We asked three influencers in the sales development space what it takes for an SDR to get promoted to AE. Here’s are the signs to tell when an SDR is ready to upgrade their role –
Trish Bertuzzi, Author of the Sales Development Playbook –
“First of all, it’s not a matter of tenure. Not everyone is going to have the skills to be moved to an AE. So, you have to have a way to test them and see if they are capable of completing AE tasks that do not form part of those SDR responsibilities.”
“But it’s a two-sided coin. What very few companies have is a program that takes SDR off the phones and gives them skills so that they can learn how to become an AE. That’s stage two of onboarding. There’s a failure rate of 65% when SDRs move to AE because they were not ready.”
B2B Specialist Sales Advisor Javier Llorden –
“Watch the SDR’s conversion rate closing customer deals from their booked meetings, and how they work with different AEs.”
“High win rates usually start with great work from an SDR. Which is typically due to the SDR already doing some of the selling when setting up the meeting. Then, the AE just tips the ball in the basket.”
Kyle Vamvouris, CEO of Vouris –
“In my opinion, it’s time to promote SDR to an AE when they are exceeding all expectations and finding time to learn from the AEs. I give SDRs that are close to transitioning time to learn and prepare, but I view the willingness to learn without sacrificing productivity as an indicator.”
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