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Putting Your Best Foot Forward

Your IDR Recruiter is here to Coach you for success.
Our goal is to place you with an inclusive and established employer client of ours that gives you growth, stability, benefits, challenge and pays top dollar. Your Recruiter may encourage you to do some homework to get ahead Including:

Unfortunately, most people don’t start writing a resume until they need one. The best time to start building your resume is every time you learn, grow, and win in your position. In sales you will have a lot of wins and learn a LOT. Keep a resume/career success journal! Every week write down your success, and progress. This will help with writing your resume. Be proactive with selling yourself & get off of using the same Word document you have been editing repeatedly for years. If you are starting over now: You got this!

What to Do

Contact Info:

  • Resume should always match your LinkedIn
  • Add your Linkedin URL
  • All contact information should be on your resume
  • Make sure your phone has voicemail set up, and that you check it
  • Create a professional email signature for email responses on desktop & mobile (no “Get Outlook on iOS”)
  • Email Signature: Steve Irwin - Your Future SDR + Contact & Linkedin

Formatting is KEY:

  • Make sure your font is identical and the sizing is consistent
  • Spacing stays the same and is not awkward
  • No unnecessary additional pages or spaces - especially blank ones at the end
  • Date formats should stay the same for every role
  • Make sure if any positions were contract, or the company did layoffs, that you illustrate that
  • Paragraph vs. Bullet Points:
    • Avoid harder to read paragraph style resumes
    • Focus on Targeted bullet points based on the job description
  • Template: Google Docs is a great place to start with templates:
    • Find one where you can list your skill sets at the top such as software used, fundraising, cold calling, or any transferable skill sets:
    • Sample resume template here.
  • Always edit, then edit again - Use Grammarly, get a few sets of eyes on it
  • Save as a PDF (with your full name and title) helps with formatting transfer and makes sure the resume looks the same for anyone who opens it

Value You Bring:

  • Clear examples of how you:
    • MADE your company money
    • SAVED them money
    • IMPROVED something while there
  • Focus:
    • Metrics, activity, acomplishments
    • Use numbers and % as much as possible
  • Clear examples, quantify your activities:
    • Range, frequency, scale
  • Use ACTION $tatements:
    • Generated, expanded, accelerated, maximized, analyzed, forecasted, persuaded, streamlined, acquired, secured, negotiated, etc
  • Headline on resume & Linkedin:
    • Manifest the job you want in your headline
    • “Hungry Sales Development Rep HUNGRY to exceed quota”
  • Use Key Words from the job description and start owning every aspect the moment you write it on your resume. There is a lot to learn on the internet!
What Not to Do
  • Give your full address
  • Put your photo on your resume
  • Paragraph Style - you want CLEAR bullet points that are easy to read
  • Fluff & filler: 10-15 years’ experience is too much paper
  • There is nothing wrong with a 2-page resume - If the experience is relevant list it!

Being organized in sales is everything, and list building is crucial for keeping organization. From looking for a job, to building out a prospecting list of potential leads, to keeping track of past and future outreach; list building can help you reach your goals.


Example Lead List Template



  • Who are you selling to?
  • Why did you pick that decision maker?
  • If you could email them today- what would you send? What problems are you solving?

  • Rule #1: Don’t be boring- how will you grab their attention and scream “I WILL DRIVE REVENUE?”
  • Rule #2: This is a SALES Message
  • What hard skills do you have? What soft skills make you a great sales rep?
  • What experience you have selling into that market/decision maker/ territory or solving that problem? Or bringing in revenue to your company through outbound?
  • Do you have experience with their tech stacks? How will you learn this language/tool?
  • What about their product/tool/culture/problems they solve stood out and make you want to sell for them?
  • Why is this not just another application to you? Experience crushing a $1M quota? Showing Grit? WHY YOU?
  • Have you worked remote and stayed ahead of quota? How will you manage your time doing outbound and setting a high volume of meetings?
  • Close the deal by asking for the interview with your availability

  • What you will do to prepare for starting- what books will you read, materials will you study, homework you will do?
  • How will you create your prospecting lists?
  • Who will you contact/ why?
  • How will you grow that territory?
  • How will you get street cred and set meetings with that buyer?
  • How are you going to stay curious, research and get ahead of the pack to be a top performer?
  • How will you conduct discovery and demo in this space?
  • How will you grow in this role, stay organized and keep metrics high? how will you be intentional with time and energy?
  • How will you become a top performer, culture add and value resource?

Acing your first interview

Prepare for the interview

Put your best foot forward and win an offer you are proud of by thoroughly preparing before the interview!

