Felix Lawrie

An SDR cold-called me... SDR: ''Is that Chris?'' Me: ''Yep, who's calling?'' SDR: ''It's James, here at XYZ we help companies like yours automate payroll, is this something you'd like to discuss more?'' Me: ''I don't have any employees for payroll but I'm happy to spend 5 mins with you now to help you improve your cold call opener, open to it?'' SDR: ''Erm...okay''. Me: ''So, here's 3 things you can try today... 1. Don't say ''is this Chris', if you don't know who you're calling they won't trust you. 2. Give me more about you in your intro. E.g. It's Chris, I'm an AE at XYZ. A touch more context = more trust. 3. Don't pitch straight up. Switch to a clear reason for the call. E.g. Calling as I know CEOs like you find [insert thing] time-consuming. Would love to chat more, got a minute now, or is later in the week better? We practiced twice, they were immediately better and we parted ways. Everything is a learning opportunity. Just gotta be open to it. PS. Outbound Systems [my new course] is 50% off until Friday. Click here to learn more: https://lnkd.in/e8YfMAyd

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SDRs & BDRs, this one is for you. Laura Shillibier recently placed an Enterprise SDR who booked 23 meetings in just 2.5 weeks. We’re looking for 2 more. Don't miss out. The role: Enterprise SDR x2 -Pure hunters with a strong track record -NYC-based (Office 2-3 days a week) Highlights: -Combining Cyber and Fintech with unbeatable product-market fit -5x ARR through numerous Fortune 500 partnerships -Backed by 3 tier 1 VCs This is the next big thing. We're also hiring 3 Sales Directors (NYC-based) for this vendor with founding stock. Every seller is currently over-target, I'm only just scratching the surface here. If you're ready to be part of this journey, you know what to do. #Cybersecurity #Fintech #Hiring #TechtonicTakeover

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Nearly every salesperson who's prospecting is making this mistake right now Assuming that sending a 15-step cadence over two weeks will land them a meeting Whilst it might be ✅ Value-driven ✅ Multi-channel ✅ Hyper-personalised There are only 52 weeks in a year And less than 5% of buyers are in the market at one time So the likelihood of you catching them in those 2 weeks is pretty small The solution? Ditch the breakup emails and add nurture steps to your sequence instead Short + educational emails every 4-6 weeks So you're top of mind when they are in the market

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No one should be ashamed of working in sales You rank pretty high compared to others Did you know... Average UK SDR Salary: £35,412 → UK - Top 26% → Global - Top 12% Average UK SDR OTE: £45,309 → UK - Top 20% → Global - Top 10% Average UK AE Salary: £55,000 → UK - Top 15% → Global - Top 8% Average UK AE OTE: £75,000 → UK - Top 10% → Global - Top 5% Sources: UK Talent, Jobted, PayScale, UK Tax Calculators Is it comfortable on your high horse? 🐴 Let me know in the comments #sdr #ae

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Tech SDRs - you have a bloody tough gig in comparison to commercial hires in other industries... Here's why... 🏦 Investment Banks - no entry-level hire is expected to create new relationships. 🏗️ Real Estate - Directors/Partners win the lion's share of new projects with no new business expectation placed on anyone with less than 2 years experience. 💸 Asset Managers - your portfolio is handed to you post-probation and you're allowed the time/opportunity to build your reputation and win business. 👨‍⚖️ Law - Partners win most of the business and hand clients to the wider team. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Recruitment - Junior hires ramp by speaking with candidates until they prove themselves competent to manage their first client which would have been won by a senior colleague. But then... 🤖 TECH - SDRS ARE EXPECTED TO BOOK MEETINGS FROM MONTH 2! You learn to do the hard bit first in tech. Next time you look at your pals in other fields - remind yourself of the above. #SDR #BDR #TechSales #Sales #Recruitment

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SPIN Selling/Challenger/Consultative selling/Solution Selling/Sandler/meddpicc/BANT/Gap Selling etc. They all essentially say the same thing with a few adjustments for deal size/cycle times etc. In my opinion all of these and sales in general comes down to: Saying the right thing at the right time in the right way and most importantly to the right person. The Right thing  The Right time  The Right Way  The Right Person Call it the 4 r’s. (copyright pending) Not selling a course….yet. Thoughts? P.S. "Saying the right thing" means asking a question.

