is roughly 3 years old that sells a hiring service into an industry that very much needs it (can't name which at the risk of self-identifying, unfortunately). I have some (~ 1 year) SDR experience, but was initially hired to be on the "Local" sales team (this sales org has "Local," MM, and Enterprise departments).


After training for one week, I was pulled aside (Virtually, we are a remote-based company) by our Head of Sales and informed that we were about to "turn on" a web form on our company site and needed someone to staff it. Because of my SDR experience, I was asked to take this on and build it out with no real expectations that it would be successful as we were not spending any $ on marketing to it. Meaning any and all traffic would be from SEO or Word of Mouth. As far as comp, I was told I'd get $100 for every meeting I set (again, with no expectations or quota in place. This was positioned as an experiment that I would be solely responsible for).


I received no guidance on how to create processes, scripts, email templates, outreach/follow-up cadences, anything at all. They literally handed me the baton and told me to run with it. So I did.


4 months in, I booked 60 meetings in a month. I was then pulled aside again and told that "broke" the commission structure and that I would be making half ($50/meeting) my original commission in the months going forward. I obviously wasn't happy, but took it in stride and kept my head down.


While this was happening, I never had any tracking/metrics to show my appt. held %, my lead-to-opportunity conversion %, how much ARR I had been responsible for generating, anything. I only knew how many meetings I set because I tracked that myself.


I'm wrapping this up soon, I promise - so last month we end up all (sales + CS teams) getting flown out to an in-person conference to discuss our new GTM strategy (essentially focusing more on MM and Enterprise accounts). It was at this conference that I, amongst others, was casually informed that 30% of our company's revenue came from our "Inbound Web Funnel" (i.e. leads that I identified as legitimate sales opportunities and converted to meetings for our MM/ENT teams).


Within one week of returning from that conference, I was "asked" by my immediate manager to "help him" build out this new role, the intent of which was to facilitate a better user experience (we generate sales opps by giving out a free-trial of our service) to our users before we ask them to pay. That role is not a selling role at all and is essentially admin/support work with the occasional chance to identify an opportunity to put a meeting on our MM team's calendar.


The inbound leads that I used to work are now being round-robin'd out to the MM team, and I have spoken with multiple people on that team who have told me that it is significantly less efficient and/or have outright asked me "how I used to do what I did" as far as taking a lead who's just asking for more info about us and getting them to be eager to take a sales call.



In short, I created a role that no expectations of being successful that ended up driving 30% our company's total revenue in less than 7 months. The company did not award or praise me for this, and instead pulled me out of that role to focus on something new and still yet unproven.


The company's top-down communication is virtually non-existent, everything is being funneled through middle managers while our perspective/opinions are not even being asked for, let alone considered, and I personally went from feeling incredibly grateful for the opportunity and the "culture" of our company to now feeling taken advantage of, over-worked and under-appreciated, and very much disappointed in where I've ended up within the company.



All this is to say that I'm looking to at least explore other options, but I have nothing tangible to show for the work I've done to this point. If I ask anyone internally for that data, it will be blatantly obvious IMO that I'm looking to leave.


This is my first "real" sales job, and would be a massive selling point for me to make a lateral, or even upward, move to another company. But I have no tangible data with which to self-advocate, and by the time I realized I was going to need it, it was too late.


If you read this far, thank you for doing that much. I take responsibility for not advocating for those career-defining metrics internally sooner, but I'm wondering if anyone with more career experience than me can provide any advice/feedback on how they would navigate this situation.

๐Ÿ™ Corporate Experiences
๐Ÿง  Advice
๐ŸŽฏ Career Development
16
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
5
Bravado's Resident Asshole
In everything that you do for someone else when there is "nothing to start with" you track it to the T. Do you have any of the appts in your CRM or any other form of tracking your deals/leads
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
You're right, I realized this too late and will accept the consequences of having not done it if that's what it comes to.

I did track every person/account, deal size, the rep it was set with, and the date I set the meeting. I could use this to locate each and every account in our CRM, but I wouldn't be able to track the total value of each deal (small deals often lead to larger expansions). I also started linking these CRM accounts in my spreadsheet during my last 3 months in this role.