  • Create an account for the platform you are interviewing through using your full name as your username.
  • Dress to Impress, practice good body language (smile, sit up straight, speak clearly, and make eye contact. Remember, confidence is key!
  • Have sticky notes with your questions and notes visible to you.
  • Have a notepad and pen ready to take notes.
  • Have your resume visible so you can reference sections the interviewer might ask about.

This is a summary of your highlights: Education, related work experience, and three or more skill sets required for the position.

What are they really asking is "Tell me about yourself and why you are here today. Loop it back to the position you are applying for."

DO YOUR HOMEWORK! THIS IS A PITCH! Do not just read off their website and repeat what you see.

This is you selling them how much you have learned and why you want to work there. COMPLIMENT THEM! Look at their website, YouTube, LinkedIn you name it. BE EXCITED!

This is where you make the connections between your experience and the requirements of the roles. Focus on your metrics, activity, accomplishments and how you made your company money, saved them money or improved something while you were there. Be sure to mention anything on the JD that is a requirement and why you have a track record of success doing that skill.

ALWAYS BE POSITIVE AND SOLUTIONS ORIENTED - What did you learn and what did you take away that will help you be successful in this role.

Response Example: Based on my research someone with 2 to 4 years of experience there would be a range of $50-$60k. I have x years of experience doing xyz (key points in the job description like selling into your market, solving problems, customer service exceeding quota, so on) I would hope to be on (mid-range- high range) of that. I would be eager to receive your best offer and can start as early as Monday. I know I have a lot to bring to the table and I cannot wait to be an asset to your team and work as hard as possible to make you proud

Use STARLT Method:

  • S - Situation
  • T - Task
  • A - Action
  • R - Result
  • L - Lesson
  • T - Take Away

Types of behavioral/situation questions you might hear:

  • Tell me about a time you had an opinion and acted on it but it ended up being wrong?
  • Tell me about a time you had two deadlines due on the same day and the result?
  • Tell me about a time you had a difficult costumer and your steps to resolve their issue
  • Tell me about a time you had a goal and the steps you had to take to accomplish it?
  • Tell me about a time you had to recovery quickly/ made a decision that went wrong and your steps to resolve the issue?
  • Tell me about a time you had to build trust?
  • Tell me about a time I had a conflict with an employee or customer?
  • Tell me about a time you were creative and innovative?
  • What is the hardest thing about collaborating with you?
  • Tell me about a time that you had a problem and you had to resolve it without a manager?
  • Tell me about a time you had two competing deadlines and how you handled it?
  • Tell me about a time you had to work with a decision someone else made that you disagreed with?
  • Tell me about a time you missed a deadline and how you handled it?
  • Tell me about a time you closed a deal you thought wouldn’t close?

  • I am working on obtaining bachelor’s from Carey School of Business with a business Management Degree.
  • Currently I have a 3.9 GPA and am involved in Sales Career Mixers and am a Fleischer’s Scholar
  • I am also working on completing a professional training program through Ramped. This program is preparing me to be a technical and reliable $ales development rep.
  • We have learned cold calling, prospecting and how to write a strong prospecting email • I am excited to get a more in depth understanding of buyers through discovery work
  • I am confident that I can set a high volume of meetings for my account executives.
  • picking up tech stacks like salesforce, and HubSpot have been a breeze as I consider myself pretty tech savvy
  • I know that sales specifically the SDR position is one of the hardest jobs out there, and I want you to know I can work full time despite the work I am putting into my education
  • My goal is to be the hardest working person on your sales team. I will come early, stay late. Do as much research as possible to have a strong ramp up period.
  • Throughout my career I have worked positions in customer service, data entry and marketing coordination that has prepared me to handle the challenges of the sales cycle.
  • Objection handling, sense of urgency and having a strong follow up game.
  • I am competitive, money motivated and curious.
  • I only want to be in tech sales, and I am ready to put in the work to meet my professional and financial goals.
  • Thank you so much for meeting with me today, I am looking forward to getting to know you and winning a spot on your SDR team.

