In this episode of the Enterprise Sales Development podcast, we speak with Seth M. List, Founder and Principal Consultant at Sales Craft and the head of Global Sales Development at Talon. Seth shares his advice on how to successfully set up an SDR team from scratch and deploy them in the best way. He discusses the importance of building relationships, putting faith and trust in SDR teams, and leading with transparency, especially in startup environments. He also talks about the power of three simple words: “Help Me Understand”.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN
Seth’s journey through outbound sales and sales development
The need to develop curiosity and listening skills in a fully distributed environment
Facilitating internal alignment within SDR teams
QUOTES
“My product may not solve all your problems but my intent is for us to have a conversation so that wherever we land at the end we can move forward aligned in knowing that there is fit here or we part ways as friends because we poked all the holes in it and agreed you guys aren't ready for me or my product, or there is a misalignment in ethos.” -Seth M. List [15:54]
“In very simple terms, the cheaper the solution, the faster the sales cycle, and the more commoditized the product. Craft is still relevant, but far less so than it is in the enterprise. And mid-market is a mixed bag. It really depends on what you're selling and how many other comparable solutions you're competing with.” -Seth M. List [25:53]
“The exercise of trying to put myself in the shoes of this person that I'm going to reach out to and I feel like table stakes are just understanding the role they hold, doing the typical responsibilities because SDR is right. That one of the biggest challenges that individual SDR teams and their leaders face is just a lack of experience.” - Seth M. List [26:41]
“It is hard to detach from your own needs in order to produce an outcome in any conversation. But decide what reminders you need for yourself, make them visible, and practice. Imprint it.” -Seth M. List [37:13]
TIMESTAMPS
[00:00] Intro
[05:57] Job hopping and building relationships in a professional setting
[09:06] SDR program expectations and strategies for success
[13:45] Setting Expectations: Negotiating risk and attainable goals
[20:31] Defining success through experiments
[27:03] SDR challenges: Lack of experience and business acumen
[37:50] Power of the phrase "Help Me Understand"
[42:23] Reevaluating goals in the current economic climate
[44:28] How to connect with Seth
CONNECT
Seth M. List on LinkedIn
CIENCE on LinkedIn
CIENCE on Facebook
CIENCE on Twitter
CIENCE on Instagram
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Building Agile and Flexible SDR Teams with Outbound Leader Seth M. List | Enterprise Sales Development (CIENCE) podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