Beyond that, I don't have the authority to run CRM reports that would show what ARR was generated as a result of my activities. I'd have to ask for that information from our CRM Admin. Meaning he would have to figure out how to run that report solely because I asked him to - to my knowledge this is not something they've done on their own yet.
jefe
Arsonist
2
๐Ÿ
Self awareness is important - it's great that you're taking this away from the situation.
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
Thank you - I at least knew to track my actual output (meetings set) from the start, but I sort of just assumed that all the backend results would be tracked and shared with me as time went on. Lesson *painfully* learned.
TennisandSales
Politicker
5
Head Of Sales
holy shit this is a long post. can you give me the TLDR?????
Alexio1000
Contributor
2
Sales Development
TL;DR is the third to last paragraph
Sunbunny31
Politicker
5
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
"Tested and built out a process that resulted in 30% of the company's revenue after 7 mos" is a very good metric on your CV in and of itself. "Booked 60 appointments in one month" is also a very desirable metric.

The fact that you did it without supervision and without a whole lot of knowledge highlights your ability to think on your feet and not rely on others to be successful.

Honestly, any company should be happy to have such a self-reliant, reliable employee. I can only imagine how successful you would be with training and some good management.

At any rate, tangible measurable data points actually belong to your current company, and shouldn't be shared externally anyway. You can confidently state the % of revenue you directly created, you can discuss the number of contacts you had.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
๐ŸฆŠ
You need to be a CEO ๐Ÿ‡
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
I'm far too lazy.

But thanks. :)
Alexio1000
Contributor
0
Sales Development
Maybe try consulting - far less "work" but you have the ear of the CEO
Alexio1000
Contributor
2
Sales Development
Thank you, and I feel the same way - I had already planned on using those (amongst others) points as bullet points on my LinkedIn/Resume. I was just concerned about a potential employer pressing for "proof" that I did those things, when I don't have much beyond my meetings spreadsheet that I kept myself.

I think that this, paired with the above comment about written referrals and my ability to "sell myself" in an interview will be sufficient to get me in the door somewhere else.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
So to that point, I can't share "proof" of my multimillion dollar sale to a huge tech company because 1) they don't want it discussed at all and 2) the contract is obviously confidential. I CAN talk about the sales cycle, who I talked to (the roles) etc., in a fair amount of detail but without naming names.

My message is that there is only so much proof you can reasonably provide that doesn't breach confidentiality. You will need to be able to discuss what you did and be confident in what you can provide, but you have that.
Alexio1000
Contributor
0
Sales Development
Yeah, the true reason for posting this w/ all the context was to see if I really needed to start gathering as much data as possible in the event that I start taking interviews elsewhere (which I'm almost certainly going to).

The responses I've gotten here have shown me that I have most of what I would need already - I know how to speak to my experience/productivity, I just needed to know how much "proof" I'd need before I did.
jefe
Arsonist
3
๐Ÿ
LOOONG post but I got through.

I'd focus on the numbers you do have, though you're at a disadvantage without and outbound experience.

If you were driving 30% of revenue, could they not afford to keep paying you that number?! And do you know what 30% roughly translated to, dollar-wise?

Also, did you push back at all on being moved out of that position?
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
Thanks for sticking with me there haha - I actually do have some outbound experience, just not in this role as we were in a position that we didn't need to (we utilize a free-trial to generate most of our opportunities). My role consisted of taking all the other inquiries that came through our site and qualifying/converting them into sales opportunities.

As for the dollar amount, it came to just shy of $2M (in less than 7 months) out of a total $6M (in the span of 3 years).

I definitely did, but ultimately relented because my immediate manager told me he "really needed *my* help" with this new role. He set the expectations that it wouldn't be much more than a month, and we're approaching the 1-month mark this week. I will be addressing this in our weekly 1:1 meeting tomorrow morning.
Alexio1000
Contributor
2
Sales Development
Thank you everyone who has responded so far - I know this was a lot, and your feedback/questions are greatly appreciated.

My primary issue is that I was all but "gung-ho" on this company/opportunity as of 3 months ago. I resonate with and understand the industry, my job was not super difficult and I was good at it, the people internally that I worked with appreciated me, but everything has been spiraling downwards for me the last few months.

