March 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to The Monthly Drive! demandDrive’s newsletter for sales dev pros.

In this edition, we talk a?lot?about cold email, how viable the traditional SDR model is, and how navigating change and system integrations can help you get closer to your reps.

Whether you’re an IC, Manager, or Leader, there’s bound to be something in here to help you make a positive impact on your day-to-day.

And hey, if you like what you see, give us a ?? and a share ??

Let's dive in!

Every email you send trains people to open or delete your next message. But more importantly, it trains them to view you as a trusted resource or as a nuisance.

And if you're viewed as a nuisance, success will be hard to come by.

That's why good email copywriting and engagement tactics are so valuable for SDR teams. They help build the trust and credibility your team needs to succeed in this modern sales environment.

And Maggie Blume of Mailshake , our newest onDemand guest, is one of the people helping teams get their hands dirty by experimenting with different email structures & tactics.

We sat down with Maggie to talk about what's wrong with most cold emails today and how teams can make strategic tweaks to get more replies.

We even break down a cold email that was sent to AJ to help illustrate our points!

Watch:?Cold Email Teardown?& Engagement Tactics

How quickly can you write an engaging, cohesive, relevant cold email?

10 minutes? 5 minutes??3 minutes?!

Our friends at VanillaSoft say "put your money where your mouth is."

On?April 13th at 2pm ET?they're running another edition of Emailing With The Stars!

What the heck is it??Two contestants will be challenged to write a cold email from scratch in under 3 minutes. The panel will then grade their email out of 10. They'll be looking for things like...

• Is the subject line & 'hook' catchy or relevant enough to earn an open?
• Is the value prop personal enough to the buyer, or is it too generic?
• Does the CTA pique your interest? Or does it fall flat?

There's A LOT to think about, and the time constraint makes it even more challenging.

It'll be educational, insightful, and (truly) fun. Plus, we heard Ollie Whitfield might be doing a salsa dance for the halftime show ??

Register?here.

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To the sales leaders out there who need a coaching reminder,?Andy Culligan has you covered:

Continuous coaching motions are no longer a "nice to have" for SDR teams. If you want your reps to learn and grow (and you?should?want that), you?have?to find time for coaching (more on that later).

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Really solid advice here from Junior @ Pickle. Goes to show you how nuanced the SDR role has become over the past few years.

Pulling value and insight out of every activity - not just the positive ones - is what separates a good SDR from a great SDR.

There’s a common myth that some of us are natural-born salespeople - and without that innate ability or predisposition, you won’t succeed?as an SDR.

Well, consider this podcast an episode of MythBusters because we reject that reality and substitute our own.

And so does our guest, Maria Bross of Revenue.io . She is a self-proclaimed “not naturally good at saleser,” and yet she’s built out an impressive career as both an IC and as a manager+.

Her secret??Training, coaching, and support.

We talk about the impact of a well-structured training program, what happens when management offers minimal support, and whether or not the SDR model is still viable in today’s modern environment.?

Is The SDR Model Still Viable??- 5 Questions with Maria Bross

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If you’ve ever been part of a merger or acquisition, you know the feeling.

? Questions about job security.?

? Questions about new responsibilities.?

? Questions about tech, processes, and strategies.

In short, it’s a lot of?uncertainty. And that can be really disconcerting for your business development team.

It’s important to be transparent, communicative, and empathetic in these situations. And that’s something Jake Bernstein knows firsthand.

He stopped by the show to talk about the acquisition he managed between his old company, ClearCut Analytics, and his new company, SPINS .

The best part? Jake’s examples and lessons are applicable?all of the time?- acquisition or not. As long as you put the well-being of your reps first, you can use his advice to make a positive impact on your own organization.

Systems Integration?- 5 Questions with Jake Bernstein

Bonus: Contribution Opportunity

Our friends at Databox are opening up applications for individuals who want to contribute to their blog!

They've built an impressive community of sales and marketing professionals who share their knowledge & expertise regularly (us included).

It's a great way to give back to the community, establish some authority, and score high-quality backlinks.

If you want to learn more about joining their network you can find all the info you need?here.

That's it for this edition of The Monthly Drive!

We'll see you again next month with content around building a GTM strategy for the health tech industry, how sales and marketing can get along, and why deliverability is more important than you think.

-- AJ

Have tips on building out a sales development team? What about effectively managing reps? The state of sales development today? We're always on the lookout for guest contributors!

Just shoot us a message (we'll always respond) and our marketing team will get in touch.

Is podcasting more your thing? Get?more info on our show and how to get involved.