Is an SDR in tech sales for a saas company typically a very challenging role? Do you feel a lot of pressure? Can the sales skill be learned?

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It is sometimes a lot. People don’t understand that prospecting and cold calling can be no joke. You need to be surrounded by a great team and great mentors and really challenge yourself everyday or it just gets repetitive.

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Yes, it's very hard and takes a lot of grit and perseverance. There are very, very few career sdrs - it's truly viewed as an entry into SaaS sales.

I suggest looking at Aspireship, taking a free class, and if you like it you'll easily get a job as an SDR. Expect to be in that role for 6-24 months then get a promotion to account executive if you're finding success.

One of the comments above mentions having a good team and management. I could not agree more. Join a business with true demand for its products/services and has leadership that will genuinely help you succeed. With those two things, the only remaining things you will need is coachability and hard work.

The worst thing you can do is join a company that hasn't nailed its product market fit. I hired a 20-year sales veteran that took a step back to be an SDR and build out a team... We didn't nail our ICP and value prop and she burned out in less than six months.

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What about for stripe in specific?

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You need to have thick skin in order to make those cold calls

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Depend of the company I'd say. Usually your role is to take and secure meetings for your AEs, so you have the "benefit" of not closing the deal which can be nice, but you'll also prospect a lot which can put some pressure on your shoulders.

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Depends on the inbound outbound split. Some company’s have a lot of interest and mainly deal with inbound which is super easy. Outbound is a little harder but rewarding and both pay well as entry roles

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Depends on your reps and manger !

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Agree with everything that has been said. Can be really rewarding and a great step on the ladder of your sales career. However it is not an easy job, lots of pressure and can go horribly wrong if you don’t have the right team around you. Need thick skin as well - it’s a lot of rejection to take daily. If you don’t have the sort of mentality that can roll with that it’s defo not the job for you

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It’s a volume job. If you are up for making a lot of calls to secure interest in new opportunities while you learn about selling, it’s a great start to a sales career.

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It is very challenging. You get out of it what you put in though. Its a great entry point into the world of enterprise level B2B sales. Use it as an opportunity to absorb as much as possible from everyone around you. One thing a lot of SDRs dont do is network. Make sure you are always are on the same page as the AEs you support and ask to be part of the full sales cycle. If you treat being an SDR as an opportunity rather than a job, youll be successful.

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What other pathways are there to get into sales in tech? Does it have to be starting as an SDR?

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Depends on where you are applying. Many companies don't have sdrs.

Sales techniques are very easily learned however learning the Software and industry takes a lot longer if your new into it. For example personally for me selling a CRM or HR software would be very easy to sell however a Warehouse management software will take some time to learn just b/c I don't understand the supply chain/distribution industry. It depends if your inbound or outbound aswell. Inbound would be very easy to figure out however outbound would be very challenging in a new industry.

I wouldn’t say challenging in that the role is hard but I would say mentally challenging to do the same thing over and over with no reprieve. It can be stressful due to your compensation being tied to people you really cannot control but when I was an SDR I always hit my number so I was never stressed about losing my job or anything

No it is fun stuff, you can do it

It can be fun as it can be a nightmare, depends of your territory/ manager/ AE's

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