SDR Insider #4

One of the most significant learning curves for anyone entering the sales world is becoming comfortable with hearing the word ‘no.’ And you don’t have to just get comfortable with it – you have to hop back on the horse and make another call right after hearing it.

It takes time to see a door closing or a phone hanging up on you as not rejection, but redirection.

If you’re a hard-working person, you will likely succeed in sales.

But if you’re also a positive person, you will prosper.

The good news? our guest this week is both.

Episode 4 dives into these topics (and more) with Senior SDR and President’s Club member Kyle Schmider. Beyond his mentality for getting over rejection, Kyle also shares the importance of positivity in a sales role and his advice on returning to that mindset on more challenging days.

Tune in to learn the formula for staying positive and how to pivot when needed.

Key Takeaways

Connect With Prospects on a Human Level

A big learning curve for someone new to sales is how to connect with someone who isn’t physically in front of you. That lack of connection can make reps feel uneasy or less confident, and that’s usually a large component of why they see rejection after rejection.

“I wasn’t at a job previously where it was heavy email,” Kyle said while speaking about his time in the restaurant industry. Writing compelling emails was a big learning curve while starting in sales. He describes this time as “hyperfocusing” and spending “way too much time” on one email. Rejection can sting extra hard when you (metaphorically) put too many eggs into one basket and end up getting a curt “no” as a response.

“You can’t get the same tonality (in an email),” but he says he pivoted and quickly realized that “a good phone conversation can lead to a good email,” which snowballed into some success for Kyle early on.

In the early days as an SDR, it is important to get over that fear of the phone and remember that “the worst thing they (a prospect) can do is hang up on you.”

Editor’s Note: Actually, one of the worst things a prospect can do is tell you to ‘suck eggs.’ But that’s just a mean way of saying ‘no’ so it’s basically the same thing. In all honesty, getting over that fear of cold calling early is one of the fastest ways to see success as an SDR. Leveraging a mindset and framework like ELO can help you tremendously early on in your career.

Push Through the Fear

In any job or experience in life, it is important to remember that, at times, you have to fail to succeed. Failure isn’t comfortable, but you can’t grow if you refuse to break out of your comfort zone.

What can help to push through the fear of failure? Kyle explains that “having other people review your emails is beneficial and to “see what other people are writing- that helps”

Leaning on team members and remembering that everyone else also faces rejection can help push through difficult times in the sales cycle.

Editor’s Note: One of our Directors at demandDrive famously asked his teammates and colleagues to “rip his emails apart” when he first started as an SDR. It’s a great way to learn and grow while seeing other POVs and pathways to success. You don’t have to limit it to emails – schedule a round-table calling session with other reps and critique each other’s calls. And you could even look to online sales communities to get perspectives from outside your own company!

How Are You Going To Succeed At Anything if You’re Negative?

During our conversation, Kyle notably stated, “Negativity can put a lot more weight and pressure on yourself than what is needed,” and he believes that there is “no room for negativity in this field.”

His advice when you are frustrated or feeling negative:

• Get outside
• Soak up some sun
• Breathe in some fresh air
• Snuggle your cats (or dogs, or…fish? You do you)

“Be positive the next person will be different… there are plenty of fish in the sea (of prospecting)!”

Editor’s Note: Your attitude is one of the only things you can control as a salesperson. So you better control it! And I know it’s easy to slip into a negative headspace and start to spiral.  If you feel like your negativity is evolving into burnout, check out our podcast on how to combat that as an SDR.

Rejection is Everywhere 

At the end of the day, although it may be more apparent in sales than in other industries, rejection is found everywhere. There is no way to hide from it, so the best advice is to embrace it.

“Go back to the drawing board, see what works and what doesn’t, that’s the whole idea with rejection…What can I fix?…to make this (item) go on the menu or have someone take a meeting?”

Editor’s Note: Yes, sales can suck. Yes, commiserating with other sales folks can be cathartic. But Kyle’s mentality here is key – you have to come to the table with solutions to your problems. It’s one thing to say ‘Man, I’m getting a lot of no’s today’ and another to say ‘What am I going to do about all the no’s I’m getting today?’

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Sales Rep new or old, we hope you found this episode and post helpful. We’re looking forward to sharing more insights from top performers through the SDR Insider, a new initiative from demandDrive.

If you are interested in being included in a future episode or have an idea for a conversation, feel free to reach out to our marketing team at marketing@demanddrive.com.