David Corona

Founders from Foam cold called Target and closed a $130,000 deal They then got a deal on Shark Tank They are true BDR Lifers If this doesn't tell you cold calling and BDR Lifing can work I don't know what will Keep dialing and keep BDRing!! #bdrlifer #bdr #sdr #sales #salesdevelopment

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Is your team not hitting quota? Hiring more sellers won't fix it. You need the data on why, And a solution in place. Maybe you can't figure out the right hires -You need to test for - Will, Beliefs, and Skill Maybe people don't know what to do -You then need to create the right onboarding process Maybe folks are struggling with how to do it -You then need to figure out exactly where and focus there Maybe, just maybe, you have the wrong quota -Have you done the backward quota math to see if quota = your systems? Fact is: Tossing more people into bad systems doesn't work Sales = systems. Not just something you can "throw headcount at." Remember, a single bad hire pays for the investment in ALL systems A bad hire costs that much. Use data to figure out the real problem. Fix the problem. /end rant David out ✌️ 🚨 PS - If you want killer cheat sheets on quota math, process audit, or questions for better hiring, drop a note in chat and I'll send them to you. 👋 If you liked this, give me a follow ♻️ Repost if this landed with you.

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99.9% of successful SDRs have one thing in common... When things suck → they don't quit. You know... When all your meetings no show When prospects are d**ks on the phone When your emails get ''unsubscribe'' replies These SDRs aren't the most talented. But they know... If they just keep calling, emailing and grafting...they'll eventually win. Struggling to hit quota right now? Don't panic → stay in the game 🎲 --- PS. If you aren't hitting quota → Go to https://chrisritson.xyz for free resources.

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"Should we outsource SDRs?" No, with rare exceptions. There's a reason why customer churn is high at most of the outsourced SDR shops. Outbound isn't as easy as paying $3-5k / month for a part-time SDR. And then expecting to see high-quality opportunities in 30-60 days. I've NEVER worked with a client that was happy with their SDR agency. - Poor show rates to meetings - Terrible expectation setting with handoff - Low-quality meetings with non-decision makers - Few, if any, closed/won deals But to be fair—it isn't always the SDR agency's fault. Many of their clients expect them to be miracle workers. An outbound-led sales motion is very different from an inbound-led sales motion. If your AEs are used to meeting with inbound leads, they must be taught how to close outbound leads. Prospects will likely not be problem-aware, there isn't a budget in place, and they probably won't have brand awareness. Do not hire an SDR agency if: ⛔️ You've never done outbound before as an org. ⛔️ You sell enterprise ⛔️ You're breaking into new industries ⛔️ You haven't figured out your messaging or value drivers ⛔️ Your AEs aren't self-sourcing and doing their own outbound No outsider will ever understand your customers as well as you do. And it's only a bandaid to build a sales culture that doesn't understand how to excel at outbound. It might make sense to work with an agency if: ✅ You know outbound works, but need help scaling it ✅ You've mastered messaging and value drivers ✅ Your AEs know how to close outbound deals ~~~ Agree or disagree? #sales

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Stop overcomplicating outbound. Let me give you a simple, 3-step framework for outbound prospecting. Step 1: Get a list of your buyers with verified phone numbers. Step 2: Call that list and talk to your buyers. Step 3: Repeat step 2. Pfew... that was hard.

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Monday Newsletter: PIP (Performance Improvement Plan) Happens. I’ve spoken to at least 5 SDRs who were put on PIP in the last 4 weeks. Some were fired, others were in a bad mental state. It's not a pleasant feeling. Most SDRs don’t know what to do. Don’t be most SDRs. We published a guide on what to do instead. 🔗 link to read in the comments. If you like what you see, consider subscribing. Turn setbacks into comebacks. Let’s go! #sales #SDR

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I have a friend whose OTE as an SDR is $160,000. Sounds amazing, right? But here’s the catch: only 10% of his team is actually hitting quota. He’s nowhere near earning that $160K. High earning potential is appealing—but only if it's realistic. I've interviewed many SDRs recently, and only one asked about current quota attainment. SDRs, when interviewing, make sure to ask, "What percentage of the team is hitting quota?" Get insights on quota attainment, SDR salaries, and more here: https://lnkd.in/gWSesRq4