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When it comes to SDR-ing, even the best have bad days 👇 I’ve followed Sara Plowman at Pareto🥤 on TikTok for a while now and have loved her real takes on prospecting and outreaching which is why I knew I had to dial in to hear both her and Morgan J Ingram give away all their tips and tricks in their most recent ‘Cold Calling Live’. It was great to hear how the experts get through to the right people, use different opening lines to keep prospects on their toes and motivate their teams. Some of my key takeaways include: – Don’t be afraid to double dial and leave voicemails – Make light of the losses. Even the best SDRs and seasoned execs have bad calls, and you need to be able to find the humour in the mistakes so you can learn from them – CLOSE. After 30 voicemails you’re just grateful to get through to someone who’ll listen to your pitch. But don’t fall into the trap of asking all your questions on this first call. Close the call and get that meeting booked! – To get you and your team ready for your cold call time blocks you need a hype song! Mine would have to be: ‘Hey Look Ma, I Made It’ by Panic! At The Disco.'🕺 When I was an SDR cold calling was definitely my biggest challenge but with a little practice, being unafraid to try new angles and keep experimenting you'll get there! If you can cold call, you can do anything! 🚀 #coldcalling #salestips

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“I will be your Global Top Biller within 2 years” - and I was for 5x years straight What a statement to fuel the Wednesday ego! But let me tell you, achieving this took a monumental amount of effort. I was selling alongside some of the best salespeople I’ve ever worked with, and each year was a personal battle to hold onto the crown. Here’s the kicker: I truly believe anyone can reach this pinnacle. I did it for my first organization in a complete brownfield environment with just a public pool of accounts. It pains me when reps join and say, “It’s impossible for me to get there with the team ahead of me.” It’s not, and here’s how you can do it too: 🔹 Never, ever, ever stop building pipeline. When you win a deal, your next action should be to make that next cold call. Discipline is key. 🔹 Be Interested, not interesting. Understand the persona you’re selling to more than the product. The best sellers offer solutions, not just products. People really care about their problems more than your cool tech. 🔹 Constantly iterate your pitch. You need to evolve and tweak it. The more you hear from clients who bought, the more you’ll know what to say to connect with their peers. 🔹 Sell internally as well as you do externally. This is critical. Sellers often expect busy Execs to come to a meeting. What’s the opportunity cost of your CRO joining? You need to sell the reason why to your Execs. My CEO Roadshow was legendary! 🔹 Create mini goals. I was the first to do £100k month, £1m year, £2m year. Setting mini goals pushed me forward. What's your mini goals? 🔹 Persistence. If there’s one lesson I could gift people, it’s persistence. I chased orgs for years. One global 6-figure employee consultancy told me, “You know more about our internal challenges than we do.” Never give up. I could list many more lessons, but I’ll delve deeper into these points in future posts. The ultimate lesson? Work out what it means to you. If you want to make that extra call, do it. If you want to work weekends, do it. Sales can change your life, but only you know what your balance needs to be! Be unapologetically ambitious and create some incredible memories! 💬 What would you add to this list that’s set you apart from the rest? Drop your thoughts below! 👇

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Here’s exactly why SDRs Bid Farewell to Their Roles 👇 Ever wondered why talented SDRs choose to seek new opportunities? Here’s a few common reasons: 1. Limited Growth Opportunities: SDRs are HUNGRY for growth, both personally and professionally. 2. Burnout: The hustle of the sales grind can sometimes lead to burnout. Without proper support and work-life balance, it can lead to feeling drained. 3. Disconnect with Company Culture: Company culture plays a significant role in job satisfaction. If there's a misalignment between personal values and organisational ethos, it might be time to part ways. 4. Compensation Concerns: Money talks. If compensation packages don't match the effort and results SDRs put in, they may be tempted to explore other options. 5. New Challenges: SDRs thrive on challenges and crave opportunities to learn and grow. When roles become monotonous or lack variety, they might look to move. If any of these reasons sound familiar you should check out @Timberseed for our latest opportunities! 💡 #SDR #Sales #EmployeeRetention #CareerGrowth

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We're well on track to beat our AE self sourced pipeline goal this Quarter 🤩 this is what we've been doing to beat goal: ✅ Structured focus blocks - in previous Quarters, we've been guilty of prioritising qualified pipeline calls over focus hours. We've now got mandatory blocks where AEs lock in to one task - personalised emails, cold calls, nurturing. ✅ Group shark days - our SDR team run pipeline days and often AEs wouldn't be required to get involved. Now we run this as a whole unit with everyone focusing on building pipeline. ✅ Purchasing the right tools - we've previously had a bloated tech stack with tools not focused on driving pipeline. Now we're using Reveal and Champify to find hot accounts/personas, Reachdesk to drive engagement from these accounts and Salesloft to stay structured with our day. ✅ Finding creative ways to drive pipeline - referrals from our CS team and our active deals, leveraging our partners to drive leads (we have an 85% increase in win rate when certain partners have been purchased), going bottom up in orgs that we know use competitors to spark conversations, staying on top of closed lost reasons (timing has been key for us) #saas #sales #startups #prospecting

