Varun Cherian

Between September 2023 and January 2024 I spent hours with leaders in APAC in different roles, different industries to try and learn where the biggest gaps where and this is what I learnt. 1️⃣ AE leaders DO NOT think your SDRs are ready to be in the AE seat but you as an SDR leader do 🔋 2️⃣ Leaders who aren’t ready to be leaders. Businesses lost a lot of senior leaders through all the redundancies and now we have a huge skill gap where we promoted junior leaders into senior roles too soon. The result? Churn, employeee satifaction goes down and burnt out leaders not knowing what they did wrong. 💣 3️⃣ Metrics / Cross Functional Allignement .This may sound obvious but from enablement to CSM to AE to SDR if we do not have a metric that matters to us all, it will always be a combination of competing priorities, lacks of alignment and it doesn’t matter how many operating principles your business has, you need to be clear about what you want from your teams and it needs to be aligned. 📈 🎦 Tomorrow I’ll do a video about a fix to these 3 points! #leadership #saas #talkingpoints

26

SDRs - Struggling with your ramp? Here are 5 tips to immediately improve your results and beat your ramp 1. Meet with 3 top performing BDRs, pick their brains on everything from Prospecting, Research, Sequences, calls, emails, Linkedin DM's etc. Once you have a good pool of knowledge on strategies that are working in the current market you can adapt it and make it your own. 2. Problem enablement: The most important thing to know is WHO you help and HOW you help them. Speak to your AE's who've closed business, CSMs and your own internal personas. The goal is to be able to crisply articulate how you can help a target persona in a target account get to their desired state. No one cares about WHAT you do, they care about how you can help them. 3. Volume: Practice makes perfect, you're not going to get good without the reps so get out there and prepare to fail. 4. Double down: If you find one medium is yielding more meetings then double down on that one, e.g if you're booking 5 meetings a month through call and 1 via email, try changing to a call only sequence for a while to see if it ups your results. 5. Feedback loops: Regularly ask your top-performing peers, AEs and your manager in your 121 for SPECIFIC advice. This means you'll always be growing your skillset. Make sure you're not getting advice from everyone though as this will dilute your focus P.S I'll do a part 2 of this next week but anything you'd add? For now, enjoy a picture of Emre Ceyhan and me at our recent Spike Week!

60

15 Comments

3 questions every SDR leader should always be able to answer: 1. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨? 2. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢? 3. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨? If you can't then you have a problem. You're failing in your role as a coach. A great coach always: 1. Knows their rep's strengths, weaknesses and priorities. 2. Has a clear and consistent coaching plan for them. 3. Ensures continuous progress via bitesize actions. Simple hypothetical example: 1. Tom's current development area is call connect to meeting conversion. The goal is to increase it from 8% to 15% over the next 6 weeks. 2. We do 1h of role play and call review each week, focusing on a different cold call component (e.g. open/close/gap selling/objection handling). 3. Tom's action item this week is to prepare and practice our cold call opener template on live prospects, aiming for a minimum sample size of 15. This is the kind of focus that will hold Tom and his coach accountable to Tom's development—and all but guarantee it. ... So if you're an SDR leader, ask yourself these 3 questions today: 1. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨? 2. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢? 3. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨? If you can't answer them then this is your week to start doing so. P.S. Looking for help on how to coach cold calling mastery? Join Chris Ritson and me for a free masterclass on Monday April 29: "͟H͟o͟w͟ ͟I͟ ͟C͟o͟a͟c͟h͟ ͟C͟o͟l͟d͟ ͟C͟a͟l͟l͟i͟n͟g͟"͟ Link in comments.

