The Sales Success Stories Book project is cranking! We just finished our crowdfunding campaign last Friday (7/20) at 115% of goal. A huge thanks to all of you who contributed!
All of the pre-purchase opportunities associated with that campaign are still available for at least the next few weeks, and potentially through all of August.
Those who contribute $50 or more to the Indigogo campaign, while it’s still available, will receive access to a Google Doc will all of the raw stories. So you won’t have to wait until October to get your hands on this incredible sales content.
In between the regular interview episodes until the book is published in October you’ll find a sample story like this one. You can either listen to the episode and hear Florin read his story, or read the full text below.
Here’s one of the three stories that Florin has submitted for the book. Enjoy!
Differentiating yourself from the average SDR – Florin Tatulea
Becoming one of the best in any particular discipline is not easy but starts with having belief in yourself fire and foremost. Sounds cliché, but this is way easier said than done. I’m talking about the belief where every ounce of you to the core believes in what you are setting out to do and no amount of external doubt or person can influence you otherwise.
If you ask any single person if they think they are better than average, most people will tell you that they are. The truth though, is that most people have a fear of success and only artificially believe in themselves.
The moment that a negative person or external circumstance challenges that belief, the self doubt begins to set in because they weren’t fully bought into themselves and their purpose to the core.
The fear of success is something I’ve personally struggled with and stems from self doubt in thinking that you are not special or worthy of remarkable things.
The funny thing is that the average person, or SDR, in this case is really not that good at all. The things that distinguish an average SDR, from an SDR that is consistently hitting quota are very minor things. Just like the things differentiating an SDR in the top 1%, from an SDR in the top 10% are a few minor details.
This is true In any aspect of life. Take tennis for example, the things that separate Roger Federer from the 100th best player in the world are minor details. If you were to see Federer rallying with the 100th best player in a warm up, it would be nearly impossible to distinguish as to whom was better.
However, the extra practice, the extra footwork session, the extra morning visualization session, add up over time to allow Federer to execute on the one point in the match that matters most.
There is so much noise in the sales development world today and prospects are becoming increasingly difficult to reach. TOPO reports that it now takes an average of 18 dials to connect with a buyer (Source: TOPO http://blog.topohq.com/sales-development-technology-the-stack-emerges/) and The Bridge Group reports that the number of attempts per prospect has risen consistently from from 4.7 in 2010 to 9.1 in 2018, while the number of quality conversations per day has decreased from 8.0 to 5.1 during the same period of time. (Source: The Bridge Group https://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/hubfs/resources/SDRMetricsReport_TheBridgeGroup.pdf?t=1528352670872)
This means that to break away from the crowd you now have to be a (little) more creative.
Here are 7 (small) things you can do to differentiate yourself as an SDR in 2018.
1. Use Video in your Outreach
Although incorporating video in cadences is gaining traction and becoming more common, it still hasn’t hit the mainstream. There is still time to use this method as a way to personalize your outreach and stand out.
Vidyard GoVideo is a free chrome extension that allows you to record, send and track customized videos to your prospects.
I used Vidayard GoVideo on a daily basis and have booked meetings that may have never happened because I went above and beyond what most prospects have ever seen.
The content in your videos does not have to be anything revolutionary (if you want to be in the top 10%). Don’t use a script, be your genuine self. Discuss a couple of points showing that you have done your research and have a verbal call to action at the end.
As an extra tip, I recommend keeping videos below 60 seconds in length and having a name card with your prospects name as the thumbnail so that they can tell it’s customized.
If you want to get into the top 1%, you should go above and beyond. For example, you can create fully customized videos recording yourself singing a song for your prospect or tying in an analogy about their favorite sports team into your pitch and call-to-action.
2. Send physical cards or packages
Call, e-mail and social channels are increasingly becoming more and more saturated. A good way to stand out in 2018 is by going the traditional route and sending hand written cards, gifts or sentimental packages.
Examples of packages we have sent include:
-Hand written cards
-Edible Arrangements
-Cupcakes
-Toy Cars (prospect joked about wanting a luxury car, we sent it!)
-Company Swag
There are solutions in the market, like a company called PFLÂ which automates the process of mailing customized physical gifts through your CRM system.
Another creative thing to send is Pinata’s through Pinatagrams.com.
3. Cold Call outside of business hours
Analyze when the best time to call your ideal target prospects are and block that time out in your calendar. Typically, the best hours for cold calling are before the work day begins and as things are winding down towards the end of the day.
