How to Outperform 99.9% of SDRs

Read time: 4 mins

In a world that wants immediate gratification, all it takes is a long-term mindset and consistent action to outperform 99.9% of people at whatever thing you choose to do.

And the easiest way to follow your long-term path is to lean on a structured, strategic plan.

Here’s how I think about planning for my career:

Everything starts with what impact you want to make and what you want to be remembered for.

You may not know exactly how to get there right now, and that’s okay.

A goal-setting framework will help. And that’s what I’m showing you today.

Today I want you to understand how I transform my big mission of helping 100k SDRs have a successful sales career into daily action steps that move the needle.

Or as the saying goes - how I plan to build Rome, one day at a time.

​
Mission (5+ Years):

First I consider my big goal. My mission. I consider my mission a goal that will (probably) take many years to achieve.

And the cornerstone of my work lies in what impact I truly want to have on the world. What I want to be remembered for.

It might take you a while to work this out but that’s okay. Even if your initial mission changes a few times at least you’re on the journey to working it out.

Mine is that I want to help 100,000 SDRs have successful sales careers, make lots of commission, and enjoy a lifestyle of freedom.

So everything I do is laser-focused on that outcome.

Notice my big hairy audacious goal isn’t a “me” outcome, but rather a “customer” outcome.

Funny enough - when you help others, you generally help yourself. It just takes a little while to become visible.

These 3 questions helped me ‘‘work out my mission’’:

• Who do I want to help?

• What do I want to help them do?

• Why do I want to help them do that?

Clarity around these questions will help you build a strong strategy (Part 2):

​
Strategy (Annual):

Each year, the strategy I set helps me get closer to my ultimate goal of impacting 100,000 SDRs.

I create what are called “BHAGs” (big, hairy, audacious goals). These strategic annual goals inform everything I do over that year.

However, creating a meaningful BHAG takes time and thought. You need to use the right framework to give yourself the best chance for success. I use the SMART goal framework, meaning my strategic goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

For example, hitting my quarterly outbound meetings goal. But what does that mean, exactly?

Let me show you:

• Specific: Hit my quarterly outbound meetings goal by doing 75 non-automated touches every day to ICP accounts only.

• Measurable: Hit my quarterly goal by booking 50 new meetings every month.

• Achievable: Hit my quarterly goals by booking 20 new meetings every month.

• Relevant: Hit my quarterly goals by booking 20 new meetings every month with an attendance rate of 90% to make sure the meetings booked are with the correct people.

• Time-Bound: Hit my quarterly goals by booking 20 new meetings every month with an attendance rate of 90% to make sure the meetings booked are with the correct people. Total of 240 new meetings by December 31st 2024.

I now have a SMART goal I can work against.

Weekly reviews of this goal will show you how you’re tracking (I recommend dedicating 30-45 mins to this).

And make short-term adjustments if you need to. Which is where part 3 comes in.

​
Tactics (Quarterly):

Every new quarter presents an opportunity to review, optimise, and execute tactics that align with my yearly BHAGs.

This section is ALL about being able to identify the top 20% of actions that get you 80% of your results (Paretos Law

For me, I identified four tactics that led to most of my growth:

1. Identify 10 accounts every day I want to prioritise my outreach on

2. Write and send 25 personalized emails Mon-Fri

3. Use the same cold call script

4. Connect with 25 new prospects on LinkedIn every day

Next, I take each of those tactical actions and create quarterly milestones to see how I’m tracking. For example, for tactic #2 above:

• Write and send 1625 personalised emails by April 1st 2024.

It’s simple but having these smaller achievable tactics laid out in a document helps me follow them daily meaning my actions compound and I see the benefit of them over time.

​
Effort (Daily):

Lastly, making it happen every day is really where the magic happens.

This is all about your non-negotiables — your daily commitments to yourself and your mission. KPIs, calling for an hour without stopping, writing 25 personalised emails every single day etc.

Each day is a stepping stone toward achieving the ultimate mission.

Each day gets me one step closer to helping 100,000 SDRs. If I skip steps I get no closer.

This is where my calendar comes in.

Here’s an example of things you’ll find on my calendar:

9:00 am: Cold Call for 1-hour (no breaks) to target account list

10:00 am: Write and Send 25 Personalised Cold Emails to target account list

12:00 pm: Respond to Emails and LinkedIn DMs

12:15 pm: Edit and repurpose one older piece of content that resonated.

1:00pm: Write and Send 20 LinkedIn DMs to target account list

5:00 pm: Reflect on the day, and identify 10 accounts to focus 80% of my attention on tomorrow.

Life happens and this schedule moves around a bit from time to time but if I maintain this 90% of the time I know I’ll win.

It’s the commitment to the monotonous, repetitive, boring tasks that makes the magic happen.

Conclusion:

Outperforming other SDRs isn’t about irregular bursts of motivation or 1-off 350% months. It happens by following a disciplined, structured approach to your work.

You must be relentless in pursuing your big mission, focused on strategizing annually, meticulous in planning quarterly, and committed to showing up daily.

In the world of SDR and Sales, reaching big success is a mix of dreaming big and making step-by-step plans.

As you get going this year, I hope you will use this organized approach to guide you and help you stay motivated and dedicated to your mission.

Good luck for 2024.

PS. I’d love to hear your plans, respond to this email if you’d like to share.

The Cold Call OS (Behind The Scenes):

It’s official. The Cold Call OS will launch January 31st, 2024.

In this section of the newsletter, I’ll share with you a ‘‘behind the scenes’’ view of what has gone into the course including:

1. Why I built ‘‘The Cold Call OS’’

2. Who is the Cold Call OS for

3. How I am pricing the Cold Call OS

4. FAQs

Part 1: Why I built ‘‘The Cold Call OS’’:

1. I believe mastering verbal communication can unlock an incredible sales career. The foundations of mastering those skills start on the phone. If you can master the phone, you can master real-life face-to-face communication. Master that and you can master sales.

    

2. I’ve done >150k Cold Calls. Like anyone who has done something for a long time, I’ve learned a few things along the way. I’d love those learnings to help people accelerate faster.

3. In my experience of working with >600+ SDRs, I don’t believe most people are bad at calling. I believe they are coached badly. I hope this course can give more sellers a single source of truth.

Next week, I’ll cover ‘‘Who The Cold Call OS is for’’.

PS. You can also join my FREE Masterclass on Cold Calling here.

Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you in 2024

—> SDR Leader Bootcamp - Go from SDR Manager to SDR Leader. The next leader bootcamp starts February 5th. Join 50+ others and save your seat here.

—> SDR>AE Skills Bootcamp - Get promoted to AE in 2024. The next bootcamp starts January 22nd. Join 80+ others and save your seat here.