Having started his career as lead customer care at American Express, Rahul changed direction when Kayako was looking for people with a customer service background for their sales team. From there he built the first outbound team at Whatfix, before joining Chargebee where he became the Sales Development Manager. He talked to us about the challenges he’s faced, the tools they’re evaluating, and his strategy for the future.
Top challenges in Sales DevelopmentÂ
Challenges change. In Sales Development, it’s essential that you have instant access to all the latest information, and that’s usually through the CRM. However, if your CRM doesn’t integrate well with the rest of your sales stack, it can be a significant challenge. When there were problems integrating the sales automation tools with the CRM, it meant the SDRs weren’t getting the notifications they needed to do their job. Making sure the tools you’re using are fit for purpose and integrate with the rest of your tech is key.Â
Another challenge is keeping up to date with the product you’re selling. He’s selling a very comprehensive product, handling every part of the subscription billing process end to end, and it can sometimes be a little overwhelming. As an SDR talking to potential customers, you have to know how everything works, how it integrates with other tools, all the latest product updates, and so on.Â
Optimizing the Sales Development stack
His team is already using tools such as Outreach for their outbound teams, but they’re always looking for new ways to use technology to optimize their process. Rahul has been evaluating different software, such as email automation tools that allow you to personalize messages at scales. The other area he’s looking into is gamification, so the whole team can track their achievements and celebrate their wins together in real-time.Â
At the same time, some of the technology that used to be considered essential is now obsolete. When Rahul started out as an SDR, having a dedicated email tracking tool and an external phone dialer was important. Now, many CRMs and sales automation tools have those included as standard.Â
The future of Sales DevelopmentÂ
Rahul’s strategy for Sales Development in 2020 is to build a robust sales playbook, which is repeatable, scalable, and built on the best practices. In particular, he wants to make sure it covers the very best ABM practices moving forward.Â
When Rahul built his first outbound playbook he looked at a lot of the different examples out there, such as James Buckley, which really helped, but now he’s looking to build his own complete playbook.Â
If you’re looking for ways to improve your Sales Development program and overcome similar challenges, contact us at Tenbound today for a no-obligation exploratory call.
