Overview:

3 - Skills Hiring Managers look for

4 - Build your resume to fit what hiring managers want to see

5 - Personal operating system to track activities and progress while looking to for jobs

6 - How to locate companies looking to hire salespeople

7 - How to find hiring managers in these companies and connect with them online

8 - Close these managers for an interview or intro to the right person

9 - Interview prep and strategy

10 - Bonus resources for success

Come up with a compelling personal story that displays each of these skills

Coachability: They expect you to be ramped up quickly

Grit: I will bust my ass to make this work. Talk about a time you accomplished something difficult over a long period of time

Curiosity: Naturally interested with a hunger to know more. Immediately run through the (What, Where, When, How, Why) when hearing a new situation

• Be great at asking questions

Active Listening: Be present, ask more questions, dig into pain. Don’t be too eager to talk. Come off as a real person (a friend) instead of a telemarketer

Emotional Intelligence: Read people. Be fluent in non-verbal communication. Understand incentives, nature, psychology, etc.

Problem Solving: Listen for needs, qualify them, present solutions, and close for the next steps

• Hear a buyer’s problems and recommend products and services to fix their issues (on the fly)

Once a story is created for each skill, practice speaking them aloud. Really internalize them. Edit the script as you read aloud to make sure it sounds genuine. Practice a ton so you not only remember the script, but it sounds and flows naturally

• Canva has nice resume templates

• If you try to get in “through the machines” (applying online through HR software), resumes matter more. We’ll call that the spray and pray method. Certain words need to be there to make it through the algorithmic filters before a human sees it.

• If you get in with my method you’ll have an ally personally putting your resume on top of the pile.This way the resume is only a formality, an HR punch list item. People will be filtering you and it’s people you’ll be working with so you’ll be ahead of the game when it comes time to interview

  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gve6dQvl169XtgSos1nDaNEVnFm76Dl1upcG3llvUU0/edit?usp=sharing

Funnel for getting a job:

1. Find open jobs

2. Apply for the job

3. Interview for the job

4. Receive and offer

The #1 issue you'll have is not going directly to the hiring managers. When you do, you get an interview at least half the time.

• If you just apply through job portals or LinkedIn, the likelihood of moving on to the next round is slim to none, especially if you're new to sales

• It mirrors a basic CRM (what you’ll use during a real Sales job to track leads)

• Touchpoint #1 = Date you sent LinkedIn Connection

• Touchpoint #2 = Date they accept and you’ve sent them a message asking to chat

• Touchpoint #3 = If they don’t respond after 3 days, send another quick follow up like “Hey {name}, is {company name} still hiring for {role type}?

• Touchpoint #4 = If still no response, 1-2 days later send them a cold email with the subject “SDR Role” and say the same thing as when you connected with them (“I saw your company was hiring salespeople and I was hoping to ask a few questions -- can we chat?”)

• Touchpoint #5 = If no response, 2 days later message again on LinkedIn “Hope you don’t mind my persistence -- really hoping to connect because {company name} sounds like a great place to build a career.”

• Touchpoint #6 = 2 days later email again (as a reply to OG email): “{name} - last note, is hiring SDRs not a priority anymore? I had seen a job listing and was hoping to apply.”

  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Har-8mYbytPbYz8Rg-MP3xMXAcl0gRU-pi1VHapIj8Q/edit#gid=0

Populate the OS with 25 potential opportunities

Where to Find Jobs:

• LinkedIn

• Vouris

• Craigslist

• Angel List

• Wealthfront Career Launching Companies List

• Ask a company you really want to work for

• Bypass HR and go straight to the hiring manager

• By doing this, you are proving you are capable of doing the job of an SDR (getting to the decision maker)

Script:

Hi {contact name},
I saw that {company} is hiring sales reps. Wanted to introduce myself and see if I could set a time to ask a couple questions about the role? 

Warmly, 
Joey

Either LinkedIn, email or cold call.

Use hunter.io and zoominfo.com to get/ confirm email addresses

When scouring through LinkedIn, you need to find the manager -- NOT other SDR/ BDRs

• This won’t always be perfectly clear. Look for titles like “Sales Manager” or “Director of Sales”

Add a note to your invitation:

Hey {name} - saw {company name} is hiring SDRs and was hoping to connect. Cheers, Joey

You can also go through SDRs at the company - sometimes there’s a referral incentive for any new hires they refer.

People usually just want to help so even a direct ask if they know who the hiring manager is for a specific role works well.

Having another LinkedIn connection within the company that’s hiring looks solid.

Be crystal clear in your “ask”

Make it easy for them to understand what it is you want.

Example Script:

Hey {first name}, great to connect.
Saw {company name} is hiring SDRs, is that your team?
Hoping to ask a few questions about the role before submitting my application.
Cheers, Joey

This accomplishes:

1. Gives relevance

2. Qualifies the lead

3. Closes for the next step

After getting through the door and actually having conversations with people, ask them light “discovery” questions = phrases meant to discover possible pain points, or in this case the need for the role

Examples:

• What type of people do well at {company}?

• What have other SDRs who got hired done to stand out?

Good LinkedIn post on preparing for interviews:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/erik-mckee-3a51b9185_saasbros-activity-6879045324145471488-MG36/

• Aim is to make the hiring manager the hero by hiring you

• Lean into your strengths. Since you don’t have experience, you are going to be differentiated from the rest of the candidates. Sell yourself

Follow hero’s journey model:

• Have a story about why they need to hire you. Make it as epic as possible

• If all else fails, just send it and tell them how “I am raw, gritty work ethic begging to be given a blank canvas to apply themself”

Good questions to ask at the end:

• What has typically set top performers apart from the rest during the first 90 days?

• What are some things top performers did really well in their first year that made an impact?

• It’s good to make them see you as a possible top performer.

Negotiate a Higher Salary:

• Most important thing is to have a ton of options -- then you can just pick the best offer

Script to use after receiving an offer:

This looks fantastic. I really appreciate the offer and I know I will do an excellent job at {company name}. I have 5 other interviews this week and I am expecting multiple offers. I will say that I am most excited about your company because {reason why it's a good fit}. I was hoping for {salary expectation}, I know that's in line with what a few other companies {have offered or intend to offer}. If you are willing to do {desired salary}, I will sign the offer letter tonight and cancel the rest of my interviews. 

SDR - Sales development rep

BDR - business development rep

OTE - on target earnings

AE - account executive

Quota - the sales number you need to hit

CRM - customer relationship management (technology tool)

Base - pay regardless of sales

Commission - additive pay based on sales

SMB - small business segment (pays least, easiest to get)

MidMarket // MM - Mid Market size companies (next size up)

Enterprise - largest size customers (pays most, hardest to get)

Lavender = email writing tool

LinkedIn for finding jobs

Google Sheets for CRM

Loom = create vids, send vid emails to stand out

Cold to Committed = Book to read once hired as an SDR

Hunter.io = find + validate emails

What do people who end up being top performers do well in the first 30 // 60 // 90 days to stand out that those who struggle don’t?

What traits have you seen set top performers apart at (company)?

What pitfalls do people need to avoid in the first 30 days to ensure they onboard successfully?

What do top performers love about (company)?

What made you want to build your career at (company)?

What is the typical growth path of this role; does (company) like to promote internal hires?

Based on our discussion so far, do you have any reservations about me as a candidate?