How to Hire SDRs: Literally Everything You Need To Know
One of the most challenging decisions a growing sales team faces is when the right time is to hire sale development reps (SDRs).
There are many factors to consider, but the decision often comes when the company needs to reach an important growth milestone.
Whether the company is growing through inbound or lacks outbound prospecting, it may be time to start the recruitment process.
But who should you hire? What do you look for in an SDR?
A bad sales hire wastes valuable time, money, and resources. It can damage your brand reputation if they deliver a poor first impression.
This post will help you assess whether it’s the right time to hire SDRs — and determine who the right person is for the job.
Four reasons why it’s time to hire SDRs
1. Too many leads from inbound
If the marketing team has significantly increased its programs, you’ll also increase the volume of leads.
However, there are too many MQLs to keep up with, causing some leads to be forgotten or a slow response. As a result, many more qualified MQLs are being passed to the SDR team.
2. Need to diversify pipeline sources and focus on outbound
Most organizations have three primary sources of pipeline: inbound, channel partners, and outbound. When you rely on just one channel, you depend on how well it performs.
For example, inbound can be a significant lead generation source. However, it is sometimes unpredictable.
You’ll need to diversify your lead sources, specifically building an SDR team to focus on outbound prospecting.
3. Improve speed-to-lead
It’s a great accomplishment when you’re generating a high volume of qualified leads.
But too many leads can lead to slow response times and poor buyer experience. To reduce your speed-to-lead, hire SDRs who can promptly follow up with leads.
4. Segment responsibilities across sales team
Account Executives don’t have a clear focus when they manage a full sales cycle. They are responsible for prospecting, closing, and managing the post-sale process.
Instead, segment the sales team to have different roles. SDRs are solely responsible for prospecting so that the Account Executives can focus on closing deals.
How do I hire good SDRs?
Finding good sales development reps can be challenging, but it’s crucial for the success of your sales team. To hire the best sales development reps, identify the specific skills and qualities important for the role.
Follow the step-by-step process below to help with your recruitment process.
1. Determine hiring criteria
Create an ideal candidate profile
Having an ideal candidate profile when hiring sales development reps is important.
Similar to an ideal customer profile, it helps you clearly define what you’re looking for in a candidate.
This can make the hiring process more efficient and ensure you end up with the best possible team. When building an ideal candidate profile, include qualities, and specific skills such as email personalization, research, cold calling, and video prospecting. Or if they’ve used sales prospecting tools that you currently have.
If unsure what traits to look for, start by analyzing your best SDRs’ qualities today.
For example, you may want your sales development reps to have strong communication skills, the ability to handle rejection, and a strong work ethic. In addition to these technical skills, it’s also important to include other required qualities for your sales team, such as a work ethic and collaboration.
The goal is to have a predictable process for hiring SDRs that will perform well. A clear idea of what you’re looking for can attract the right candidates and make the best hiring decisions.
Don’t settle and be picky with your candidates
It’s essential to be picky when hiring sales development reps because the success of your sales team depends on it.
Sales development reps are responsible for identifying and qualifying leads, so having strong reps in this role is crucial for driving revenue. If you’re not picky when hiring for this role, you may end up with reps who are not up to the task, which can lead to lost sales and a decrease in revenue.
Hiring the wrong sales development reps can create a poor work environment and lead to high turnover, which can be costly and disruptive to your business.
You can build a strong and successful sales team by being picky and taking the time to find the right sales development reps.
2. Determine how many SDRs to hire
Inbound approach
Determining how many sales development reps you need to hire for inbound is an important step in building a successful sales team.
Inbound marketing can generate a high volume of marketing qualified leads, so having the correct number of reps is crucial for ensuring that your sales team can handle the volume of leads that come in.
The number of reps you need to hire will depend on various factors, including the size of your business, the industry you’re in, and the volume of leads you expect to receive.
To determine the right number of reps, analyze your current sales process and identify any bottlenecks or areas where you could improve.
For example, examine your current speed-to-lead time, sales efficiency, and the total number of leads each sales rep can use. Identify what time and productivity gaps happen due to the volume of leads.
This will give you a better idea of how many reps you need to handle the expected volume of leads. Additionally, consider the time it takes for a sales development rep to qualify a lead and move it to the next stage in the sales process.
By carefully considering these factors, you can determine the correct number of sales development reps to hire for your inbound sales team.
Outbound approach
Outbound prospecting involves actively reaching out to potential customers, so having the right number of reps is crucial for ensuring that your business can generate enough leads to meet its sales goals.