36

3 Comments

I made 2500 cold calls to Aussie SMB owners, so you don't have to. Book meetings and start conversations with my three value 🪝 framework, script, and process ⬇ 🤠 If you want the templates, give me a shout below, and I'll send them to you! 👉🏻 This script and flow delivered the first 20 B2B customers for a new SaaS company using this process and leaning into... ◾ Understanding deeply the irresistible pains to solve for the prospect ◾ Building authority with industry language ◾ Opening yourself up to objections ◾ The simple SPIN call framework ◾ Using a 1,2,3 call pattern What's often overlooked or misunderstood for first-time callers is that the goal of the call is to have a conversation, start a relationship and qualify a prospect. You are trying to work out if you can work with the person on the other end of the call or if they are not the right fit, right now or ever. In the startup world the disqualifying is about... ◾ Identifying your ICP's as fast possible ◾Investing in the best fit prospect for your product right now ◾ Keeping the non ICP's who you know you can't deliver value to warm ◾ Playing the longer game by fostering these early relationships and bringing people on the journey. If you are going to make claims you best be ready to explain at a business and functional level. This process worked because it... ◾ Brought forward objections with folks intrigued/challenged the 3 value 🪝's ◾ Focused on getting past the intro section to hold them on the call ◾ Lined up the hurdle ready for you to jump over ◾ Makes sure you can talk at a 'business level' ◾ Makes sure you can talk at a 'product level' And you know the difference between these 👆 Remember that the objection is merely a hurdle in the shape of a question or statement to be understood, empathised with, stripped back, and moved forward with in a direction. I wanted to share this from a highlight period of my dialling career where I was hitting a 5% conversion rate from call to booked and knew exactly how to run my week to hit quota! Do cold calls fit your market? If this is helpful, please let me know, and I hope it saves you 2500 calls to work out how to build your script and process! --- I am Sean the Founder of Sell Anything We have worked with 300+ Founders alongside some of the best Incubators, Accelerators, VCs and Scale-Ups in Australia. We help SaaS/Tech businesses build $0 to $5m ARR and beyond.. and we bloody love it! Reach out if you need help in sales and revenue growth you'll be working with people who have grown companies from $0 to 8 figures in revenue 🤝 #sales #coldcall

27

10 Comments

Are you an SDR or BDR in Australia? There’s always a lot of chatter about how to get into softwares sales. However, as a community, post-hire support resourcing has been scarce to date, leaving many reps lost in their roles. In recent months the Earlywork team has begun a Sales Club with it’s alumni to offer the kind of support that has been lacking for folks making there first steps in software sales. But they haven’t been the only ones in need of that kind of support… 🥁🥁🥁 From today, we’re opening up our free alumni community of 100+ Aussie SDRs, Sales Club, to a select few tech sales reps outside of our alumni! If selected, here’s what included as a Sales Club member: 1️⃣ SDR Slack Community Join a private community of 100+ Earlywork sales alumni. Learn how other reps deal with similar sales challenges, share & discover great sales resources, keep up to date with sales events, and meet other ambitious SDRs. 2️⃣ Fortnightly Events All Year Round URL & IRL events with local sales leaders to help reps level up their sales skills and build deeper peer relationships. Previous guests have included the former ANZ Country Manager of HubSpot and the founder of the Salesforce SDA Grad Program. 3️⃣ Curated Sales Mentor Network A pre-vetted group of AEs and SDR managers from our network who have offered to help graduates with tactical sales and career advice anytime. 4️⃣ SDR Resource Bank No-bullshit frameworks, guides & templates built by the Earlywork team to help reps hone their sales craft. Think career development trackers, target calculators, 1:1 templates and more. 5️⃣ Exclusive Job Opportunities Looking for an SDR promotion or AE role? Be the first to apply for roles at our partner companies before they go on market. If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring, apply for free today 👉 https://lnkd.in/gwujw7th Know someone who would be a good fit? Tag them in the comments below 👇