Being the best takes sacrifice, so figure out a schedule that works for you and wake up early if you have to, stay late and bang out those calls. If you want to be average and are just looking for a way to fund your social life, feel free to work 9-5, that’s cool too!
4. Use Owler/LinkedIn/Alerts/Company websites to tailor your email outreach
If you get replies from prospects saying things like “Unsubscribe” you are not customizing your emails enough. I have tried so many different approaches throughout my time as an SDR and the best results I have gotten have always been when I customized each touch point.
Since I got rid of template-style emails I have received 0 “unsubscribe” replies and plenty of replies praising me for the amount of research/customization that I have done. And the truth is that I don’t do any kind of “revolutionary” research…it really only takes 5-10 minutes to craft an email that shows that you actually care and makes you stand out.
Once you know which account you are prospecting, go on LinkedIn, find your ideal prospects, see if they liked/shared any interesting posts or what groups/interests they include in their profile. Also, go on the company’s page and see what kind of growth they have experienced in the last couple of years. This could be a good indicator that they are in growth mode and most likely in need of solutions to help automate processes. Use this information and craft a 1-2 sentence introduction.
Owler
Owler is a tool that scrapes the web and finds you all relevant news articles/press releases on the account. At Loopio, we use Salesloft as our email automation platform and Owler is built directly into the platform. Owler allows you to learn about recent rounds of funding and press releases that talk about interesting product updates/events/awards happening within the company. You can also use this information to craft a 1-2 sentence introduction.
Company Website
You know best what indicators determine whether an account is a good fit. For us, the industries our prospects sell into are a good indicator. Therefore, I go on their website, look through their customer’s page and find out what industries they sell into. You can also use this information to write a more customized introduction sentence.
Google Alerts
You can set up Google Alerts so that you get notified as soon as news comes out certain prospects, companies, competitors etc. Use these alerts as potential trigger events to reach out to your prospects.
5. Send outreach emails on evenings and weekends
Similar to calling during the times with the least amount of traffic, you also have a higher chance of getting opens on emails when the volume of emails hitting a prospects inbox is low.
Most SDRs are not going to be sending emails after 6pm during weekdays and on weekends. Take advantage of this fact and use your email automation platform to send your emails during these non-peak hours.
Try scheduling your emails for 9pm on weekdays or for 9pm on Sunday when people are preparing for the week ahead.
6. Customize Connection requests on LinkedIn and don’t include an ask right away
This once again comes down to sticking out from the crowd. Most SDRs are sending InMails and connection requests that immediately pitch the product/solution they are selling and have an ask from the prospect right away.
Instead of doing this, you should do a bit of research on the prospect. See if there are any personal/company milestones that you can congratulate them on without doing any selling.
Another approach is to have an insight about the industry the prospect is in and ask a question where the answer could set you up for a pitch.
For example:
Hi [NAME],
I noticed that your team/company is [STATE KEY POINT SHOWING YOU DID RESEARCH]. From my experience that usually means that [PROVIDE INDUSTRY INSIGHT].
Is that the case for your team?
7. The purpose of a voicemail is to direct your prospect to your email
Let’s face it, voicemail reply rates are extremely low. The purpose of a voicemail should be to get your prospect to open your email where you have your value proposition. You only have a few seconds of your prospects attention at this point and there is no time for a pitch.
Here is a nice template I have been using recently which was recommended by Tito Bohrt and works well:
Hi {{First Name}}, this is {{YOU!}} with {{company}}. I sent you an email yesterday about {{subject of email or topic covered}} but I have not heard back from you. Can you give it a quick glance and reply back? Again it’s {{YOU!}} with {{company}}. Thanks!
This voicemail works because it teases some information and sparks the curiosity which leads to the prospect having to go to your value-added email. It’s important to restate your name at the end so that they can find the email in their inbox.
Lessons Learned:
1. The difference between an average SDR and the top ones are minor. However, minor tweaks over a long period of time leads to exponential results
2. Always be looking to innovate, these 7 steps that work now may not work in two years. The important part is to acknowledge this and constantly push the boundaries of creative outreach
3. In a world that is constantly changing and with technologies like AI coming into play, personalization and a focus on quality outreach will allow you to stand out and prevail
Want more? Florin was the star of Episode 22: Top SDR – Florin Tatulea – Actionable Prospecting Tips to Get More Meetings