Ah yes.. Sales Development.
You either love it or hate, it's not for everybody.
So the question remains..
what is Sales Development?
Well, before we go there let's talk about what Sales Development is not.
Sales Development is not retail sales.
(Talking about B2C, whether you're in a T-Mobile store or Bloomingdale's). Not that I have anything against them, just using it for example here!
Sales Development is not face-to-face sales.
( Ummm.. talking about B2C again or outside B2B!)
Sales Development is not insurance sales.
(Ah yes.. when you hear "I'm in the financial industry" or "Do you want financial freedom?". You know who you are. I've been recruited over 5X and happily declined all requested. If you're reading this, yes you, you've probably did too!)
Whether you agree or not, this is just my #twocents.
So.. is Sales Development?
Sales Development is a P R A C T I C E that's highly adopted in the B2B Technology Sales World, otherwise known as Tech/SaaS.
These "reps" are commonly known as an SDR or BDR (Sales Development Rep and/or Business Development Rep).
Sales Development is an organization that sits in between Sales & Marketing who's job is to Strategically Prospect on a Mass Scale.
Acting as a liaison, Sales Development connects the dot when it comes to finding prospects through inbound and outbound activities, ultimately pushing them down the pipe where they would convert into a potential client which will then lead to revenue.
Sounds cool.. right?
So, what does this really look like?
In case you're a new rep and have 13 minutes and 43 seconds to spare, here it is!
In short, as a Top Funnel Sales Dev. Strategists I've came to believe that Sales Development Revolves around 3 Principals and 3 Principals only.
Principal #1
The first Initial Meeting
This is the "Who are you, why are you calling and why should I listen to you" phase.
Principal #2
The Secondary Meeting
This is the "ah... okay. Yes please, I'd love to learn more!" This is when there's a potential fit between you and the buyer whether it's a product or service, you now must qualify.
Principal #3
The Third Hand-Off Meeting
This is the recap and handoff to the sales team otherwise known as Account Executives and sounds something like this..
"Hi {{name}},
Thanks again for meeting today, previously we spoke about 1, 2 and 3 and how {{your company}} can help with ABC.
On the line here we have is our industry expert {{Account Executive}}.
{{AE's name}} will be able to answer all of your questions and concerns you may have.
Is there anything else that we missed you're hoping to cover today or may we proceed with the process..?"
Okay, you're probably thinking
"Hey Jax, that's toooo easy. So how do we do it?"
Well, that'll be another blog to post.
Stay tuned!
Best,
Jax