  • I Graduated with Bachelor of Science from University of Wisconsin.
  • I am eager to be a SDR at x
  • I comfortable and confident with heavy outbound.
  • I average 80 cold calls a day ad 70 emails. I am a true hunter who is competitive, money motivated and ready to sell into your buyer at x
  • I am looking for an opportunity to make an impact on a small team where I can grow. This job as a SDR workly remotely seems perfect!
  • I have been in sales and relationship focused positions for 1 and a half years and I am eager for a true new logo heavy outbound role
  • I am confident I can set appointments with marketing and product development decision makers. I am determined, consistent, strategic, and hungry for success.
  • I am excited to drive revenue and work hard.
  • I am a curious problem solver who is always looking for ways to help people. Whether that is coaching and guiding someone through a challenging time or providing a solution that can improve the workflow of an organization, I enjoy delivering value that focuses on the recipients.
  • That is the reason I entered sales. I am an entrepreneur at heart who enjoys challenges that help me grow as a salesperson, and technology consultant. Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me NAME OF INTEVIEWER

  • I graduated from x university where I received a degree in business
  • Growing up I was heavily involved in sports, speech and debate and had several customer service and support positions to pay bills while I got my degree
  • These positions taught me the value of customer obsession, grit, showing up and playing to win with every shift
  • Throughout my 3 years in sales as a mid-market corporate AE, I have mastered tech stocks such as HubSpot, sales nav, Gong and Outreach.
  • In my most recent role I am 100% of quota, and consistently meet metric and outbound requirements
  • Recently I have developed a huge curiosity around sequencing and study outreach and cadence results on my off time to perfect my craft and get good at automation.
  • I would say that I am a nurture-based seller who can connect with my VP level decision makes through cold calling, a strong personalized email and even a funny gif or meme to get noticed and break through the noise
  • Follow up, high metrics and a high volume of research has helped me become a top performer in my current role and I am excited to bring that to my next position at X
  • Currently my deal size is around $30k with a 60+ day sales cycle.
  • This position seems ideal for me based on similar decision makers and sales Lifecyle.
  • I motivated to be one of the best hires you make this year and win this offer
  • Thank you Jen for meeting with me today, I am looking forward to getting to know your sales leadership style and being a top performer in this role

Questions you should ask

Most Question are fair game, but are they getting the employer more excited about you doing the job? Tailor your questions depending on who you are speaking to, some questions are better for HR while others are better for managers you will report directly to. Here are some examples of strong quedtions:

  • What does success in this role look like?
  • Tell me about the best person you have ever hired for this position? What do they do that works?
  • What are the top qualities you look for in someone when filling this position?
  • What is your leadership style like and what is the best way to come with you with questions, support or ideas on how to grow the business?
  • Has anyone ever failed in this position? What can I do to not make their same mistakes?
  • How many people have you interviewed for this position and what has been missing that I can be sure to cover for you? SMILE!
  • What is not on the job description that will help me go above and beyond on this role?
  • What challenges does this company face that I can help with in my position?
  • If I wanted to get set up for success in the first 30 days what are things I can be doing day 1?
  • What books, resources or podcasts can I study so I can hit the ground running in this job?
  • What is the biggest objection I will face and the best way to overcome that objection?

Next Steps

Show the employer that you have the ability to close a deal by asking for and solidifying next steps! End the interview stong by completeing these tasks:

  • Ask to schedule any follow up interviews before the end of the interview.
  • Make sure you have the email address of the interviewer(s) so that you can send a follow up messsage
  • If you have not already, make sure you follow and connect with any and all decision makers via LinkedIn

Show the employer you have interest in continuing the interview process by trying to set another meeting. This approach can also show them that you can close the deal and ask for the sale/Next step in the interview (or sales) cycle. Before you Close, be mindful of the last 6-8 minutes of the call. That is the “Closing Time” So you want to naturally want to approach the close- vs having an awkward or forced end.

When asking questions, and closing an interview show a huge amount of curiosity, by answering questions with another genuine question, naturally introducing the close. Interview Closing Examples:

  • “I would really enjoy continuing the conversation about your X role and can be available to speak again at xyz time. Is there any way you can help me coordinate the next steps in the process or should I reach out to my recruiter at IDR?”
  • “What do next steps from here look like? I am so eager to learn more and add value to this organization by setting a high volume of meetings and driving revenue!”
  • “What is the overall goal of this call, and can I provide you anymore information regarding my track record of success or background to help you feel confident in moving me along in this interview process?”
  • “I bet you have talked to a decent number of candidates to fill this and similar roles. At this stage in your interviewing what has been missing in the candidates? Is there anything about my sales background that I can highlight to make sure I am covering any gaps? My goal is to make you feel confident enough in me as a seller and culture add so you are willing to invite me to next steps so I can win an offer on your team!”
  • “Have I earned your YES to move on to the next interview or are there gaps I can sell you on to make you feel proud to move me forward?”
  • “Is there any reason why you would not take me on to next steps? I would love your support going forward and continue to add enough value in this process to show I am a top performer and someone who can sell into your buyer. I want to work here so any advice you have for me would be really appreciated! That is if you are comfortable to share any areas for improvement or insights from your view. (be careful asking this to HR/recruiters as they do not usually like overly direct questions- this question should be saved for a Sales Leader)
  • Don’t forget to send them an 11/10 follow up message

Follow up with a message

A good follow up message can make you stand out and shows that you are excited for the role!