16

7 Comments

Are you an SDR or BDR in Australia? If you’re feeling alone in your role and want to meet other SDRs and BDRs… then we have some big news for you. 🥁🥁🥁 From today, we’re opening up our free alumni community of 100+ Aussie SDRs, Sales Club, to a select few tech sales reps outside of our alumni! If selected, here’s what included as a Sales Club member: 1️⃣ SDR Slack Community Join a private community of 100+ Earlywork sales alumni. Learn how other reps deal with similar sales challenges, share & discover great sales resources, keep up to date with sales events, and meet other ambitious SDRs. 2️⃣ Fortnightly Events All Year Round URL & IRL events with local sales leaders to help reps level up their sales skills and build deeper peer relationships.  Previous guests have included the former ANZ Country Manager of HubSpot and the founder of the Salesforce SDA Grad Program. 3️⃣ Curated Sales Mentor Network A pre-vetted group of AEs and SDR managers from our network who have offered to help graduates with tactical sales and career advice anytime. 4️⃣ SDR Resource Bank No-bullshit frameworks, guides & templates built by the Earlywork team to help reps hone their sales craft. Think career development trackers, target calculators, 1:1 templates and more. 5️⃣ Exclusive Job Opportunities Looking for an SDR promotion or AE role? Be the first to apply for roles at our partner companies before they go on market. If you’d like to throw your hat in the ring, pop a few bits on info into the form on our shiny new Sales Club landing page and one of our team will be in touch if you’re successful!

10

6 Comments

To all SDRs or anyone entering B2B sales, read this post to avoid falling into common traps. 1. The most successful AEs I have met were the best SDRs. 2. SDRs who didn’t excel in the role and are now AEs are still struggling to generate their own pipeline. 3. AEs who skipped the SDR role, often due to an MBA or strong interview skills, fear switching jobs and roles without inbound leads. They’ve never faced the grind of building a pipeline from scratch, filled with rejections. 4. AEs who have never been an SDR majorly rely on their SDRs or Inbound leads from marketing to help them build pipeline and if any Quarter they don't get inbound or enough meetings from SDRs they sh** in their pants. 5. When these AEs become managers, they often question their team—"Where are the numbers?" or "Why isn’t there a pipeline?"—instead of guiding them on building it. Lacking experience in pipeline generation, they fail to lead by example and eventually lose the respect of their team. Learn the art and science of being an SDR and excel at this job at any cost, you will never have to look back or depend on anyone for pipeline EVER. Prospecting and Generating Pipelines is fundamental to Sales whether you are an SDR, AE, Sr Manager, or VP if you don't know how to do OUTBOUND you will continuously live a sales life of fear and anxiety. So SDRs ask yourselves do you want to be such AE and Managers in the future who depend on others to determine their performance and faith or would you like to own your job? #sales #prospecting #outbound #pipeline #sdr #ae #b2b #saas

102

12 Comments

Cold calling (50-60% of outreach time) beats account research (20-30%) because: 1. Direct conversation reveals hidden pain points. 2. Immediate feedback adjusts sales approach. 3. Personal connection builds trust. Research is crucial, but talking to prospects reveals true needs. Prioritize cold calling for: Higher conversion rates Deeper understanding Faster sales cycles Share your thoughts! #ColdCalling #SalesStrategy #AccountResearch"

3

So, we have an engaged prospect - They’re in the ICP - They have buying intent - It’s the right timing for them - But they’re the wrong Buyer Persona! What do we do here? 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗚𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 (𝗬𝗲𝘁) In my experience this is a fantastic way to piss of your prospect (AND their boss) while coming across as salesly and losing all credibility. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 if we try to sell to the wrong persona, more often than not we lose the deal, and any time we’ve invested, if we don’t get to power. This is a fantastic way to work really hard and miss quota. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 Instead of selling the product, we sell them on partnering with us to run an evaluation together. Let me walk through how I’ve done this. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝘆 Find out why this is important to them and the impact on them personally of getting this right, of getting it wrong, and of it not happening at all. We need a good reason to ask them to stick their neck out to introduce us to their leadership team. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 There’s often risk for our champion. If this goes south, they may be blamed for it, or even fired. I’ve seen it many times and I can share specific stories of how this goes down and how it could all be avoided by engaging leadership in the right way. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 It’s critical not to skip key steps. To earn trust, we have to add value. They want to see an introductory demo, understand pricing, etc etc. These things are fair. But we can’t go too far without looping in the right people and we need to stay in the pocket until we can. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 Once we’ve earned their trust, we can and should ask to build a plan together. This involves bringing the right people, from both sides, in for the right steps. If we build this plan together we stand a better chance they’ll follow through with it. 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 If we cannot get them on board with this we need to walk away and nurture them until that’s changed. We can share relevant marketing content, events, etc with them to do this. We can also start to share that with others on the team. I’m a big fan of role specific marketing content for this reason. It’s a lot easier to invite a CEO to a CEO dinner than it is to just go around our champion with a cold email pitching a sales meeting. RevOps can really shine here by helping to map this process out and align sales and marketing to do this. What would you add here? 🤔 More on nurturing tomorrow in 📰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 📰 Sign up here to get it: https://bit.ly/3xgqF55 ✌️