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Knock, and it shall be opened unto you Last couple weeks I’ve been thinking about it a lot, my SDR team is trying new approaches and testing hypotheses, but I’m still very anxious about the future of the industry and prospecting in next couple of years. Understanding how cold outreach may be annoying for recipients, how overwhelmed managers in business are, I’m advocating soft approach. Know your business, know your prospects’ businesses before you reach them out, identify potential areas of interest and areas where you have strong expertise. Be consistent, but don’t be pushy, read and listen to your customers, build personal relationships and connections, because people buy from people.

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Who is hiring salespeople right now? This post will reach 50,000 + salespeople across the UK and EMEA. After being on the market myself briefly... I've felt an uptick in hiring activity. However, its not always easy to get your brand out there with all the competition for talent. This one way is easy and free! Just follow the steps below: 1. Post a link to your role/roles in the comments 2. Share and like this post 3. Get your team to comment under the role you posted Easy, Peazy Lemon squeezy! Go Go Go!

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If you're in the process of interviewing Account Executives, listen up – this is GOLD! Curious about distinguishing a top 5% AE from the crowd? The focus of a standout AE should always be on elements they can control. Here are five key aspects to watch for in your interviews: Work Ethic: Is their dedication evident? Are they surpassing what's expected of them and consistently meeting their activity metrics? Remember, their commitment to contact KPIs is a clear indicator of their dedication. Responsiveness: How promptly do they deliver on their promises? Whether it's to prospects or team members, ensuring they adhere to their deadlines every single time is crucial. Quality of Proposals and Follow-ups: Examine their written communications. Do they maintain high standards and consistency? Their approach reflects directly on your company's standards and what future customers can expect. Preparation and Practice: Are they continuously refining their demo or pitch? Given the value of every sales opportunity, especially with hard-earned leads, their commitment to practice speaks volumes. Persistence with Closed/Lost Deals: How do they handle rejection? A skilled salesperson understands 'no' often means 'not right now.' Do they maintain contact, showcasing persistence without being pushy? This not only shows resilience but also keeps the door open for future opportunities. While these are just a starting point, focusing on these five areas will help you quickly gauge whether a candidate is worth advancing. Finding top talent and knowing how and when to ask the right questions can be challenging. Struggling to find top talent or unsure of how to find these things out during the interview? It’s OK, you are not alone. Shoot me an email travis@gsd-coach.com with the subject line: “Recruiting Help” and my team and I can help you with all of this and more! #hiring #recruiterlife #recruiting #saassales #gsd #agsd #sales #startup #founder #ceo

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Wondering how to win with cold calling in 2024? Check out the key data and trends in Cognism's latest report below! 

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Administrative annoyances break your outside sales rep's back and pushes them to 'slow quit.' - daily calls covering the same nonsense that you discussed the day before - forcing them to provide daily & weekly email summaries of their efforts - increasing activity requirements without providing tools to help them achieve those metrics - requiring activity logging that has no business value - requiring office time to complete admin activities Your reps have families. When they pull into their driveway after a long day in the field the last thing they should have to do is admin work. They want to provide for their families ---> both financially and with their presence. Measuring what drives revenue matters. Equipping your reps to provide that data easily and quickly matters more - or you don't get the data. #outsidesales

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Wondering how to win with cold calling in 2024? Check out the key data and trends in Cognism's latest report below!