  • Make sure this follow up is in the body of an email. Do not make as an attachment.
  • Have someone read over the message to check for any grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors.
  • If you were unable to set up next steps at the end of the interview, include your availability in the last section of the message. .

Networking Into Your Dream Job

Gathering Receipts & Optimization:

Manifest Your DREAM Job:

  • Change your Headline: Use a Title like “SDR who is Hungry for Success” or “SDR trying to break into SaaS” or “Sales Development Representative ready to start my b2b Sales Career!”

Get Receipts:

  • Get tech stack certifications. See our resources on how to gather your tech stack receipts.
  • Be sure to put these as endorsements on your LinkedIn (link to tech stack certifications)

Optimize Your Linkedin:

  • Jobs: Focus on bullet points under each job of how you made your company money, saved them money, improved processes, did fundraising or influenced and persuaded a buyer- quantify your experience with as many #s as possible.
  • About Me: Selling your story and write an impactful “about me”: Write a compelling about me that talks about your hard skills, soft skills and understanding of what it takes to be in in a revenue focused position. Show your ability to connect your career story with transferable skill sets. Story telling is great sales skill set!
  • Skill Sets: Understand transferable skill sets

Grow a Niche LinkedIn Community

Social Selling:

  • Follow sales leaders in SaaS. Get obsessed with becoming a strong SaaS Seller by following sales leaders on LinkedIn.

Adding Connections:

  • Looking up titles like sales development representative and filtering by computer software industry is a good place to start when finding people who are in this same space.
  • If you want to follow people who are active on LinkedIn look at their activity section or type in #SDR or other hashtags and you can filter by all for content and creators.

Some Examples of Sales Leaders we love:

LinkedIn Networking 101: Give More Than You Take

Use the “Value for Value” approach:

  • Do not ask anyone for favors or 5 minutes of their time. Find ways to add value before you ask for a referral or favor.
  • Do not be transactional and do not sell to people here without an established familiarity.

Provide insights:

  • Set up your LinkedIn to provide insights of who you are and why you are badass.
  • Focus on how you made your company money, saved them money, or improved something. oAsk for and build your recommendations with past employers, clients, and peers. You will never make the sale if you do not ask for it.
  • Make sure your endorsements have key skills required for the space you are servicing or trying to get into. oHave a catchy about me that gets someone excited about WHO you are and why you are good at what you do. Use data whenever possible.

Grow your network by 40 people a week:

  • Block out 1 hour to do this. Specifically target individuals in the space you wish to serve or grow your connections.
  • Personalize the invites, reading their activity section and engage on those posts before and after you send an invite. Who you add depends on your goals, but for career moves - peers, internal or niche agency recruiters, hiring managers, and leaders.

Engage with your community:

  • Block off 30 minutes a day to engage with the community you wish to be a part of or add value to.
  • Provide meaningful comments that show your knowledge, passion, curiosity or understanding of the content they write. Add likeminded individuals who engage with your comments.

Join groups:

  • Women in Sales Club, RevOps Co-op and re:work training and excellent micro communities that are so helpful. Network here consistently.
  • At least 1 day a week and find ways to give as much as you take. They act like family!

Write one piece of content every 48 hours:

  • Have a list of key points that come up within the community engagement you are a part of.
  • People who write content consistently almost make it look easy, and it can be. The reality of it is, is that you have value to provide to these communities if you are fully immersed in the space, you are a part of or are trying to serve.
  • Talk about your wins, your failures, what you are learning, the problems you solve in the space you are in, your journey to get there. Your hopes and your dreams. Do not overthink it. You are enough.

Obsess over the space:

  • Read books, listen to podcasts. We love 30 Minutes to President's Club.
  • Develop a deeper understanding, and how to be the best.
  • If your goal is to level up in your career it is just as much about what you know, as who you know. Click to our books/podcasts

Build genuine relationships with the community:

  • Following up is the most organic way to build a relationship. Use video messaging tools to build rapport.
  • Recommend on LinkedIn those that have added value to you, endorse those that are doing a great job.
  • Do not be transactional. You belong here, don't worry!

