- Mastering Sales Development
- Posts
- SDR Leaderboards: Do you publicly show them in your office?
SDR Leaderboards: Do you publicly show them in your office?
Welcome to our new Newsletter partner, Powerlead!
Dave Wilkins
August 30, 2024
ON TOUR
First Things First…
SDR Leaders of EMEA are going on tour!
The big aspect of SDR Leaders of EMEA is to meet as many of our community members as possible. We are going to be in:
30th Sept: Amsterdam
9th October: Berlin
22nd October: London
24th October: Amsterdam
More dates will be added shortly. I expect a few more locations to be visited in EMEA before 2025!
POWERLEAD
Redefine Prospecting and Pipeline Generation
Powerlead’s mission is to redefine B2B prospecting and pipeline generation with unmatched data quality, coverage, and unlimited prospecting potential. We are committed to fueling your business growth with reliable, highly accurate contact information.
We provide:
- Unmatched contact data quality! Direct, Mobile numbers, and Business emails that work (with integral email validator so you don’t waste time on that)
- Extensive geographical coverage like no other, so you can cover all markets without switching platforms
- Unlimited plan, so no more credits headache, next to flexible pricing plans
- Quick-to-value, so you could enjoy a high-performance pipeline at the speed of light
STUFF ONLINE
Content of the week
THOUGHTS
What am I seeing this Week: To screen stats or not to screen stats? That is the question
Earlier this week, I put a poll up on LinkedIn, and the question was all about if SDR leaders put up live stat ranking of SDR performances on a screen in the office. As of Thursday 29th August, its pretty evident that the consensus is a resounding no:
It got me thinking, why don’t we do that?
Is it because our teams are remote, so there’s no point in seeing this? Is it an old-fashioned sales tactic from yesteryear?
Sometimes, seeing how you rank against your peers is a hindrance, especially if you are an inbound rep and you are ranked higher than an outbound rep on a leaderboard; that makes no sense.
But does this kind of motivation help reps?
My opinion: It has its place, especially if its an in-person office environment, it allows reps who are succeeding to get their plaudits from not only their peers, but leaders from other departments who see that information. For those who are not performing, it gives them a motivation to improve. It should NEVER be used to demeen or torment people, ’s a tool that can bring out a healthy competitiveness within your team.
What do you think? Am I wrong here? Let me know in the comments section!
For those new to the newsletter and like what you are seeing, please click on the subscribe button, and you’ll receive this top-quality newsletter in your inbox every Friday morning!
STAKKI
Questions about sales tools in 2024?
Tired and confused by all the noise on other platforms?
Free advice and guidance on the right solutions to make a positive impact on your team and pipeline.
INTERVIEW
Five Questions of the Week: Phil Brown
This week's interview is with Phil Brown of Remote. Phil has a great journey into leadership. He held multiple individual contributor roles until he found his calling in people leadership and, most specifically, SDR leadership. Today, Phil is going to share that story with us and his leadership philosophy!
Phil Brown: Manager, Outbound Sales Development EMEA @ Remote
Firstly, tell me a little bit about your journey? How did you end up at this point?
I started off selling IT Hardware as my first job; graduated during the 08/09 recession, so was just focused on getting A job. My Dad was in Sales and Sales Management for years, and I had done a Computing and Business degree, so I felt I was set up for Tech Sales from day 1 and quickly moved into SaaS, initially selling a Learning Management System in Inside Sales. I moved into Account Management for 2 years after that role and then took a career break. I came back and was a BDR at Oracle before moving to a start-up called Domo, where I was a BDR, an AE, a CSM, and then a BDR Manager over 5 years. I was looking for a new challenge, so I joined Salesforce as a BDR manager for around a year before the dreaded redundancy. Now very settled as an SDR manager at Remote.
What is it about your role that you love?
Coaching and Enabling is by far my favourite part of the job. It is super rewarding to shape young, ambitious minds and help them understand and master all of the various competencies of being an SDR. Plus, it challenges me at the same time; I have to bring my A game to train them as well. Beyond that, seeing my SDRs develop into AEs and SDR managers themselves is just awesome.
When did you realise that leadership was the career path you wanted to follow, and how did you make it happen?
It was thrust upon me! During my time at Domo, I was asked if I would take over the BDR team as they were struggling at the time, and I had some great expertise there. It was a tough first year, as I had to build a team over time and manage some PIPs very quickly into my time as a manager, and this was all during Covid! But I very quickly found that I loved the role and after some external training, had a good structure for how I wanted to run the team.
Drawing on all your experiences so far, what advice would you give your younger self on their first day as a manager?
Three key things spring to mind: Firstly, when it comes to management, a golden rule is Ask, Don't Tell. Promote self-reflection from your team and get their brains firing by asking them how they would approach a situation. Encourage them to enable from day 1. This will massively help both them and you in the future. Secondly, focus on coaching your team. Get involved, do mock calls, and do cold calling sessions with them. Lead from the front. It will earn respect, keep you sharp, and, again, improve the team over time. And thirdly, lead with empathy. You are a PEOPLE manager, the focus on the people, not the management. Most SDRs want to succeed and hit their goals, so it's more about ensuring they are happy and motivated. Plus, if you go in hard from day 1, there isn't much wiggle room for you to go anywhere else.
With AI looking to disrupt the SDR space, what do you see the role of the SDR evoloving in the next 36 months?
This is potentially a very stupid and dangerous opinion, but I am not too worried about AI. Ultimately, people buy from people, and in sales, timing is everything, so just because you can automate a process doesn't mean you a) should and b) it will work. AI is there to support and evolve the role of the SDR, but in my opinion, it won't replace it. It's very useful as a starting point, on things like Email and LI messages, but lacks the personalised and people touch.
Earn free merch 🎁
You can get free stuff for referring friends and colleagues to our newsletter 👇️
1 referral - Linkedin Shout out 🔊
5 referrals - Mastering Sales Development Stickers 🎉
10 referrals - Free Copy of Closing the Gap 📖
15 referrals - Limited Edition Mastering Sales Development mug 🍵
You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving a Linkedin Shout out!.
Copy & Paste this link: https://saleswise.beehiiv.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER
LASTLY
Whenever you’re ready, here are two ways I could help you
The new Community for European-based SDR leaders: SDR leaders of Europe
An ebook about SDR<> AE Alignment: Closing the Gap
Reply