The job still has quite a few perks, but the looming recession, my previous experience in the company, and my lack of other experience has me hesitant to "jump ship."
Mobi85
Politicker
2
Regional Sales Manager
Sorry that you are feeling taken advantage of with very little social recognition on your successes. Which sounds like you are damn successful with being able to have very little guidance whatsoever and able to make something out of nothing.

I wonder if because of your success they may not have socially congratulated you but are looking at you as an asset that can now help them build out this next role and want you to take on the task because of your success in the previous role.

Has therebeen any type of compensation change for this new role also? I can say with the success you had to brush up your resume with those wins and get it out there for others to see and land yourself up a notch the sales ladder as well.
Alexio1000
Contributor
0
Sales Development
So that's what I'm thinking as well - they saw that I was able to successfully build out one role largely on my own, so the assumption was likely that I'd be valuable in building out this one as well.

My issues are that this role is not particularly a sales role - it's mostly customer support (following up with free-trial users) and occasionally getting someone who had a good experience to agree to meet with an AE.

So I"m not really developing my sales skillset anymore, I'm making less money than I did in my previous role (due to lost commission) - they gave me OTE to compensate, but that's OTE for the local sales rep. Not what I was averaging/making setting meetings in my role.

The only thing I'm "gaining" from this new role is being able to say that I personally built out processes/made 2 different roles successful with little guidance on how to do so.
nomdeguerre
Executive
1
Account executive
This was strictly inbound or did you also do outbound activities?
Alexio1000
Contributor
0
Sales Development
Strictly inbound - "leads" of all sorts came to us from SEO (hiring solutions in X industry) or word of mouth. Almost no one was raising their hand to speak to a sales person but were instead just inquiring as to who we were/what we did.

But yes, it was all inbound, I did no outbounding activities.
nomdeguerre
Executive
1
Account executive
Are you interested in outbound or only inbound?
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
So I actually do have outbound experience/training. I was hired for a sales/closing role (low-level, but still closing) initially but was asked to build out this role after being there for a week given my SDR experience.

As for what I'm interested in, I'm really interested in a closing/AE role, but I'm open to both outbound/inbound SDR roles as well.
nomdeguerre
Executive
0
Account executive
Ok, can I send you a DM? Donโ€™t know if you have iOS and thatโ€™s the only way to get DMs.
Alexio1000
Contributor
0
Sales Development
I do not have iOS
nomdeguerre
Executive
0
Account executive
So, how do I reach you without breaking anonymity? I may have an opportunity.
Alexio1000
Contributor
0
Sales Development
Burner email: [email protected]
nomdeguerre
Executive
1
Account executive
There you go. Iโ€™ll send you a note tomorrow.
nomdeguerre
Executive
0
Account executive
I sent you an email
AutoSmiler
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Were you qualifying each lead before setting up the meetings for the respective rep? Also is there anyway to prove that 30 percent of the revenue increase came from your work directly? If not, ask for the GTM deck for yourself and take the necessary stats to showcase yourself, then jump ship.
AutoSmiler
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Credit should be given where it is due, and if your not receiving the credit for work you accomplished then I'd say you should move on.
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
100% - I did diligent discovery and qualification before I ever put a meeting on anyone's calendar. The MM reps in particular "loved me" and would absolutely attest to my contributions to their/the company's success if asked (meaning I could use them as a reference).

My issue is I don't have the data - that "30% stat" in the GTM deck was the first tangible data I had seen to that point, and they weren't clear on how they calculated that number, either. But they glossed over it so casually, and my issue is as much personal as it is questioning the managerial decisions of a company that's willing to literally throw away something that is clearly working.

