SDR Manager - job 2 of 2

As an SDR Manager at Crusoe, you'll be responsible for leading a team of Sales Development Representatives, driving pipeline generation across the AI/ML cloud infrastructure market. This includes performance management to meet targets, mentoring your team, developing strategic processes for prospect engagement, and fostering collaboration with marketing and sales.

To be successful as an SDR Manager at Crusoe, you should have 5-8+ years of experience in Enterprise B2B IaaS or SaaS sales, with at least 2 years in a leadership role managing an SDR or BDR team. A strong understanding of outbound prospecting strategies and proficiency with CRM and sales engagement tools is also essential.

At Crusoe, we emphasize a supportive and motivational team culture for SDR Managers. You'll be encouraged to take an introspective coaching approach that fosters professional growth, collaboration, and a shared commitment to meeting pipeline generation goals.

The SDR Manager role at Crusoe involves close collaboration with marketing, product, and customer success teams. By aligning your SDR efforts with these departments, you'll refine messaging strategies and ensure a cohesive approach to engaging our prospects and customers.

As an SDR Manager at Crusoe, you'll receive ongoing training and support tailored to empower you and your team. You'll have access to resources and mentorship opportunities that focus on optimizing sales processes and enhancing team performance in a high-growth environment.

To drive pipeline generation, I would first analyze existing data to identify what strategies have been successful in the past. Then, I'd implement innovative prospecting techniques, enhance outreach efforts, and ensure that my team collaborates effectively with marketing to target the right audiences.

In my previous roles, I focused on building relationships with team members by providing personalized feedback and conducting regular one-on-one sessions. I believe in fostering growth by recognizing individual strengths and guiding SDRs through goal-setting and performance improvement plans.

Balancing data-driven decisions with team motivation involves clear communication. I would share insights from performance data to set achievable goals while also celebrating milestones and successes to maintain morale and encourage continued effort from the team.

Once, my SDR team was struggling to meet targets due to a lack of effective outreach strategies. I organized a brainstorming session to allow the team to collaborate on new ideas, resulting in several innovative approaches that significantly improved our outreach efforts.

Essential tools for managing an SDR team include CRM systems like Salesforce for tracking performance and managing leads, as well as sales engagement platforms such as Outreach or Salesloft to streamline our outreach processes and monitor engagement metrics.

I prioritize and assign leads based on a mix of lead quality, past engagement data, and SDRs’ strengths. This ensures that each lead is handled by the appropriate team member while providing equitable chances for all SDRs to meet their targets.

To ensure alignment between my SDR team and the sales team, I would hold regular cross-team meetings to discuss goals, strategies, and feedback. This open communication fosters collaboration, enabling both teams to work towards common objectives seamlessly.

Key metrics for an SDR Manager include lead conversion rates, number of scheduled meetings, pipeline generation volume, and the performance of outreach strategies. These metrics provide insight into team effectiveness and highlight areas for improvement.

For underperforming SDRs, I would start with a one-on-one discussion to understand any obstacles they face. I would then create a tailored development plan that includes additional training, mentorship, and clear goals to help them improve their performance incrementally.

Customer feedback is vital in the SDR process as it provides insights into what prospects value most. I would encourage my team to actively seek feedback and use it to refine our messaging and outreach strategies, ensuring they resonate with potential clients.