As graduation day rolls around, every college student is thinking the same thing, I need a job after this. I was no stranger to this feeling when I graduated from High Point University in May of 2018 with a degree in Business Administration.
After looking at countless job openings all over the country, I applied and accepted the role of Sales Development Representative (SDR) at Bigtincan. Although the job search process was long and at some points, frustrating, when I came in for my interview, I knew this place was going to be a fit for me.
My first few months as an SDR were challenging, but I can’t say I would change much about them. I hit the ground running and was ready to start selling within my first week thanks to an awesome leadership team and taking advantage of the Bigtincan Platform.
Life as an SDR
I have been a Sales Development Representative at Bigtincan for a year now. Walking-in with little to no sales experience, I have been learning a lot along the way and I find myself learning new things every day.
As an SDR, you take leads from the top of the sales funnel and create them into qualified opportunities through a process of outbound prospecting.
You will face some difficult challenges including handling objections from prospects and finding qualified leads.
Yes, people are going to hang up on you - it is not the end of the world. And when you do book a meeting and a prospect doesn’t show up to the call, just know, it happens. While it is annoying, patience is key as you can always book another one.
Remember, there are people out there who need what you are selling even if they do not know it. Overcoming these challenges is a part of this job but it is what makes it so interesting and rewarding.
Every day as an SDR is different than the last, you are talking to new people at different companies and no two conversations are the same.
Takeaways from Year 1
I have a few takeaways from the past year from my own personal experience:
- Being an SDR has broadened my skillset in the areas of time management, persistence, patience, and strategic thinking.
- I gained confidence and deepened my interpersonal skills by reaching out to various personas on a daily basis – most being high level executives from large enterprise companies.
- I was able to learn and leverage a variety of sales tools such as Salesforce, SalesLoft, and Bigtincan's sales enablement platform.
- Technology is constantly changing, and it can be a bit daunting to keep up with at times, but that’s what makes it fun.
- Taking a deep dive into the sales enablement industry has provided me with a holistic view of the sales process, and how businesses can better collaborate and work more efficiently.
- If you get the opportunity to travel with your company, absolutely do it. I have learned so much about business by traveling to events and trade shows, and it’s been a ton of fun getting to know my coworkers outside of the office.
- One thing that I have found to be helpful is reading one article on the industry per day - it does not take long and you can learn a lot about the latest trends, which can help you sell.
- I’ve learned that people buy from you, so selling yourself is just as important as selling your product.
My advice to incoming SDR’s would be to always listen and learn. I learned a lot by just listening in on my coworkers’ sales calls when first starting out. It showed me how to communicate with prospects, and also learn a lot about our own platform.
Never be afraid to ask questions and become friendly with your coworkers, you are all working towards the same goal, success.
Interested in a career in sales? Becoming an SDR is a great place to start and Bigtincan is hiring - find out more here!