Engagement & Networking:

  • Pro-Tip: Tag your ideal clients, decision makers or reps you are trying to build a relationship with to fuel the conversation
  • Creating an “Ideal and sales leaders you want to work for” list: Get a spreadsheet and create a list you will use for follow ups and networking
  • Pro-Tip: Follow brands and sales hiring leaders you want to work with closely, resharing, commenting, thoughtful responses (not interested!), congratulating them on the growth
  • Tag experts for their insights to keep comments flowing
  • Comment back to comments left on your posts – this helps with visibility
  • Like/share/engagement/comment on your ideal sales leader and company posts - that way outbound will already have the established familiarity!

Hashtags to use to build engagement

  • #SaaS
  • #SaaSSales
  • #SDRforHire
  • #HungrySDR
  • #SalesDevelopmentRepresen tative
  • #SalesDevelopment
  • #GrowthMindset
  • #SoftwareSales
  • #SDR
  • #NewLogoHunter
  • #WomenInSaaS
  • #WomenInSales
  • #DiversityInSales
  • #HireMe
  • #NewBusinessDevelopment

Post Content: Building Your Personal Brand

The age of social media and social selling is in full force. Building your own personal brand, especially in a niche and intentional way, will bring big results. They say it isn’t about what you know, but who you know and that can be 50% true in SaaS!

  • Treat posting content and engaging on LinkedIn like a part time job. The more you learn about what it takes to be in these rules, the more you should post.
  • Post one piece of content per week with hashtags. Talk about your transferable skill sets in sales, your first sales job, why you think you would make a great SDR!
  • Ask questions like best cold call tips, the best ways to overcome objections as a SDR.
  • The more content you write about sales, your personal experience getting into this space and your personality the more awareness sales leaders will have to your page.

Content 101

  • Be real - be genuine, be yourself. You are enough
  • Post about your failures, your fears, your hopes, your dreams, your career story!

Personal & Development Post Ideas

Personal stories:

  • About your career and what lead you to want to become an SDR/SaaS
    • sales rep?
  • About interviews or jobs you have had that have prepared you for a career in sales.

Personal Development:

  • What hard and soft skills have you developed since you got into a sales/revenue focused/outbound role?

Growth:

  • Post updates on this growth!
  • What are you learning, what emotions are coming?
  • What is your plan to master your craft in the future? How are you failing at this?

Lessons:

  • What 1% improvement did you make to your sales or interview process this week?
  • Speaking to the community about the problems we all have, such as being intentional with your schedule, prioritizing outbound, researching, preparation.
  • People want to learn from your growth and grit!

Pitching Yourself After Applying

1. Partner with an IDR recruiter

  • Find your Recruiter
  • Find an Opening

2. Find job openings

  • By Searching “Sales Development Representative” in LinkedIn. Filter it by remote or your location. Use the other filters section to click “computer software” as an industry if you want to stay in SaaS

3. Connection request

  • Send a personalized invite request to the person who owns the job posting on LinkedIn if there is one

4. Follow company page

  • Follow the company page and go to the “people section”

5. Continue connecting

  • You will want to send a connection request to anyone who would have hiring authority in the sales space. Those are your decision makers.
      • Decision Makers
    • SDR Team Lead & SDR Manager
    • Director, Sales Development & VP of Sales
    • Sales Recruiter & Head of Talent
    • HR Manager or the person who posted the SDR role on Linkedin

6. Know your audience

  • Add & follow these decision makers for sales & community Tips.
  • Knowing your audience will help you understand more about what it takes to be successful. Manifest your dream company and get credibility in this space.

7. Pitch yourself!

  • When a decision maker adds you back, be prepared to PITCH yourself to land an interview. Click here for a template that works
    Hey Jim,

    Super cool what Seamless.AI is doing to hire remote SDRs all around the country! I bet you get a lot of diverse talent applying. I hope to be your next top performing SDR hire. Went ahead and applied to the open req. Wanted to share with you what I bring to the table:
    • University Graduate- bachelor’s in business and Administration
    • Currently taking a Salesforce Certification – I pick on tech stacks quickly!
    • Comfortable doing 100 outbound cold call dials per day & 200 personalized messages via LinkedIn *I love prospecting! Did a lot of outbound in my fundraising days and sales internship*
    • Consistently 150% of quota in my sales internship- hungry for my next challenge and want a long term to fit with a company I can grow with for many years. Ready to put in the work, metrics and grit to make it happen.

    I am curious and excited about selling into sales leaders and learn more about your product, the solutions you offer, and the impact i'll make setting meets as a SDR. I am available Friday at 2 PM pacific. Are you available for an interview so I can win a spot on your team?

    Destiny Brandt
    Seamless.AI SDR
    206-420-6969
    Attach your resume