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SALES LEADERS GUIDE
A NAVY SEAL APPROACH TO TURNING YOUR REPS INTO TOP PERFORMERS
ADAPT TO NEW AND CHALLENGING SITUATIONS THE NAVY SEAL WAY.
A Navy SEAL Approach to Turning Your Reps Into Top Performers | 2
The Navy SEALs are the pinnacle of military might and effectiveness. Having survived some of the most rigorous and demanding training the United States armed forces can muster, they embody peak physical performance and mental toughness.
SEALs have the ability to coalesce into a single entity, capable of
breaking through any barrier, yet they’re still able to adapt to new
and challenging situations. They’re deployed to hostile, brutal
locales and tasked with seemingly impossible missions.
And they get the job done.
A Navy SEAL Approach to Turning Your Reps Into Top Performers | 3
There’s a saying the SEALs have: “The only easy day was yesterday.”
It’s one of their more well-known principles. If you were to apply this
to your business, it means you have to constantly up your game. Find
that edge no one else has, and keep getting stronger and smarter
with every evolution.
Those same tactics and strategies that make Navy SEALs so
formidable can be applied to your Sales Development team. In this
guide, we will teach you how to take your best Sales Development
Representatives (SDRs) and turn them into a highly actionable team
of world-class prospectors, ready to do battle with the toughest of
territories in the most efficient way possible.
But first, a story.
THE TRUE STORY OF THE TOP-PERFORMING SDR
Outreach Director of Sales Development and originator of the Navy
SEAL SDR program, Steve Ross, recalls how this idea first formed.
I remember a time earlier in my career as an SDR
Manager at Robbins Research International,
a Tony Robbins Company (yeah, that guy). One of the
top-performing reps, let’s call him Kevin, came to my
office one day and said, “I have maximized Oscar’s
calendar for as far out as possible. Would it be better
for the company for me to just clock out and take a
week off?” I had two reactions to Kevin’s statement.
The first was “I don’t believe you.” The second was, “If
it is true, why would I want you to go home? Let’s take
a look.”
Kevin had indeed killed it – he had filled up one
Account Executive’s calendar with meetings for the
entire month. I said, “Great. Why don’t you go do
the same with Eli’s calendar? You’ll be able to make
more money and you’ll really help out the company.”
Kevin did, and he crushed it again. I thought, “Why
don’t I do this with all my top SDRs?” That was the
birth of the SEAL SDR program, a unique model
that allows you to point your best resources exactly
where they pay off the highest.
In harnessing his highest-performing SDRs and deploying them
to help Account Executives book meetings, Steve was using his
available resources to create a highly effective, revenue-efficient
team. Hooyah!
A Navy SEAL Approach to Turning Your Reps Into Top Performers | 4
IMPLEMENTING YOUR OWN SDR SEAL PROGRAM
Hopefully we have showcased the benefits of this program. So how
do you get your own SDR SEAL Program off the ground? Here are
three steps you should take to ensure your new Sales Development
approach is successful.
1. Start Small
Do as Steve did with Kevin: Identify top-performing SDRs and
separate them from the pack. Create and present the opportunity
for your best SDRs to generate more personal income.
Salespeople are at least partially motivated by money, so you
need to present this as an opportunity to cash in.
Also, real Navy SEALs are driven by duty and adventure. Frame
this assignment as satisfying both. If all goes as planned, the
SEAL SDR program will be extremely beneficial to the company
(duty). Furthermore, it’s different and somewhat risky (as is
anything that goes against the status quo), so being a part of the
SEAL team is inherently adventurous.
THIS FLEXIBLE APPROACH ALLOWS FOR REMARKABLE RETURN. BY SECURING MORE MEETINGS FOR HIGH-PERFORMING AES, YOUR COMPANY CAN SEE 1.5X, 2X, OR EVEN 3X THE RETURN.
So what are the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for
implementing a SEAL SDR program? The approach is simple but
unique: Create an elite team of your top SDRs to execute strategic
missions on behalf of your business. Identify your high-performing
Account Executives and strategically unleash your SEALs, pairing
them with the selected AEs. This flexible approach allows for
remarkable return. By securing more meetings for high-performing
AEs, your company can see 1.5x, 2x, or even 3x the return.
How? Your top AEs will close at a higher rate and, by putting
additional SDR resources against these AEs, the results
grow exponentially.
A Navy SEAL Approach to Turning Your Reps Into Top Performers | 5
2. Define the Missions
Once you have your team, the next step is to define the missions.
Do you have an Account Executive who is on a “Midas streak,”
turning everything they touch into sold? Have a SEAL move over
to that Account Executive and fill his or her calendar out as far as
the eye can see.
At Outreach, we run a territory model but give our SEALs
accounts across the country. We want our best SDRs on our best
accounts, wherever and whatever those happen to be. We also
want to keep the team flexible and ensure our SEALs are loaded
with national accounts. This way we can pivot our tactics or shift
to a new mission instantly, and without missing a beat.
3. Measure and Adjust or Replicate
Like anything that is important for your business, you need to
measure it. Make sure that the resources you are dedicating are
providing ROI and a measurable lift. Make adjustments if needed
or continue to add resources if things are going well. Track
not only the amount of meetings booked, but the quality and
potential of those meetings. Did they turn into qualified pipeline?
Did the company bring in any revenue from the meetings your
SEAL team booked?
Keep in mind, not every SDR gets to be a SEAL. Make your
program something earned (and rewarded). Like the real SEALs,
this team is the best of the best.
And this program is not just for the best reps, but for team
members who can think big, buy into the importance of strategic
initiatives, and can deploy anywhere for any mission at a
moment’s notice.
THE SEAL PROGRAM CAN BOLT ON TO TRADITIONAL MODELS LIKE PODS, ROUND ROBIN OR REGIONAL INSIDE SALES STRUCTURES, AND GIVE THOSE STRATEGIES SUPERPOWERS.
A Navy SEAL Approach to Turning Your Reps Into Top Performers | 6
SDR SEALS: DEPLOY YOUR SPECIAL OPERATORS
As stated above, the top mission for your SEALs is to pair them with
your highest performing AEs. This sets up the biggest return for the
resource you are expending.
You can also choose to send your SEAL SDRs on a rescue mission. For
example, a new AE may be doing the right things and hustling, but
not quite firing on all cylinders yet. Point your SEALs at these AEs to
give them a boost and build confidence.
Lastly, a SEAL team is helpful when piloting new programs. Your
SEAL Team is comprised of your top-performing prospectors, so if
you roll out a new program, you can trust that they will follow the
right protocol, and that the execution will be strong. They will also
surface any issues that need attention and poke holes in the process
before you roll something out to the whole team, allowing you to
refine and improve any new strategies. When the SEALs knock it out
of the park, whatever plan you are trialing will have credibility and a
better chance for success when you roll it out on a broader scale.
There are so many benefits of the SEAL SDR model, but we realize it
may be scary to try something so different. You may have concerns,
including headcount, which is always a sensitive topic. When
first implementing the SEAL SDR model, start small to show your
executives what is possible. If executed correctly, the reallocation
of resources is truly an investment that will provide an incredible
return. Once you’ve proven the model with a few of your current
SDRs, you’ll easily justify your business case. At Outreach, we carry a
few extra SDRs for the SEAL program because we know it works.
Outreach.io / tweet us: @outreach_io
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