Director of Sales and Strategic Partnerships at ReadyCloud, the Shipping, Returns, Growth Marketing and CRM Suite built for e-commerce.
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Being a sales development representative (SDR) at a SaaS company is an incredibly rewarding experience. Not only do you get to work with some of the latest technologies, but you also get to help others understand the value the right SaaS can bring to their business.
Over the past five years, I’ve had the opportunity to work at a SaaS company that makes software for online retailers. During this time, I’ve learned some valuable lessons about what it takes to be successful in this role.
Here are four of the most important things I’ve learned.
1. In sales, introductions are everything.
Let’s be short and sweet here: Introductions are everything. Your first impression is very important and is going to be what makes or breaks any sale from the get-go.
• I always like to try to do warm intros via email or phone—either is a great opportunity to begin the experience with a personal touch.
• LinkedIn outreach can be effective for the same methods when you leverage your connection degrees and keep it less formal.
• Personalization is the key—which means understanding your audience (the prospect) and their industry as well as how your solution can resolve pain points.
2. Pain point resolution drives software use.
Pain point resolution is the key to success when it comes to selling software. People don’t buy software just because it looks cool; they buy it because it solves a problem or improves their workflow. As an SDR, it’s important to understand the customer’s pain points and how the software can help them.
When working with a potential customer, it’s important to ask meaningful questions to better understand their needs. For others representing SaaS companies, a few questions you may consider asking yourself might include the following.
• Does the solution you’re offering resolve specific pain points for the potential customer? If so, what are those pain points, and how does your solution streamline something that’s arduous for the potential customer?
• Can the solution you’re offering help streamline operations for the potential user? If so, what are the strongest highlights that you can illustrate?
Doing a bit of research beforehand is crucial, as this will help you understand the customer’s industry and their specific challenges. Armed with this knowledge, you can better tailor your pitch to focus on how your software can help them resolve their pain points. Take some time to feel out any potential customer before contact.
I rely on resources like LinkedIn to learn about a company’s profile, mission statement and staff. I also like to spend some time on their website, getting to know more about them. If you have the budget, services like ZoomInfo can deliver a bounty of useful info that you can rely on when approaching a potential new customer.
3. Enterprise users have greater needs.
The bigger the user, the greater the need. In other words: Enterprise users have greater needs than other customers. That’s why when you’re selling software to enterprise users, it’s important to understand their unique needs.
Complex needs require more in-depth solutions. Enterprise users often require more advanced features and integrations. This means that it’s important to be able to show them how your software can be tailored to their specific needs.
• I have found that enterprise users require a lot more hand-holding out of the gates due to the fact that there are a lot more of them. Keep in mind that a support-focused introduction to your SaaS solution is critical here.
• Another thing I’ve learned is that setup for larger accounts will require innovation between multiple departments in your company, ranging from sales to support to account managers.
4. Don’t limit yourself to one niche.
It’s important not to limit yourself to one niche. While you should foster a deep understanding of your niche and the software you’re selling, it’s also important to be open to new opportunities, too.
For example, our company offers an automated product returns software solution for online retailers. But we also found that this same software could be used to streamline equipment returns for companies with large numbers of at-home workers—due to the usability of the software, the convenience of being able to send QR code return shipping labels to users’ smartphones and the advantages of real-time tracking and monitoring.
Lo and behold, this niche has worked nicely for us, as we are now seeing that about 35% of workers are working from home in a full-time capacity, thus creating a need for businesses to send and return equipment for onboarding and offboarding. This is a great example of not only finding a new niche but using pain point resolution to seal the deal along the way.
As an SDR, are you using the best strategies for success?
In today’s increasingly complex world, effective practices as an SDR can be vital to the success of any SaaS company. I hope this article provides some valuable takeaways for fellow SDRs seeking some best practices to optimize their company’s performance.
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