25

11 Comments

HIRING NOW: ENTERPRISE & COMMERCIAL AE - SaaS - Automation - $ALES & MARKETING account signals and insights SaaS tool 💸 Commercial Account Executive: $125k base 50/50 split - $1m quota 💸 Enterprise Account Executive: $150k base 50/50 split- $1.2m quota Actual inbound leads - $20k - $500k deal sizes - 6 months sales cycle You keep account in your book of business for upsells while CSMs are responsible for renewal #seriesbstartup, working under one of our longer term #vpofsales who JUST started - you must have experience - at an earlier stage org of less than 200 employees - selling a complex solution - ideal experience selling into #gtm #salesleaders or desire to Selling into other SaaS orgs! work with clients like GitLab Notion MongoDB and MORE - providing insights on how their #gtm can do more with less, and make more $$ In a world of tech, where everything is connected it is more possible than ever before to build connections between your current clients, and your ideal prospects This solution combines Sales, Marketing, Community and Operations and uses AI to enrich, score and analyze intent - $ignals are one of the most important aspects of monitoring what is working, and the best way to target, support and optimize every account. An ideal rep understands sales strategies including #productledgrowth and #productledsales MUST BE HUNGRY, LOVE BUILDING PROCESSES and have experience working in a startup get on my schedule! 206 747 9724 #accountexecutive #commercialaccountexecutive #enterpriseaccountexecutive #gtmsaas #gtmsales #salesjobs #salescareers #bestfootforward #softwaresales #saassales #salesdevelopment

6

1 Comment

SDRs - struggling with prospecting? Here are 5 ACTIONABLE tips to create a great list: 1. List the industries that your company has success in. 2. List titles you've booked meetings with that have progressed to SQO. 3. List the problems those titles and industries face. 4. Create problem-based messaging for calls, emails and LI 5. Set a high volume of calls/emails/videos to go out to your ICP and refine from there. BONUS: A/B test as you have live conversations to refine your targeting

39

3 Comments

Salesforce now needs 3x pipeline coverage compared to 2x due to: - longer sales cycle - deal size pressure due to cut backs - lower demand in general In times like these, your win rate matters more than ever. Here are 5 strategies to improve your win rate: 1) Fight pipeline bloat Don't accept: - Unqualified opportunities - Poor deal hygiene - Missing deal insights & signals - Gut-driven deal reviews 2) Simplify your sales process & exit criteria - Clear entry criteria for opportunity creation. So important! - Simple sales process everyone understands + follows - Clear process governance - Simplify exit criteria to ensure your team actually follow them 3) Operationalize your methodologies Remember: Most reps hate sales methodologies as it's "more" work‼ - Help your team understand the "why it matters" to close more deal - Understand what are the key criteria to closing deals and incorporate them - Run ongoing trainings - Train the managers and the reps - Support coaching with hard numbers to showcase success - Tie hard numbers back to leaderboards and commission success 4) Become great at multi-threading Without multi-threading most deals are dead these days‼ - Coach reps on multi-threading tactics - Managers should proactively help multi-thread - Leverage exec & board members to multi-thread further and higher in org 5) Incentivize the right behavior Combine compensation and management to change behavior‼ - E.g. comp more for e.g. higher TCVs and upfront payments - E.g. coach managers to amplify change management aspects - E.g. use CRO to communicate importance of the above - E.g. use data to showcase success This list is by no means extensive and all those topics deserve more details! What would you add? Comment 👇 — 👀 Get free RevOps content like Cheat Sheets, Salary Report - link in profile ➕ Follow me for tips on how RevOps can impact revenue growth ♻️ Share with your friends #revops #saas