I'm making sub 6-figured even after my commission, so it's not like they're hemorrhaging money staffing me in that position. I just don't understand why my contributions have not only gone unappreciated but outright discarded, and now I don't know if I want to work for a company like that.
AutoSmiler
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
I am sorry you are dealing with this man. The sad fact is corporate America (even with all the "positive workforce changes" since the so-called labor shortage) will still leave the common working mAN unrecognized. However, I will say, if all the reps that you set meetings for were that satisfied - you can lean on them for external referrals, and if they are willing, ask for a written testimonial from them on the work you put in to get them paid. There is a section on this site that allows for testimonials (bravado will send them a custom link via email to submit for you), and you also have the space on linkedin for recommendations that encapsulates the testimonials you have received and/or given. That said you can leverage this linkedin feature to showcase your work to any hiring manager that views your profile. Due to any privacy concerns ( if you have any) then I would say best place for the testimonial would be here in the war room. I feel the testimonial/referral path would be the best way for you to get your work noticed without actually having the data at your fingertips.
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
This is incredibly helpful, and I will absolutely be asking for written referrals should it come to it. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness in reading through and responding to this post, so thank you (:
AutoSmiler
Arsonist
1
Account Executive
Anytime! This community would be mostly useless if we weren't here to help one another out.
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
I agree - this is my first time in the community, but I'm already blown away at the thoughtfulness of some of these responses, let alone the fact that you guys took the time to read my wall of text to begin with lol

Definitely gonna be spending some more time here to try and pay it forward however I can
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
1
SaaS Eater
I didn't read anywhere near the whole post cuz its so fucking long but from what I have gathered, you do have tangible stuff you can speak to, put that shit on your resume, speak in interview to how you did it and you will be. good. If I was hiring an SDR right now id hire you in a second.
Alexio1000
Contributor
1
Sales Development
lol that's fair - don't blame you.

I didn't think what I had was very "tangible" - I absolutely can speak to my experience and the results I drove, but I wasn't sure if I'd need to tangibly back up that selling point of "30% of our company's revenue was facilitated by me."

These responses, yours included, have been very helpful, so thank you (:
tightlines
Politicker
0
Account Executive
Almost didnt read, but I saw that I was in a similar position at my first company. How big is the company? And can you speak directly with the CEO? My last company was small and it was similar for me, I went up to the top and told him I needed x to make up for y (which I delivered similar to how you did with the 30%). He was an awful leader and tried to keep taking advantage of me for cheap so I left.

I definitely could have stuck around and gotten more from it, but I realized how awful of a company it was and jumped ship just in time. You gained a ton of experience though, and even though you don't have the data, you can absolutely use your story in interviews. What you typed out above will tell a very good story
Alexio1000
Contributor
0
Sales Development
Thanks for sticking with me and reading it through. It's nice to hear from someone with a similar experience.

I technically can speak with the CEO, yes. He knows who I am as I made sure to not only introduce myself but make an impression when I had the chance to meet him in person last month.

I don't think he would be the first person I should go to though in my situation - in this case it would likely be our Head of Sales, who is the guy that hired me in the first place and asked me to take on the first Inbound role that I built out. I don't get to talk with him anymore since we hired a manager to oversee me and the other sales depts, but he's really the decision maker when it comes to anything regarding my situation/career.

Sorry to hear you went through a similar experience though. I would say that I don't think my company is "awful" by any means, I just think some of their recent business decisions are questionable [at best] and that my perspective/experience is not being considered at all. I'm going to at least meet with the "higher ups" to see if there's any chance at a resolution before making any decisions re: leaving the company.

This job/company has lots of perks beyond the pay, and I really like everyone I work with on a daily basis. I will not stand for being taken advantage of, but because of this ^ I'm quite conflicted as to how to proceed
Diablo
Politicker
0
Sr. AE
First off congrats, its a great great achievement. When you say 30%, I am sure you derived it from a number.

If I were you, apart from talking just about the $, I would also speak about the new clients I was able to add in (both no. and %), how I improved the other metrics such as reduction in the acquisition cost and many more. Also, many companies would evaluate the type of person you're - do you like taking ownerships for an example and you already have a classic example.
adrienmc
Good Citizen
0
Founder @LaGrowthMachine
Iโ€™ve read through the post, itโ€™s honestly already a convincing enough story for any job interview.

Youโ€™ll probably be asked for details on the process youโ€™ve established to qualify the inbounds leads, to transfer them next, the ACV, etcโ€ฆ. But as far as numbers goes, that 30% revenue in 7 months is more than enough
10

Have you even been a team lead or a player/coach for an AE team? What was the experience like?

Question
25
12

If you join a SaaS company and thrive at the beginning due to inbound leads and good SDR and then sales start going down due to a change of SDR and less inbounds, does that mean youโ€™re not a competent sales person or does it mean itโ€™s time to move on to another company?

Question
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