What can I do as a BDR apart from my quota to be able to become an Account Executive?
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My best BDRs/SDRs asked to join me in some of my calls. It was valuable for them to know more about discovery, etc., so they knew what was coming next for the prospect. However, it was also helpful for them to hear/experience what AEs do, how we connect with prospects and ask questions to make sure we are all on the same page. If you can get your AEs to let you join meetings when you can and follow the process, it can be very helpful to you.
thanks
Start asking to be on discovery calls. Dig a little deeper when setting appts to make the handoff to the AE that much better. Ask you organization what they are looking for when promoting from within.
thankss
Is there a defined promotion path? Because if there is, this should be easy. im guessing there isnt so here are a few suggestions: (apart from quota)
1. dont over promise.
If you tell the AE that every opp is fire and is totally going to close then you are shooting yourself in the foot. be real about the appointment and what the prospect is expecting.
2. work on your show rate.
even if you didnt hit quota, if you had a really high number of meetings actually keep, this is super impressive and important.
3. make connections.
this is kinda hard to explain how to do....but it doesnt hurt if the AEs and managers like you as a person.
1. dont over promise.
If you tell the AE that every opp is fire and is totally going to close then you are shooting yourself in the foot. be real about the appointment and what the prospect is expecting.
2. work on your show rate.
even if you didnt hit quota, if you had a really high number of meetings actually keep, this is super impressive and important.
3. make connections.
this is kinda hard to explain how to do....but it doesnt hurt if the AEs and managers like you as a person.
thankss
Learn from your AE's. Ask to shadow on a few calls. Ask questions. Show them you want to learn.
got it thankss
Show you care - genuinely and be involved but not annoying. Ie hey, I’d love to sit in on the discovery call /meeting to learn - this would go much further than and email “hey do you have an update on that lead I sent you” .. always annoys me as, hey if I had an update you’d know or be paid. I’d much prefer a BDR who shows initiative in this way - I’d promote them with mor confidence knowing they’ve been on sales cycle - even as a spectator =) work your magic on the existing sales - top performers - goes a long way when the team is looking to fill a spot. Like “hey this guy gives a fuck and gets it, they would be a great account manager imo.”
that was helpful thankyouu
Network Network Network, get leaders cheering for you when you do well. And who will call you when there’s an opening. Every manager is struggling to hire quality talent and if they know you it will make getting that first AE role easier
thankss
There’s a lot of good stuff here so I’ll focus on a different direction.
1.0 stand out in your current role by the metrics required of the job. No BD wants to spend time to develop a BDX on how to do a disco if they can’t do the job they are in. Remember: you are there to help the BD(and company) hit their goals first and foremost. The last thing I would want to do is teach my BDX sales when they can’t set meetings, hurting my numbers, all while knowing that they are going to spend WAAAYYY too much time in the BD side rather in their BDX lane. Ensure you are consistently hitting your week over week numbers, get more higher qualified leads with top Must Win/Tier 1 prospects. Ensure you have strong show rates. That all should be a given.
2.0 Bring ideas to your BD. If your peer is running something that is working well, bring it to your BD and tell them who you want to target, why, etc. if you read something or a new piece of content has come out and you want to craft an outreach around that, do it. Be proactive. When you get a meeting with a Tier 1, share with your BD a prep pack including your hypothesis, top problems the prospect is already facing, how we can help/what you think will resonate, and background documents. Ask for feedback. Follow up post call if the call went the way you thought or another route.
3.0 Join calls, what everyone else has said.
In my org, those that bring ideas, create reasonable experiments to test hypothesis and bring value to those interactions are the ones who show they can be trusted to sit on the call and eventually moved up.
1.0 stand out in your current role by the metrics required of the job. No BD wants to spend time to develop a BDX on how to do a disco if they can’t do the job they are in. Remember: you are there to help the BD(and company) hit their goals first and foremost. The last thing I would want to do is teach my BDX sales when they can’t set meetings, hurting my numbers, all while knowing that they are going to spend WAAAYYY too much time in the BD side rather in their BDX lane. Ensure you are consistently hitting your week over week numbers, get more higher qualified leads with top Must Win/Tier 1 prospects. Ensure you have strong show rates. That all should be a given.
2.0 Bring ideas to your BD. If your peer is running something that is working well, bring it to your BD and tell them who you want to target, why, etc. if you read something or a new piece of content has come out and you want to craft an outreach around that, do it. Be proactive. When you get a meeting with a Tier 1, share with your BD a prep pack including your hypothesis, top problems the prospect is already facing, how we can help/what you think will resonate, and background documents. Ask for feedback. Follow up post call if the call went the way you thought or another route.
3.0 Join calls, what everyone else has said.
In my org, those that bring ideas, create reasonable experiments to test hypothesis and bring value to those interactions are the ones who show they can be trusted to sit on the call and eventually moved up.
that was insightful thankss
Like with anything…build a relationship that brings value to THEM first.
Ask and AE you respect if you can help them do admin tasks (log and update ops, whatever).
Provide more context into your leads when you hand them over.
Show you are trying to make THEM win.
And then, they’ll want to return the favor.
Then you can ask to sit in on calls.
The one thing genuinely great people and egomaniacs have in common, is they want to mentor.
Ask and AE you respect if you can help them do admin tasks (log and update ops, whatever).
Provide more context into your leads when you hand them over.
Show you are trying to make THEM win.
And then, they’ll want to return the favor.
Then you can ask to sit in on calls.
The one thing genuinely great people and egomaniacs have in common, is they want to mentor.
got it thankss
As previously mentioned, join discovery calls. Also make sure the hiring sales managers know your name and your intention to be promoted to sales. (the latter is actually really important if you work at a company with multiple sales teams and 10+ b/sdrs.)
As far as discovery calls go... join as many as you can without sacrificing your actual job performance. At the beginning of each call start a new doc with 2 sections. One for things the prospect said you didn't understand, one for things the sales rep said you didn't understand. After the call wraps, ask the AE both sets of questions.
*protip.. the things the AE says on the call are more important to understand than what the prospect says. most b/sdrs do the opposite and listen to what the prospect is saying rather than the mindset/methodology behind what the AE is asking.
As far as discovery calls go... join as many as you can without sacrificing your actual job performance. At the beginning of each call start a new doc with 2 sections. One for things the prospect said you didn't understand, one for things the sales rep said you didn't understand. After the call wraps, ask the AE both sets of questions.
*protip.. the things the AE says on the call are more important to understand than what the prospect says. most b/sdrs do the opposite and listen to what the prospect is saying rather than the mindset/methodology behind what the AE is asking.
got it thanks maynn
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