27

9 Comments

SDRs who deserve to be AEs... ✅ Help coach other SDRs ❌ Are in it for themselves ✅ Hit quota every month ❌ Sometimes smash it ✅ Build amazing internal relationships ❌ Moan about their AE and Manager ✅ Prioritise the team winning ❌ Think they're an individual contributor ✅ Train every single day ❌ Believe they know it all ✅ Compete against themselves ❌ Compete against others in the team ✅ Are genuinely happy when others win ❌ Get bitter when others are successful 99% of success is in WHO you are. And HOW you do things. Embrace being different. Embrace being better. What am I missing? ---- PS. My SDR to AE bootcamp closes tomorrow. 5 seats left; https://lnkd.in/ejFQERRF

161

22 Comments

🚀 Sales Confidence 2.0: Get SDRs Who Hit the Ground Running! 🚀 Tired of spending weeks onboarding new SDRs, only to realise they aren’t a fit for your fast-paced team? I know the challenges of hiring SDRs—getting the right person who’s not just great on paper but ready to sell from day one can be tough. Let’s face it, traditional CVs don’t tell you if someone has the grit to go out there to the market and have conversations. We provide pre-trained and pre-screened SDR candidates, ensuring your next hire can deliver results immediately, without the lengthy training process. Our Sales Confidence 2.0 ranking system highlights the most proactive, self-taught talent, so you can skip the guesswork and bring on SDRs who are proven to thrive in sales. 🌟 Meet Our Top Talent of today🌟 Jalil- an experienced B2C sales professional with entrepreneurial passion, showcased resilience and bravery in handling tough objections during his role play. Enrike -A charismatic listener who builds trust with strong questions, creating powerful, results-driven conversations. Zuhair- An adaptable professional with retail experience, skilled at handling tough conversations and solving problems creatively. Ali - An aspiring sales professional who thrives on the thrill of winning deals, bringing energy and enthusiasm to every prospecting challenge. Jiya - A versatile professional with a strong background in events, her energy and bubbly character from the role play can allow her to use humour to establish trust. Avishai- A future leader with a background in music, is a well-spoken and articulate professional who excels at getting to the point and handling objections with ease. If you are hiring reach out, remember 50% reduction fee.

14

Why you should consider becoming an SDR in 2025 1. High Demand for SDRs In 2025, businesses across industries are doubling down on outbound and inbound sales efforts to stay competitive in a rapidly digitizing market. SDRs are at the forefront of this push, acting as the bridge between marketing and sales. Companies are actively hiring SDRs to identify and qualify leads, ensuring a steady pipeline for revenue growth. 2. Rapid Skill Development The SDR role is a crash course in key professional skills such as communication, problem-solving, active listening, and negotiation. These are transferable skills that set you up for future success, whether you aim to stay in sales or transition into other fields like marketing, customer success, or even entrepreneurship. 3. Pathway to Lucrative Career Growth The SDR role offers a clear career progression. Many SDRs advance to Account Executive (AE) roles within 12-24 months, which come with higher salaries, bonuses, and commission opportunities. Others move into leadership roles or specialize in areas like sales enablement or operations. 4. Leverage Cutting-Edge Technology In 2025, SDRs are leveraging advanced tools such as AI-driven CRM systems, sales automation platforms, and data analytics to maximize efficiency and results. By becoming an SDR, you gain firsthand experience with these technologies, giving you a competitive edge in any tech-driven profession. 5. Thriving in a Remote-First Economy Many SDR roles now offer flexible, hybrid, or fully remote options, making it easier to achieve work-life balance. If you’re looking for a role that combines autonomy with structure, being an SDR fits the bill. 6. Opportunities to Make an Impact SDRs are directly tied to revenue generation, making your contributions highly visible within an organization. This visibility often translates to recognition, promotions, and opportunities to make a meaningful impact on a company’s growth. 7. Building Resilience and Confidence The SDR role is challenging, requiring persistence and adaptability. Overcoming rejection and learning to tailor your approach to different prospects builds resilience and self-confidence—qualities that are invaluable in any career. 8. Low Barrier to Entry with High Upside Unlike many careers that require specialized degrees, SDR roles often value potential over experience. Strong communication skills, a willingness to learn, and a proactive attitude are often enough to secure a position, making it an accessible yet highly rewarding entry point into the professional world. Becoming an SDR in 2025 is more than just a job; it’s a launchpad for a dynamic, well-rounded career in sales and beyond. With high demand, rapid skill acquisition, and clear growth opportunities, it’s an ideal role for anyone eager to make an impact and grow in the evolving business landscape. #sdr #bdr #sales

