David Dulany's Blog

Whether they’re looking to supplement their internal teams or build pipeline, many executives are considering outsourcing their Sales Development team. There’s a tremendous amount of demand, and the industry is growing exponentially (something we’ve seen with the latest update of our Market Map). 

However, outsourcing comes with challenges. Anybody with an internet connection and a telephone can set themselves up as a sales prospecting organization, but that doesn't guarantee success. In our recent study, we found that only 32% of respondents would outsource to the same firm again. ​

​How many ingenuine, out-of-touch sales messages do you receive on social every week?

Here are direct quotes from just a few of the many in my LinkedIn inbox:

❌ “I definitely think our business could benefit from each other and I'd love to have a chat”

❌ “In case you’re aspiring to take the next step up in your career, so I wanted to send you something that can be a big help”

❌ “Thanks for connecting & your interest in our event” (Wasn’t interest, just connected)

❌ “I would love to hear more about your biz dev, do you do outreach to companies?”

❌ “There might be some opportunities for us to work together. We are an excellent solution for…”

Despite recent clapback from the community against these selfish, unsolicited pitches on social, it’s unfortunately still a very prevalent approach in the B2B world.

The idea of getting ahead of pipeline is top of mind, trying to win more deals early in the year to crush their numbers and hit accelerators as they cruise into Q4. And the role of creating pipeline falls heavily on the shoulders of Sales Development Teams. No pressure!

Then March came around and the world changed. Businesses closed, everyone began to work from home, budgets went dry, and a new reality set in. 

But guess what, many businesses, while adjusting forecasts for the year and quarter, still have to create pipeline to hit any adjusted goal. And guess what, that responsibility still falls squarely on the shoulders of Sales Development Teams. No pressure! Except now you’ve got double the pressure as you adapt to new realities: Buyers are distracted by things at home, and those valuable office direct dials are worthless. ​

​Most of us are aware that the buyer’s journey has changed dramatically in the last few years (and months given the global pandemic). 

This is supported by a CEB (acquired by Gartner) report in 2016 that shared “buyers on average are 57% of the way through their buying journey before even reaching out to a vendor”.

Fast forward a few years since that report, the explosion of Inbound Marketing, and the development of buyer journey optimized content I would argue that it is probably closer to 90%.

That is, buyers have almost all the information they need to make an informed purchasing decision.

In 2007 Chet Homes shared the statistic that only 3% of any market is in the “buying mode” now. This means that 97% of prospects aren’t actively looking to purchase a product or service.

​What sales development leaders need to know about the connection between sleep and productivity and how to get more of both.​

Even before the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans were underslept. A large body of research shows we were quite unproductive as a result. During the current crisis, we face even more threats to both sleep and productivity: anxieties keep us up at night, while distractions working from home, burnout from a lack of boundaries between our professional and personal lives, and the cognitive overload of Zoom all curb our focus. Now, more than ever, it's imperative to understand the connection between sleep and productivity and invest in your team's rest.

​You might be wondering what a marketer knows about cold calls, and the answer is “Quite a bit!” I sit with my SDR team, when we’re not working remotely, so I hear their cold calls and pitches all day every day, which gives me insight into what’s working for them and what doesn’t based on the rest of the conversation.

There’s nothing more important for an SDR / BDR than the first words that come out of their mouth, and that especially holds true for an agent-assisted call, where the potential customer has been passed from the agent to the sales rep for the pitch and you have just a few seconds to gain and hold their attention.
So, what should you say and what should you NOT say?