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Stop letting junior SDRs reach out to your C-Suites. Buyers don’t want to talk to salespeople anymore. They want trusted advisors. Domain experts.  Yet, for some reason, 99% of sales teams completely ignore this fact and let their junior SDRs reach out to C-suites — then they sit back and wonder why their outbound doesn’t work. The WHO factor is more important today than ever before. Here’s what it means moving forward: 1. Trusted Advisors vs. SDRs: Would you take medical advice from a first-year med student? Probably not. In the same vein, expecting a junior SDR to convince a C-suite executive is a flawed strategy. Buyers today want insights from those seeped in the industry, not those reading off a script. 2. The New-Age SDR: These SDRs have authority in their field and are the ultimate subject matter experts. They possess a highly relevant audience of ICP and excel in content creation and audience engagement. They understand the nuances and pains of the prospects and create value-driven conversations, not just touchpoints. 3. Team-Selling is a Necessity: If a CFO checked your website, why in the world would you let your SDR reach out? Facilitate outbound requests to your CFO and ask them to personally connect with the prospect from their profile. It’s about leveraging the right person at the right time to build trust and relevance. 4. Signal-Based Selling: Your outreach should be driven by real-time data and intent signals. Spot the triggers: website visits, content downloads, recent funding, etc. Engage with the right person, when the timing is perfect, with the right message from the right person. This isn’t about volume; it’s about precision. TAKEAWAY: In this new era, it's not about how many emails you send, but WHO is sending them and WHY. In 2024, the most successful companies will have GTM teams that look more like consulting firms than old-school sales orgs. The next-gen of successful sales orgs will be the ones that evolve beyond the old playbooks and focus on trust, relevance, and the power of human connection. The future isn’t just lean. It’s personal.

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PSA for your 2025 plan: it's not an ICP-focused go-to-market if you don't have a list of target accounts in your ICP. It's tempting to spend 99% of your time on *engaging* accounts and only 1% of your time on *picking* accounts in the first place. I think that's a mistake. What it leads to: -- Generic & stale account lists -- Over-indexing on industry & company size for selecting accounts (don't get me started on off-the-shelf industry classification data...) -- Missing 1st/3rd party signals (ex: hiring activity, champion movement) that would allow you to run relevant campaigns to these accounts -- Little/no back-testing on whether these accounts are predictive of where you have the best chance to win & retain -- No buy-in between marketing, product, sales, sales dev and CS -- Garbage in, garbage out My (unsolicited) advice: dedicate (more) time/resources to your target account program. Bonus points if you: 1. Treat it like a program, not a one-off 2. Align the team 3. Validate with back-testing -- 🎁 See how Mutiny got it right via Growth Unhinged: https://lnkd.in/eM6r2q5Z #marketing #icp

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SDRs - So many people overlook this one super obvious tactic: Schedule emails out for your prospects in other timezones (my inbox is a good example of this!). Seems simple, but many people forget. For example: If it's 3pm EST, don't send an email to your prospect in Europe. Schedule it for 4-5AM, so it lands in their inbox at 9-10AM their local time. Also, tag your prospects by region so you can call them at the right time. Many tools have this feature built in, but the issue with this is many prospects live in different areas than their area code. P.S. We'll be sharing outside-of-the-box prospecting pro-tips in our next newsletter! Check it out

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SDR managers that lead with pressure, will produce SDRs that sell with pressure. There is no better way to turn off prospects than with sales pressure. -----‐ SDR mangers that lead with empathy, will produce SDRs that sell with empathy. There is no better way to open up conversations with prospects than with empathy. SDR Managers, let your SDRs try new things, even if they fail. Let them detatch from outcomes and focus on process. Process>Outcomes= Better outcomes Thank you Aaron Kaplan and the GlideGrowth team for the great chat on the last Pod!

