The Evolution of Sales Development

Not a long time ago in a Silicon Valley not too far away, the sales infrastructure of almost every startup was an immature, undisciplined mess… Until a certain former printer salesman turned up in town…

Lars Nilsson is the Founder and CEO of SalesSource, but you probably know him from his legendary run as the VP of Global Sales Development at Snowflake. To Craig, Lars is, “one of the masters of the universe in sales development and inside sales and business, and clearly very fit.” Lars joins co-hosts Craig Rosenberg and Matt Amundson to discuss how we got to the current state of sales training and enablement in B2B SaaS, why the GTM Engineer role is the next hire you need to make to improve your revenue team, and whether having B2B sales reps roleplay with AI avatars is the way forward or just a waste of time.

Also, Craig relives stories of his past mastication, Producer Sam fights yet another losing battle, and Matt warns everyone that, “ we're going to go deep. We're going deep.”

Critical Takeaways

• Recognize and elevate the Sales Development Representative (SDR) function within the organization. CEOs and senior leaders should regularly acknowledge the impact SDRs have on pipeline generation. Simple acts of recognition can significantly boost team morale and performance.
• Create a systematic process to gather and disseminate insights and customer feedback from the front lines of sales. SDRs interact with numerous prospects daily, and their feedback can inform product development, marketing strategies, and sales tactics. Ensuring this information reaches executive levels can align the organization’s initiatives more closely with market needs.
• Giving your sales team more ‘at-bats’ to practice and hone their craft results in better sellers. Leverage AI-based tools like role-playing bots to enhance SDR training. These tools can provide a scalable, less intimidating way for SDRs to practice their pitches and objection handling. 
• Encourage cross-departmental learning within your org. Facilitate opportunities for SDRs to learn from other teams, such as marketing, operations, and customer success. This cross-training can develop well-rounded employees and ensure smoother transitions when SDRs move into new roles within the company.
• Consistently produce and share content that showcases successful customer stories and product use cases. Having a dedicated resource person, like the retired beat reporter who worked with Lean Data, can ensure continuous content production that drives engagement and educates prospects.
• Encourage a culture where continuous learning and improvement are part of daily operations. Regularly update training programs and technology stacks, and stay abreast of the latest trends and tools in sales and marketing to maintain competitiveness.

Sponsored Segment

~Ringmaster Conversational Marketing - The Transaction is sponsored by Ringmaster, on a mission to create connections through Branded podcasts. Learn more at https://ringmaster.com/

Interested in becoming a sponsor of The Transaction? Contact thetransaction@samguertin.com

Chapters

00:00 - Episode Preview

00:35 - Craig Eats like Cookie Monster

03:13 - Introducing Lars Nilsson, the Founder & CEO of SalesSource and Former VP of Global Sales Development at Snowflake

07:46 - The Genesis of Sales Development in SaaS & How it Expanded on Account-Based Marketing Concepts

13:23 - How Xerox Trained Their B2B Sales Team and What Startups Should Learn from Their Success

21:34 - The Emerging GTM Engineer Role & The Impact Its Having on B2B Sales Teams Using AI Tools

34:59 - Should B2B Startups Try to Replicate the SDR Academy from Snowflake

38:17 - How Startup Leaders Can Elevate the SDR Role & Why They Must Show Their Appreciation for this Critical Function

45:42 - The Importance of AI Roleplaying Tools for Training B2B Salespeople

54:11 - Startups Founders Should Play a More Active Role in Developing Their Go To Market Strategy

Sign up for our Newsletter: https://thetransaction.substack.com/

Epic Quotes

• “ I just think that Snowflake with 300 SDRs today, maybe in two years, they'll have 50. But each one will be able to punch above, like they are five individuals because of all the automation.” - Lars Nilsson
• “ One Go-To-Market engineer today is going to make five SDRs punch like they're 25.” - Lars Nilsson

Connect with Lars

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanilsson/ 
• SalesSource Website: https://salessource.com/ 

Shoutouts

• Stuart Silverman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-silverman-32132/ 
• Jason Lemkin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin/ 
• Karan Singh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karan-singh-29269015/ 
• Travis Henry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisjhenry/ 
• Brendan Short: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendan-short/ 
• Pete Kazanjy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kazanjy/ 
• Jason Vargas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonvargas/ 
• John Barrows: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ 
• Becc Holland: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beccholland-flipthescript/ 
• Hyperbound: https://www.hyperbound.ai/ 
• Ralph Barsi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphbarsi/ 
• Morgan Ingram: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganjingramamp/ 
• Kevin Dorsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kddorsey3/ 
• Trish Bertuzzi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trishbertuzzi/ 
• Scott Barker trying to book a meeting with Avarra’s AI Avatar Role Play: https://youtu.be/90EQSxcIhqc?si=gKDiVmsnadrsk_IY 
• Tavus: https://www.tavus.io/