The sales process goes through several stages and begins long before the proposal is created. It is necessary to have a well-structured marketing strategy and also the attention of the SDR team.
For the sales flow to be concise and well-structured, avoiding rework and communication failures, it is fundamental that everyone involved works in an aligned manner. Thus, from opportunity capture to after-sales, the customer will be guided effectively and attentively.
Another point worth noting is that professionals who work with prospecting have a different role than the salesperson, and sometimes this still generates a certain amount of confusion. We will demystify this subject throughout the text.
Want to understand the differences between these stages and discover the main tips for an effective SDR team? Then keep reading!
What is an SDR?
The acronym SDR stands for sales development representative. This professional is also known as a hunter, pre-sales representative, or prospector.
The purpose of this team is to facilitate the sales process, being responsible for the initial approach to potential customers. In addition, they are tasked with capturing and exploring opportunities, filtering the qualified audience to deliver warmer possibilities to the sales team.
Thus, they will understand the public’s pain points, their objections, and analyze who does or does not have a fit with the solution. In other words, we can say that the pre-sales representative is the person who stirs the lead’s interest and curiosity, generating value and understanding whether they have adherence to what is being offered.
After people with a buying profile are handed over to the salespeople in the next stage, the commercial team is tasked with making a more detailed presentation and negotiations so that the proposal turns into a sale.
5 tips for an effective SDR team
Now that you know the difference between an SDR and a salesperson, check out the main tips for making the prospecting team more effective:
1. Defining the routine
For greater productivity and results, it is crucial to have a well-structured routine. Balance the types of contacts being worked on, so as not to focus solely on phone calls and forget other channels, such as WhatsApp or emails, which can be great sources of opportunity generation.
Set a goal for the number of contacts that should be made. At the same time, you must keep in mind that the channels must be compatible with the profile of the leads you work with.
2. Analysis of leads and opportunities
Depending on the size of the company, you may receive a high volume of leads coming from different sources. Therefore, an essential soft skill for the SDR is an analytical mindset.
By practicing this skill, the professional will have a much easier time investigating the leads’ profile, qualifying them, and discovering which opportunities have a fit with the business.
3. Identifying the type of prospecting
There are several branches of SDR, but the main ones are defined by the origin of the lead, that is, inbound and outbound.
- Inbound: leads generated from digital marketing, where it is possible to nurture indirectly with social media content, ebooks, and email marketing, paving the lead’s path until they are ready to request an approach.
- Outbound: in this model, prospecting approaches leads by making direct contact via calls, WhatsApp, or email, seeking to understand pain points and qualify them. Here, the SDR themselves will offer the product and put the lead in touch with the sales team.
There are also companies that choose to use both methodologies; it is up to you to structure the one that best fits your type of business. For example, solutions that serve highly segmented demands and have a higher acquisition cost generally encounter challenges in closing sales solely through outbound.
4. Personalized contact
The way of making contact will also vary depending on the prospecting model you define. But it is important that it is as personalized as possible.
In the case of inbound prospecting, the pre-sales team will have more data about the lead, making it easier to understand their profile by checking what they accessed on your website and what type of content they were interested in.
This will help achieve a more effective approach. Here, it is worth emphasizing the importance of being aligned with the marketing sector to understand where the lead came from and obtain as much information as possible prior to contact.
In outbound prospecting, there is no such detailed history of the lead. Therefore, it is necessary to scan the profile, look for as much information as possible on LinkedIn, and, at the time of the approach, try to understand their process and demands.
Thus, the SDR will have tools to stimulate the prospective client’s pain point and study how the offered solution can resolve this deficit.
5. Discards are essential
Finally, we know it is very important to work with a good volume of leads; this allows you to map behaviors and increase the range of strategies during service delivery.
However, upon receiving a negative response, you must evaluate whether it is worth persisting with this lead in the future or if they should be discarded. It is no use investing efforts in someone who is not aligned with the purpose of your product or service.
Instead, that time can be better spent conducting market studies and identifying other opportunities.
Now you know the importance of the SDR and the main tips for having an effective prospecting process. Did you like the content? Then keep following the Teclógica blog and follow us on social media.
*This article was produced by the Teclógica team: Estér Girão, pre-sales coordinator, and Aloisio Arbegaus, commercial director.