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After being an AE for 6 years, I’ve maybe worked with 40+ SDRs. Either in a 1:few alignment, or as a part of an AE pod. Here are some qualities of successful SDRs that I’ve noticed: 1. Focus on the long term Successful SDRs don’t try cliche sales tactics to try to set meetings now now now, at all costs. Yes, they objection handle. Yes, they will professionally challenge prospects. But they don’t burn relationships to the ground by being overly pushy. 2. Focus on quality -Successful SDRs set proper expectations with prospects for the first call. -They set the meeting, and they use EQ - if the prospect seems willing to talk more, the SDR will take the opening to knock out some basic qualifying questions before getting off the phone. They also do the little things right. -They don’t screw up time zones. -They don’t misspell the prospect’s name or the company’s name. -They send great handoff emails to intro the prospect to the AE, each and every time. 3. Hunger and desire to succeed and to win Some SDRs just flat out want it more. They want to be #1 on leaderboards. They want to learn and they want to improve. They proactively seek out knowledge and coaching. They seek to deeply understand buyer personas, common pain points, org charts, corporate politics, social capital, and all the business-y stuff you need to know to be successful as an SDR, let alone in Sales. Some SDRs… are clock watching and checking off boxes and collecting a salary every two weeks. They do the bare minimum. Sorry but not sorry. What would you add as qualities you see in successful SDRs, #salesfam ? . .

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Don't be the SDR that books a meeting for 3 months time and automates the entire follow-up... Instead, use my ''1:1 nurture sequence'' method. The rules are simple... ---- Rule 1. Every message is manual. → Never automate. Effort goes along way with prospects. Example: Handwritten notes, followups or personalised events invites. ----- Rule 2. Every message is a ''problem reminder''. → Humans are forgetful. Remind them they have pain. Example: I remember you mentioned ramping your SDRs was taking 6 months when we spoke last month. ---- Rule 3. Every message is valuable AND relevant → Event invites. Content. Case Studies etc. Link the value to the problem. Example: We’re running an event with Gabby B who will be specifically talking about her journey to solving long ramp-ups for SDRs and it reminded me of our conversation. Would you like to join? If so, I’ll send the invite. ---- Rule 4. Every message has a ''meeting reminder'' → Use PS. to remind them you're meeting in X days. Example: PS. Looking forward to our meeting in August. See the pic for the full example. ---- Remember - 30% of buyers are ''not rights nows''. Nurture -> Nurture -> Nurture -> Book. PS. Your next free masterclass will be on ''email'' on June 26th, register here: https://lnkd.in/ecPhKWqb 😎

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As an AE is a high win rate good? Not always. In Q1 my win rate from demo at Nooks was 55%, But my win rate was hurting me Let me explain... -Running too many deals -Discounting and lowering my ACV -Letting large deals slip through the cracks because i was spending too much time on smaller ones Since Q I've cut my win rate in half, but 3x's my ACV What do you think is a healthy win rate? Let me know in the comments

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SDRs are frustrated. Finding a great sales role has never been harder... So I've created 4 resources [+1 special offer] for folks looking for sales jobs right now... 1. LinkedIn Profile Builder [stand-out online and get recruiters coming to you]: https://lnkd.in/eNP86v3m 2. Ultimate Guide to Landing Sales Interviews [and getting jobs offers]: https://lnkd.in/eQDiG-EN 3. Transform Your Time Mgmt Skills - [learn skills that show hiring managers you can be super productive - they love it]: https://lnkd.in/ecPhKWqb 4. Write emails that stand-out and get hiring managers attention: ~ lnkd.in/ezqwV9RZ 5. Earlybird for my SDR>AE October Bootcamp is live this week [Get 25% off] until Friday with code ''EARLYBIRD25'' : https://lnkd.in/ejFQERRF Enjoy. PS. If you feel these could be useful to others outside my network, give this a repost ♻️. Thanks!

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Every business should have cold calling as a client acquisition channel. Cold calling is responsible for $500,000 in new client contracts for my companies already this year. Scalable. Predictable. Reliable. All you need: Data: B2B = Clay, Apollo, Cognism B2C = List Source, Attom Data Campaign Management: - Global Talent: $3-$6 / Hour (English First) - Quality Assurance: (Balto . ai) - Dialer: Convoso, Ready Mode, Call Tools - Scripting - Management: (Hiringbranch . com) Sales Funnel: - 24 Hour Booking Window - Rock Solid Triage Process - Aggressive Follow-Up & Nurture A lot of you have probably tried this. If you don't do ALL 3 of the above, your campaign will never work optimally. If you do ALL 3 above, you can print money & new clients. Flags: You want to pay attention to the TCPA & DNC for whatever vertical & industry you are playing in.