Do not hire for outbound SDRs unless you’ve proven the outbound model has shown success. Your outbound sales motion needs to be repeatable and can be trained on.
Hiring SDRs will accelerate growth if you’ve had success with outbound.
To determine the right number of SDRs, determine your sales goals for the year. You’ll uncover how many leads your team will need to engage by reverse engineering your sales goals.
Hybrid approach
A hybrid approach is when SDRs use inbound and outbound techniques to generate leads.
When hiring for a hybrid sales approach, the time split between each segment of leads is a determining factor.
I’m not a fan of the hybrid approach because it lacks focus. Although some principles of outbound prospecting can apply to inbound follow-up, these are two drastically different sales motions.
3. Recruitment
Recruiting sales development reps can be challenging, but a few key strategies can help you find the right candidates.
One of the best places to recruit sales development reps is through online job boards and career websites. Since most SDRs are college graduates or early in their careers, these job boards will be where they will find jobs.
These platforms allow you to reach a large pool of potential candidates and can be an effective way to find people with the right skills and experience.
Additionally, you can use social media platforms such as LinkedIn to connect with potential candidates and learn more about their backgrounds and experience.
Another effective strategy is to leverage your network and reach out to people you know who might be a good fit for the role. Great sales reps know other great sales reps, so referrals can be a great recruitment strategy.
For example, if you’ve hired a great SDR, ask them after their first 90 days if they know anyone like them. Either a previous co-worker, a friend, or a classmate who shares the qualities and career ambitions.
Combining these techniques allows you to find the right sales development reps to join your team.
4. Job interview
Have a structured interview process
Having a structured interview process when hiring sales development reps is important because it allows you to evaluate candidates consistently and honestly.
A structured interview typically involves asking every candidate the same SDR interview questions. This can help you compare their answers rather than make a gut decision.
To create a structured interview process, start by identifying the specific skills and qualities important for the role. For example, you may want to evaluate candidates’ communication skills, ability to handle rejection, and work ethic.
Typically a structured interview process includes these steps:
- Initial phone screen
- First interview
- Team interview
- Take-home assignment or role-play exercise
Continue reading below for an in-depth overview of each step.
Prepare questions beforehand
Create a set of questions that will allow you to assess these skills and qualities.
For example, you might ask a candidate to describe a time they overcame a difficult situation or to provide an example of a project they completed that required strong communication skills. Using a structured interview process, you can make more informed hiring decisions and find the right sales development reps for your team.
Read through each candidate’s resume
Reading through a resume is an important part of the hiring process for sales development reps because it can provide valuable information about a candidate’s skills, education, and work experience.
When reading through a resume, look for specific skills and experience relevant to the position.
Looking for the specific experience if your candidates are recent graduates may not be easy. Instead, look for the previous history of excellence, such as academic success, sports, or extra-curricular activities. Refer to your ideal candidate profile to ensure you have the right match.
For example, you may want to look for candidates with previous experience in sales or customer service, as these skills can be helpful in a sales development role. Additionally, look for candidates with a solid educational background or who have completed relevant training programs.
Listen to the candidate’s answers
Active listening involves paying close attention to what a candidate is saying. It can help you gain a better understanding of their skills and experience.
When listening to a candidate, avoid interrupting and let them speak freely. Also, avoid thinking about your next question because it’ll distract you from actively listening.
This will give you a better sense of their communication skills and allow you to ask follow-up questions.
Additionally, take note of any specific examples or experiences the candidate mentions. These can be valuable insights into their abilities and help you make a more informed hiring decision.
Score each candidate objectively
Create a scorecard when hiring SDRs with all the qualities you’re looking for.
Scoring each candidate objectively is an important part of the hiring process for sales development positions. It reduces personal biases and ensures other interviewers on your team know exactly what you’re looking for
This involves evaluating each candidate based on the specific skills and qualities important for the role and assigning a score to each candidate based on their performance.
For example, you might evaluate candidates’ communication skills, ability to handle rejection, and work ethic and assign a score to each. It can be a simple scorecard that grades each skill from 1-10.
By scoring each candidate objectively, you can make more informed hiring decisions and ensure that you are comparing candidates fairly and consistently. Additionally, scoring each candidate can help you identify areas where a candidate may be lacking and provide an opportunity for them to improve during the interview process.
Conduct team interviews
Having team interviews for hiring sales development positions can be an effective way to evaluate candidates.
In a team interview, multiple members of your team participate in the interview process, each providing their perspective and insights.
This can provide a complete picture of a candidate’s skills and abilities and help you identify the best candidates for the role.
