What distinguishes good salesmen from outstanding salespeople? Let’s be honest: it’s not likely their CRM skills or the number of prospecting emails they send each day. Those abilities and activities are valuable, but they aren’t enough to complete transactions.
Soft Skills are the key differentiators in sales reps who hit their team’s sales targets quarter after quarter. These skills define a salesperson’s ability to develop relationships, facilitate fruitful dialogue, and provide a great customer experience. Let’s take a look at some soft skills an outbound sales development representative must have to outperform, but before that, let’s understand what Outbound Sales Development is.
What is Outbound Sales Development?
Outbound sales development is the process through which sales representatives use sales channels like an outbound sales call to reach potential buyers. Additionally, the idea of outbound sales is to initiate an engagement with prospective buyers and sell a product or service to the individual. Note that it is the opposite of inbound sales, in which the buyer initiates the conversation.
Outbound sales representatives need to practice cold calling. They typically call given leads on a list, which includes people who previously showed interest or made a demand with the brand’s content by filling out a form, making a call, or emailing your business.
Who are Sales Development Representatives?
Simply, an inside sales professional who prioritizes marketing, prospecting, and lead qualifying is known as a sales development representative (SDR). Lead qualification is the first step in the sales process, and it belongs to SDRs.
The type of salesperson who’s proficient in reporting to a manager within a company’s sales department is known as SDR. The sales team’s closers must qualify leads, interact with and enlighten prospects, and collect data on potential customers before they can pass on leads to them.
In summary, they transfer leads via the sales funnel. Typically, they are the first to contact the prospect, learn about their needs, and determine whether the lead qualifies and needs to be handed to the sales department.
Role of Outbound Sales Development Representative
Similar to a consultant, a sales development representative (SDR) actively listens to prospects and offers the most beneficial conceivable answer. SDRs comprehend the business model of the prospect; identify whether your product is a suitable fit; and inform leads about how your solution may improve their company.
Each organization defines what a sales development representative (SDR) does differently. But primarily, the role of an SDR is twofold – inbound and outbound sales prospecting.
Inbound sales prospecting – Nurture leads who have shown interest in your offering and have interacted with your business via its marketing platforms.
Outbound sales prospecting – Engage in cold prospecting, or reaching out to potential clients who are unfamiliar with your company’s product or service.
For more better understanding of SDR’s role;
- Locate, evaluate, and approach new customers.
- Initiate and send out more phone calls and emails.
- Schedule worthwhile appointments and meetings.
Must have Soft Skills for Outbound Sales Development Representative
Becoming a successful outbound sales development representative is no easy task. You need several skills to help you turn leads into buyers. Here are some soft skills that you need to master to excel in your performance.
1. Active Listening
It’s critical to demonstrate active listening abilities as an outbound sales development representative. This is especially crucial when conversing on the phone because the client can’t see your body language or eye contact.
Active listening, which entails understanding your clients’ requirements and displaying that you actually care about them, will also aid in the development of rapport.
2. Up-to-Date Outbound Communication
Working as an outbound sales development representative necessitates excellent verbal and written communication abilities. This is primarily due to the fact that you will be conversing with clients and pitching your goods to them over the phone. Your ability to communicate effectively will significantly impact whether or not you make a sale. You’ll almost certainly have to write notes or referrals.
Building relationships with clients and coworkers is critical in an outbound sales representative profession. Remember that the first impression you make on your clients will impact how they perceive your organization and its brand.
3. Empathy towards Customers
A mediocre outbound salesperson can become a stellar outbound sales development performer by putting themselves in their prospect’s shoes. Once you’ve figured out what your prospects are thinking and feeling, you can tailor your messaging to their pain points and motives. You’ll also be able to tell when to push and when to back off.
Furthermore, demonstrating that you are on the buyer’s side helps you avoid the stereotype of the aggressive salesperson who is just concerned with their quota.
4. Helpful Approach for Customers
Selling involves listening to what clients need and then offering your goods or services as an appropriate choice. It’s not just about selling them what they want.
A superb sales development representative prioritizes listening to the prospect above selling, a mistake that many sales professionals make. This entails listening to the customer’s challenges and aspirations, posing more questions than answers, and expressing your understanding of what the prospect is seeking.
Successful Selling is now about Stopping Selling and Starting Helping. You need to take a helpful approach to the client to make them believe that you are not merely selling your product. Outbound Sales Development representatives must understand the customer’s problem before selling their service or product.
You can ask the client several questions so they can share their concern with you. This will show them that you are trying to help them and might offer something that can benefit them. As a result, they will not just hang up on you but try to build a proper conversation with you.
5. Problem Solving Attitude
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills are essential in your work as an outbound sales development representative. You must be able to adjust to a variety of scenarios or challenges as they arise without sacrificing the quality of your job. Make sure you’re open to fresh ideas and ready to apply them when the time comes.
6. Organized Approach toward Outbound Sales
It’s critical to have solid organizing skills if you’re managing a large number of accounts. You’re less likely to forget about a client or customer if you’re well-organized. Being structured in this capacity will also help you to feel less stressed.
You also need to prioritize day-to-day tasks so that you can assign importance to work as necessary. Taking an organized approach to your outbound sales development tasks will help you have better interactions with prospects.
7. Resilience & Coachability
SDRs must be trustworthy, resilient, and constant. They must be persistent in following up with potential customers who express interest in their company, resilient in bouncing back from rejection or opposition, and constant in terms of their attitude, offer, and development of relationships.
Sustaining a positive outlook in the face of rejection and challenges, stubbornly following leads with resilience.
8. Handling objections proactively
Many prospects might have hesitations, concerns, and objections regarding your offer. Defending goals is a component of an SDR’s job, ranging from “It’s too expensive” to “It’s just not the right time for us” to “My friend can do it cheaper.”
However, a skilled sales development representative will be able to identify these concerns and respond clearly, highlighting how the offer may assist the prospect in overcoming their most pressing obstacles.
Take Advantage: Enhance Your SDR Skills Now
Learn how to capitalize on sales automation technologies for greater productivity and simplify your workflow to stay on top of rivals. SDR performance and efficacy may be greatly improved through the use of a sales dialer, which automates and simplifies the calling process. Sales representatives can dedicate more of their time to communicating and less time to administrative tasks when they utilize sales dialers, which lessens the need for them to dial numbers manually.
Find out how to use sales engagement and customer relationship management (CRM) tools to track leads and handle customer interactions efficiently!
Sales development representatives can significantly upgrade their skill set by using a sales dialer to raise productivity, improve call quality, maintain persistent follow-ups, and refine communication skills.
Bottom Line
Outbound sales development representatives need to have the ability to grab the minds of the prospects and encourage them to stay on the call. The more time you will communicating with the potential client, the more chances you have to sell the product. But for that, you need to use soft skills that can encourage buyers to understand your business and product. To know more about what soft skills can help you excel in your outbound sale development with the right combination of outbound sales dialers, connect with us at support@leadsrain.com or schedule a demo now to get started.