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A sales rep told me he recently got a "sorry, no budget" objection. Then he closed the deal in 48 hours, here's how ... Prospect: "Sorry, we don't have the budget right now." Sales rep: "I understand. Quick question - if budget wasn't an issue, would our solution solve your top 3 problems?" Prospect: "Well, yes, but..." Sales rep: "Great. Let's shelve the budget talk for a moment. Walk me through those 3 problems and their impact on your business." 10 minutes of them explaining Sales rep: "Got it. So these issues are costing you roughly $X per year. Our solution, at $Y, would save you $Z annually. When does solving a problem become a budget priority?" Prospect: "When you put it that way..." The deal closed 2 days later. Key takeaways: 'No budget' often means 'not a priority' Reframe the conversation around cost of inaction Let them sell themselves on the need Remember: Budget isn't about money in the bank. It's about perceived value. What's your go-to response for 'no budget'? #sales #b2bsales

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Prospect: "Whats the price?" Rep: "Our pricing is in the range of X" Prospect: "Thats too high, See ya!!" and they hang up. Talking "Price" on cold calls is the quickest way to lose meetings. Prospects tend to push on the price and reps eventually give in. Here are 5 ways that might help you tackle it effectively: First, lets understand why reps struggle overcoming the pricing objection: - Price Driven Mindset Reps often feel pressured to discuss pricing immediately, thinking its the only thing prospects care about, which shifts the focus away from value. - Lack of Confidence When reps are not confident in the value their product brings, they default to price, which can make them seem unsure or desperate. - Fear of Pushback Reps worry that delaying the price conversation will frustrate the prospect, leading to hesitation and a lack of control over the call. Now, lets dig into some of the ways how you can tackle the same effectively: 1) Value First "I’d be happy to share pricing, but I want to make sure it aligns with what you actually need. Can I ask a couple of quick questions to ensure I’m giving you the right info?" 2) Price-Without-Context: "I could give you a number, but without context, it might not make much sense. Let’s quickly identify the key areas where we can add value—then I can provide a more accurate price?." 3) Outcome-Focused: "Before we dive into price, let’s get clear on what success looks like for you. That way, we can make sure the cost aligns with what you’re aiming to achieve." 4) Transparency Approach: "I know price is key. But in my experience, it’s best to first see how we can solve your specific challenges—then the price will make more sense. Can we take a minute to do that?" 5) Comparison Pivot: "We’ve got options that vary in cost depending on what fits you best. How about we take a minute to find the right one, and I can give you a clearer price?" Bonus: 6) Curiosity Hook: "I can definitely share the price, but I’d love to know what’s caught your interest so far. That way, I can make sure the number I give you actually makes sense for what you’re looking for." Try these out and Im positive it will help you secure better engagement and meetings. Let me know how it goes. What are some of the talk tracks that worked well for you and have helped you tackle pricing objections? Add them in the comments!! PS: Sharing pricing upfront can help disqualify early, but data shows that focusing on value instead leads to better engagement and outcomes, even with budget-conscious prospects. #sdrs #bdrs #sales #pricing

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You're failing your first sales hires. It's just not working. The transfer of knowledge from a founder to the first sales rep is brutal. A few things to consider: 1. Reps don’t sell the way a founder does. Do you have a path to success with the motion you run? 2. Which do you hire first? SDR or AE? More often than not, founders are looking for generalists. The strong up and comer SDR or newly promoted AE is a safer bet but will you’ll have a skill set gap on closing. Consider which gap you can fill more for them, lead generation or closing skills 3. Document as much of the sales motion as you can before they get there. Period. 4. These first hires are now your full time job. Don’t forget that. Cutting em loose and checking in every so often won’t work. 5. If you haven’t run the entire sales motion yourself at least 10-15 times, don’t expect anyone else to. What did I miss? Anyone considering this hire, always happy to talk it through

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