Mental Challenges as a Sales Development Rep
My first couple of days as an SDR were rough. One week of onboarding and...boom! I was completely on my own. Go out there and book some demos! Easy right? Not so much. In my first week, we were given a list of prospects to call from a database full of potential targets. The list was split between myself and the other SDRs on the team. How hard could it be? Just dial the phone and pitch? These were my initial thoughts, but I was in for a surprise...
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10 calls...20 calls...40 calls...all I was getting were gatekeepers, silence, bad numbers, and occasionally getting cursed at or hung up on. What was going on? Why did these people not want to talk? I was beginning to get nervous. Our quota is 10 bookings a week, or 2 a day, and here I am not even being able to get a contact. I think I ended the day with over 130 calls and one demo booked. I was not looking forward to tomorrow to tell you the truth. I saw booking 9 more demos as a giant and I was no David. I spent the day reconfiguring my strategy. I spent the next few days prospecting on my own, not relying on any list that was provided to me but creating my own leads and prospects. The rest of the week yielded better results. After making some connections and building my own list, I finished the week with 12 demos booked.
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So what's the lesson here? Take it a day at a time and never rely on anyone else for your leads. Starting Monday off with the mindset of booking 10 meetings for the week is daunting. Telling yourself all you need is 2 demos for the day is much more palpable and easier to attack. This, with the combination of building your own prospecting network, is a killer combination that has enabled me to become the top SDR at the company. Now don't get me wrong, there are still days where I make over 130 calls and book 1 demo, but those days are counterbalanced by the days I only make 60 dials and book 5 demos. Keep your head up and attack each day individually, mentality is what makes you better than your competitors.