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So, we have an engaged prospect - They’re in the ICP - They have buying intent - It’s the right timing for them - But they’re the wrong Buyer Persona! What do we do here? 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗚𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 (𝗬𝗲𝘁) In my experience this is a fantastic way to piss of your prospect (AND their boss) while coming across as salesly and losing all credibility. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 if we try to sell to the wrong persona, more often than not we lose the deal, and any time we’ve invested, if we don’t get to power. This is a fantastic way to work really hard and miss quota. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 Instead of selling the product, we sell them on partnering with us to run an evaluation together. Let me walk through how I’ve done this. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝘆 Find out why this is important to them and the impact on them personally of getting this right, of getting it wrong, and of it not happening at all. We need a good reason to ask them to stick their neck out to introduce us to their leadership team. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 There’s often risk for our champion. If this goes south, they may be blamed for it, or even fired. I’ve seen it many times and I can share specific stories of how this goes down and how it could all be avoided by engaging leadership in the right way. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁 It’s critical not to skip key steps. To earn trust, we have to add value. They want to see an introductory demo, understand pricing, etc etc. These things are fair. But we can’t go too far without looping in the right people and we need to stay in the pocket until we can. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 Once we’ve earned their trust, we can and should ask to build a plan together. This involves bringing the right people, from both sides, in for the right steps. If we build this plan together we stand a better chance they’ll follow through with it. 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝗡𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 If we cannot get them on board with this we need to walk away and nurture them until that’s changed. We can share relevant marketing content, events, etc with them to do this. We can also start to share that with others on the team. I’m a big fan of role specific marketing content for this reason. It’s a lot easier to invite a CEO to a CEO dinner than it is to just go around our champion with a cold email pitching a sales meeting. RevOps can really shine here by helping to map this process out and align sales and marketing to do this. What would you add here? 🤔 More on nurturing tomorrow in 📰 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 📰 Sign up here to get it: https://bit.ly/3xgqF55 ✌️

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🌅WIN THE MORNING WIN THE DAY🌅 Back in 2016 I returned from a sabbatical 🏝️ Going straight back to the office after spending 2 years on a beach I found I quickly decended into a really bad headspace 😰 It led me into a process of soul searching and self development 📚 🔑I found a key factor in why I felt so bad was that my morning routine was SH*T 💩 I now live by my morning routine and I believe that it sets the tone for a productive day ahead. Here are 15 common morning mistakes to avoid: 1. ⏰ Hitting the snooze button: Resist that temptation! Start your day promptly. 2. 💧 Forgetting morning hydration: A glass of water jump-starts your system. 3. 📱 Immediately checking your phone: Give yourself a tech-free moment. 4. 🛌 Jumping out of bed: Take a mindful pause before diving into the day. 5. ☕ Having a coffee-only breakfast: Fuel up with a balanced meal. 6. 🥞 Multitasking during breakfast: Savor your food without distractions. 7. 🌚 Staying in a dark room: Open those curtains and embrace natural light. 8. 💼 Working from bed: Create a separate workspace for focus. 9. 📝 Starting your day without a plan: Set intentions and prioritize. 10. ⏳ Rushing and missing quiet time: Allow moments for reflection. 11. 🗓️ Scheduling work meetings: Reserve mornings for deep work. 12. 🏋️ Skipping morning workouts or meditation: Prioritize self-care. 13. 😩 Complaining about the day’s tasks: Shift to a positive mindset. 14. 📰 Watching or reading negative news: Opt for uplifting content. 15. 🗂️ Letting others dictate your schedule: Be intentional with your time. Remember, small adjustments can lead to big results! 🚀 What’s your favorite morning ritual? Share below! 👇

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SDR is DEAD 💀 Outbound is DEAD 💀 Cold Outreach is DEAD 💀 Here's my take... 10 years ago there were lots of accounts to cold prospect into who didn't have any SaaS solutions in place. Aka there was LOTS of room for everyone. Companies then hired tonnes of SDRs to hoover them all up as fast as possible. Now we have lots of SDRs fishing is much smaller ponds [because the accounts have all been sold to]. This means SDRs are not doing ''new business'' they are trying to displace existing vendors [in most cases]. Displacement takes A LONG TIME because you have to prove [over time] why you're worth the extra effort to change. The problem is companies want results NOW. They gotta balance short term cash flow with long term strategies... Facts right now are... 1. Outbound is still CHEAP [if done right] 2. Big deals have a GREAT return 3. Organic inbound is SLOW 4. Paid inbound is EXPENSIVE 5. NO well-researched prospect complains about good outreach The solution...PROSPECT-LED OUTBOUND. It balances warm and cold. Here's 3 examples: 1. Prospect visited the website and didn't fill in a form 2. Prospect registered for an event but didn't attend 3. Prospect is new to role There are loads more. The common theme is they ALL fall in the bracket of prospects who have taken some action that could indicate they need some help. Balance your short term [outbound] strategy with a longer term [organic inbound] strategy. Win:win. SDR isn't dead. We just need to get better at it. PS. If you'd like to learn my ''PROSPECT-LED OUTBOUND'' method you can book a free strategy call here [VPs of Sales, SDR Leaders, C-suite only]: https://lnkd.in/gXPrABuy

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