When conducting team interviews, include a mix of team members working closely with the sales development reps. For example, include other SDRs, SDR Managers, Account Executives, or other team members with relevant experience and insights.
Before the interview process, meet with your interview team to inform them of what key skills, qualities, and experience you’re looking for. Then debrief with your team after each interview to get their perspective and scorecard.
5. Take-home assignment
Several types of take-home assignments and role-play exercises can be used as part of a hiring process for sales development reps.
These exercises can provide valuable insights into a candidate’s skills and abilities and help you make more informed hiring decisions.
One type of take-home assignment is a writing exercise.
This can involve asking the candidate to write a short sales pitch or email cadence to a potential customer. This can provide insight into the candidate’s writing skills and communication ability.
After the team interview, immediately send your candidates the assignment. You can use the example below:
Hi NAME,
Thank you for your time!
As mentioned, the next step in our process is a cold email assignment.
Please research our company to ensure it is relevant.
Look into these 5 companies to find which one would be the best fit for our company’s product: IBM, Zoom, Nike, Apple and Samsung
Find two potential prospects or decision-makers at the company of your choice using any resources at your disposal.
Goal: Generate interest and get a response to if our product could provide value.
Deliverables:
- Provide which company you’ve selected and why. List both prospects and decision-makers (including their names & titles).
- Deliverable B: Create a two-email sequence you would send to get a positive response from prospects.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Good luck!
Another type of exercise is a role-play scenario.
In this exercise, the candidate is asked to pretend to be a sales development rep and interact with a potential customer.
This can provide insight into the candidate’s communication skills and ability to handle objections and overcome challenges. Closely listen to how they speak because tonality in sales can reflect confidence and trust.
For example, ask your candidate to research your company’s product, value proposition, and customers. Then, conduct a cold call roleplay during the interview process. Listen to how well they communicate, how they answer objections, and apply what they’ve learned about your company.
Real-time examples are a valuable part of the hiring process for sales development reps. These exercises can provide a complete picture of a candidate’s abilities and help you make more informed hiring decisions.
6. Evaluate each candidate based on numerical scores
Once you’ve scored each candidate for a sales development position, the next step is to review the scores and determine which candidates are the best fit for the role.
Start by reviewing the scores for each candidate and comparing them to the ideal candidate profile. This will help you identify the most qualified candidates with the necessary skills and experience.
Next, take a closer look at how your team scored each candidate. This will give you a different perspective on which candidates are the best overall fit for the position and who will be the most successful in the role.
Now it’s time for the exciting part. Finally, once you’ve found the top candidate, reach out to them to offer them the job.
How do SDRs get paid?
Sales development reps typically get paid through base salary and commissions.
The base salary is a fixed amount that the rep receives regardless of how many sales they make, while the commission is a percentage of the sales they generate.
LinkedIn says that a Business Development Rep (BDR) can make $35,000 to $68,200 per year with commissions.
In addition to base salary and commission, many sales development reps receive bonuses and sales spiffs for meeting or exceeding specific sales goals.
These bonuses can provide an additional incentive for reps to perform well and can help to boost their earnings.
Overall, the pay for sales development reps can be very competitive, especially for those who are successful at generating sales.
Why it’s better to hire two SDRs at a time
Hiring two sales development reps at a time can be a better approach than hiring just one for a few reasons. It’ll give you better insights into what works and doesn’t when prospecting.
Additionally, by having two SDRs, they’ll have someone who has started at the same time as the team and move each other.
However, ensure you have the budget, time, and resources to hire two BDRs.
Learn what works and doesn’t much faster
hiring two reps allows you to learn what works and what doesn’t faster.
By having two reps working together, you can compare their performance and identify areas where one rep may be doing better than the other.
This can provide valuable insights into what strategies are effective and can help you improve the overall performance of your sales team.
Help motivate each other and creates friendly competition
hiring two reps creates a friendly competition that can push each rep to work harder and strive for success.
This can lead to increased motivation and productivity, ultimately benefiting your business.
By hiring two sales development reps at a time, you can improve the performance of your sales team and drive better results.
Final thoughts on how to hire SDRs
Deciding to hire SDRs is never easy. It’s important to remember that a bad sales hire can be more damaging than not hiring at all.
By considering your company’s growth trajectory and what you need from an SDR, you can ensure that the person you bring is the right fit for your business.
Make your hiring process repeatable and predictable. That means every candidate that you recruit goes through the same process. This helps remove any unwarranted biases so that you focus on hiring the right talent.
Once you’ve made your hire, build a new SDR onboarding plan for when they’re ready to start.