8

2 Comments

SDRs – quit context switching. It's killing your productivity. Top SDRs don't: → Bounce between meetings & prospecting → Call multiple personas back-to-back → Switch between different tools → Drop everything for a Slack → Juggle conflicting tasks They: → Stick to a repeatable calendar schedule → Mute slack notifications during activity → Accept internal meetings strategically → Focus on executing 1 task at a time → Batch their prospecting by title Control your time, control your results.

92

4 Comments

If you are an outbound SDR cold calling in India, and not able to book 1 meeting a day (at least), something needs to change. In the past 4 years, I’ve rarely seen connect rates in India drop below 35%. That means if you dial 70 numbers, you’ll likely connect with around 25 people. Out of those, you’ll have at least 10 real conversations (yes, even on a bad day—people do talk here!). Now, with a 10% conversion rate, you should be booking at least 1 meeting a day. India is a high-input market for SDRs, and the key is focusing on those inputs. If you put in the effort, the outcomes will follow. Cold calling? It’s still your best bet here, hands down. Sure, try other channels, but cold calls should be your mainstay. Trust me. I remember booking 84 outbound demos in 2 months as an SDR (Only cold calls), when I was at Revv bringing in logos like Dream11, PayTM, LivSpace, etc. Also won a challenge "Revv Premier League" (1 Lakh in cash xD) and a promotion after this :). No fancy tools, no list builders. Literal manual work: scraping, manually finding data, calling, and then locking in demos. Automation is great, and if I had the option, I’d streamline half the process, and if I could, I’d take advantage of it for a lot of tasks. But I would still focus on the critical input—those calls—because that’s what ultimately drives the output. Food for thought: Has automation made us too comfortable and complaining? Are we relying on it so heavily that we’re forgetting to put in the effort to have genuine, impactful conversations? PS: This is not a general view of everything, this opinion is based on my experience :). PPS: If you made it till here, and you are an SDR, I am hiring SDRs for my team, please DM. #sdrs #coldcalling #saassales #hiring

159

16 Comments

“Top sales reps don't get laid off”   I've seen this a few times recently.   On paper it's hard to dispute.   But let me tell you a quick story.   In 2021 I helped a pre-IPO firm build their GTM team in ANZ.   We spent a year recruiting the best folk in the industry.   AEs. SEs. CSMs. Channel. SDRs.   All genuine A-players.   They did great. Signed some big logos. Tracking well.   Then the CEO announced they were pulling out of ANZ.   The entire team was let go including the VP.   It was properly shit. We felt terrible but no one saw it coming.   Now I can't speak for the rest of the world, but if hiring in APAC you've got to take this into account. Many SaaS firms completely pulled out of region here. Stop assuming good people dont get laid off. Being ignorant will cost you.   #techsales #gotomarket #saasrecruitment

116

18 Comments

Sitting down with Justin Geller (VP of Sales at Gong) was a treat. One of their early GTM hires he's risen the ranks - instrumental in their rise to category leading/defining growth and market dominance. Interviewing 1000's of candidates - he shares valuable lessons learnt about the strategic importance of clear communication and mission alignment in hiring Practical advice on sourcing top talent And trusting your instincts and maintaining honesty in the recruitment process The new episode of Between Two Hires (The Subtle Art of Not F#*king Up Your Team) drops this Thursday at 9AM PT! #saleshiring #salesrecruiting #hiring #startup #sales #between2hires

20

3 Comments