About This Episode

SDRs.

Many times the position is seen as a temporary stop in a career path.

SDRs typically aren’t given the credit that they deserve and many times are often overlooked when it comes to training and providing growth opportunities for them to take their game to the next level.

But, what would happen if these SDRs were provided feedback and insight, thus encouraging them to advance in their position?

Nick Psaros is doing just that. Director of Sales Development with Egnyte, he was once an SDR and understands better than anyone role that they play.

“I was picking up the phone and getting my own pipeline. I started to realize that is where I’m strong and really passionate,” when speaking of his first SDR role.

But not every SDR is that lucky or has the proper guidance.

When Nick started leading his own teams, he wanted to change that.

“I run what I call an SDR forecasting call with my team,” he explained.

What’s interesting is how it’s structured. Each SDR is asked to come to the table with two things in mind – commits and best cases. One scenario could be something that they are trying to overcome. The team of fellow SDRs then brainstorm to find different solutions to the problem.

As Nick went on to say, “Not only does it help the person who brought forth the problem, but it also is helping those who are bringing solutions to the table.”

In sales, this is called the psychology of the prospect. Essentially digging in to see what is going on.

The logic is simple. When SDRs are experiencing a challenge and solutions are brought forth in a real-time situation, this is when the most learning occurs.

“And then we always follow up from the original meeting to see how they handled the situation and what the ultimate outcome was. When they make that connection and come back to say ‘Oh my gosh, that worked. I got the deal.’ That’s when it’s all worth it,” exclaimed Nick.

We had to ask, how and why did Nick start doing this?

He explained, “I started to see in the course of my career people viewing the SDR role as something ‘I’ll do till the next thing’. Knowing retention was important, I was trying to figure out how to retain the talent that I had. Because if all I’m doing is hiring and onboarding, I’m not getting anywhere.”

The answer lay in the development of the teams that he had created.

“I knew that I wanted to focus on how to develop my teams. Development is part of what makes people feel they are gaining from the experience,” Nick said.

So he started to think back on what was important to him when he was in their shoes.

Nick explained, “In all of my sales roles, I was able to articulate what was going on with my deals. I started to realize that this concept was just as important for SDRs. Not only will they end up in sales one day, but they want to feel like their efforts are translating into something important and that what they are doing matters.”

Over time, these forecasting meetings were having a ripple effect.

Nick was able to predict where his team would end up every month and could adjust if need be. And from the SDR perspective, when they were recognized by their peers, they started to take on the role of “expert.”

Leaning on the Kaizen theory, Nick conveyed, “Our mantra is simple but effective: improve a little every day.”  

How are you elevating your SDRs to not only retain top talent but help them get to the next level of success?

This post is based on a podcast interview with Nick Psaros from Egnyte. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast.

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