The SDR checklist manifesto

One of my favorite books is The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. It's an exploration of how beneficial simple checklists are to ensure things get done properly, comprehensively, and safely (the examples from hospitals & surgeries are wild).

With this concept in mind, I've been putting together a few checklists that I think can really help SDRs maximize their efforts and results. Here they all are:

Cold Emailing

Of course, there's plenty more nuance to cold emailing. The point of the checklist is to ensure you're doing the basics well. I go far deeper into the nuance of things in other articles (here, here, and here). But if you do the following things in all your cold emails, you're doing something really, really right:

Cold Calling

Same as above, there's plenty more to say about how to be an effective cold caller. This checklist is meant to ensure you're as well prepped as possible and in the right headspace to get the most out of your call blocks:

Video Messaging

Video can be a super effective outreach strategy, if done well. Following these basic steps goes a pretty long way to ensure that you're doing what you need to do to sound human, get your prospect's attention, and add value.

End-of-Day

Too many people end their day without any real reflection, and that's not a formula to improve. Similarly, most people don't think about setting themselves up for success the next day. I'm a big believer in the impact this checklist can make on your mental state and your success:

Interviewing

I've interviewed countless candidates for sales gigs, and it's shocking how few of them put in the right amount of effort. If you do the things in the checklist below, I guarantee you'll be in the top 1% of candidates from a preparation standpoint. That prep will give you confidence, which will likely translate to a solid interview.

There you have it! Not everything you need to know about how to be a great SDR, of course. But good fundamentals to keep you focused on the right things.