SALES LEADERS GUIDE

A NAVY SEAL APPROACH TO TURNING YOUR REPS INTO TOP PERFORMERS

ADAPT TO NEW AND CHALLENGING SITUATIONS THE NAVY SEAL WAY.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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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