From SDRs to Evangelists
Opt In | Ep. 63
Creating Value Through Customer Insights & Dark Social
“SDRs aren’t meant to do more than make phone calls, send emails, and book meetings.”
😡😡😡
In our opinion, the SDR function is often criminally underutilized.
Traditionally, companies look at the SDR function with the following (overly simplified) formula:
🤝 🎓 + (📃 + 💻 + 📞) + 🧑🏫 = 🤑
Hire College Grad + Give them a list, laptop, and phone + 1 week of training = Sales Leads
And while that might have worked 10 or even 5 years ago, today the role is much more nuanced and complicated than that. Simply executing an outbound motion where SDRs follow a script and are only measured on meetings booked is a recipe for disaster.
So what’s a sales leader to do?
AJ had the chance to sit down with Sean Adams of iorad to talk about the evolution of the SDR role and the function as a whole.
We’ll pull back the curtain a bit – this entire conversation started when Sean & AJ were talking about dark social and the “outbound to inbound” motion. It looked a bit like this:
- SDRs run outbound. They don’t get a response, but they drive traffic to the website.
- Tools like Websights, Clearbit, VisitorQueue, etc. show you who’s been poking around on your website. Match those records up to your SDRs activities.
- Now you know which accounts have seen your message, but it’s not compelling enough for them to take action OR this isn’t a need. Have reps dig into that.
- Marketing now has a bunch of accounts to re-target with ads. Carve out more space in their brains for your name with targeted outbound and proactive display ads.
And that 👆 idea morphed into a discussion about the SDR role is evolving into an evangelism function – and how companies can take advantage of that shift. From embracing dark social to front-loading value in your outreach to prioritizing customer insight, leaders have a huge opportunity to revolutionize their SDR function and start seeing some long-term pipeline growth.
Opt In to expecting more from (and increasing support of) your SDR function.
AJ & Alex’s Take
The best way to learn about this is to watch the recording (linked at the bottom of this page). AJ and Alex covered two of the takeaways from the conversation with Greyson, but there is plenty more in the full video.
If you’re looking for an abbreviated learning experience we’ve got you covered.
AJ
Your SDRs transcend beyond just like, “hey, buy my thing” into “we’ve helped companies just like you.”
I’m a huge fan of the idea that SDRs should shift into more of an “evangelist” type role.
Sean brought up an excellent question in our pre-show – when is the last time you bought something because of a cold call or cold email? I don’t know if I’ve ever done that – it’s always been some combination of outbound + demand gen + networking + other various content deposits.
People are tuning out the traditional outbound SDR motion. Emails that ask for 15 minutes of time time or cold calls that push for a meeting with an AE are all blending together. Partly because they’re are so many of them, but mostly because every message is the same.
Sean argues that to be different, you need to be hyper relevant and low-friction. And I agree with him. I’m much more likely to “stop the scroll” in my inbox and give an SDR the time of day if they can bring passion, tangible value, and a relatively seller-less experience to the table.
The fastest way for reps to get there? Customer insight surveys.
Alex
“…make sure to send them relevant content. But what does that really mean?”
I can assume that everyone reading this knows that sending content relevant to the prospect is more impactful than sending along some generic whitepaper or data sheet from your marketing team.
But how do you know that the content will actually be relevant to your prospect?
The short answer is to ask them, but that’s not always possible. The long answer is to pick through the data from your current customers to make informed decisions.
The customer insight surveys that Sean talks about have tons of use.
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They can help you update your messaging to focus on what your customers actually care about vs. what you think they care about.
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They can help shift your account targeting strategy to ensure reps are spending time on accounts that have a higher chance at converting.
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They can help direct your marketing team to create content that encompasses why someone would work with you and provide much needed social proof.
Reps win with relevance. Make sure your reps are armed with proper insights to guide the seller down the right path.
Bonus Content
AJ here – I found the quote I was struggling to remember!
Mike Gallardo of Deel mentioned it in a LinkedIn post of his 👉
“Rule of thumb: If it doesn’t help your prospect do their job better – it doesn’t count as value.”
That sums up Greyson’s definition pretty well – value is something actionable and relevant to a prospect.
And it reinforces Sean’s points about a noted lack of value in most SDR outreach today. It’s too much “we could do this” and not enough tangible proof (POCs, audit reports, etc.).
Key Takeaways
How do you know that the content will actually be relevant to your prospect?
The short answer is to ask them, but that’s not always possible. The long answer is to pick through the data from your current customers to make informed decisions.
The customer insight surveys that Sean talks about have tons of use.
-
They can help you update your messaging to focus on what your customers actually care about vs. what you think they care about.
-
They can help shift your account targeting strategy to ensure reps are spending time on accounts that have a higher chance at converting.
-
They can help direct your marketing team to create content that encompasses why someone would work with you and provide much needed social proof.
Reps win with relevance. Make sure your reps are armed with proper insights to guide the seller down the right path.
Other Episodes
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