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Sales Headhunters Partner with Destiny

Top Tips


15 min:
MUST DO - Max out your connections
  • Your network = your networth
  • Add peers, executives, hiring teams, founders, VCs
  • Use specific industry filters: software development, staffing & recruiting, manufacturing, insurance etc
  • Use the "people connected with" and "people who follow" to use people already in your center of influence, to intentionally grow your community
  • Use boolean strings to use keywords to narrow in on your niche: AND infrastructure/series B startup
  • The same way people find you (Title AND product/service keywords AND stage of org) is how you find them
  • Be sure to dive deep into the executives who add you and look at their connections, if you add enough people and penetrate a certain niche eventually you will show up on the “people to add” section
15 min:
Study - your dream job description, or the job description of your ideal/current buyer
  • Goal is to understand their workflows, success measurements, who they report to and ideally the best way to sell to them for job descriptions of jobs you DESIRE
  • Copy and paste line items and reverse engineer to build out your resume with their language then build out stories around those goals/themes to share
15 min:
List building - Source events, articles, news, podcasts, books and content around your niche or ideal space
  • Use LinkedIn like google, use filters such as posts, courses, events to build more value and relevancy
15 min:
Build credibility - Yearbook
  • Ask and provide recommendations and endorsements
  • Source pictures screenshots of feedback from coworkers, clients, peers, leaders, cross functional teams - add to a word doc called a “brag book or team yearbook”
  • Update notes for resume: how you made the company money, saved money, created something or improved something - bulk up your metrics, activity, success measurements and tools
  • Add to your sales stories list
  • Also good to write: How you are feeling/learning - if you want to be start a biz, lead people or be a consultant these insights will be valuable
15 min:
Post content, engage, comment, like, reshare
  • Failures, fears, insights, learnings, challenges
  • Build relationships and provide value to your community. You won’t regret it
More than 15 min:
Book one networking call per week/month
  • Ask what you can teach them, or what value you can bring to build relevance (pay them, write an article about them, support their content, send them what you are learning)
  • Ask what keeps them up at night at work, their success measurements, where they learn, where they get their news, what events they are attending or hoping to attend, what their best industry (sales) tip is. What was the last sales email they appreciated, why? Goal is to think like them to learn and bring as much value back one day
Apply to one new job a week, or quarter
  • DMs = build relationships
  • Email: how you ask for the sale/meeting
  • Use your sourced news, articles, books and insights as follow ups to teach them something (CRO, CSO, CHO, CTO, VP/sales/talent/people) to show you know how to bring value, and win a meeting/spot on the team
15 min a day life changing tasks

There are 2 aspects of putting your best foot forward with increasing your inbound leads
Step 1 - Getting into the room
  • Getting in the room is half of it, are you even showing up on the report?
  • It takes a “special” type of recruiter to know their “hunting grounds” aka a niche seller who talks to people ALL the time about the places that are good to recruit out of (x company sells into the same buyer, at a similar stage, with commission plans that are always changing (for the worst)
  • Since the best jobs dont run an ad, if you dont show up on a report you (essentially) don’t exist
  • When people talk about “the untapped job market” or “ats friendly fear tactic, buzz word” what they really mean is can the right companies find you (getting into the room) and is it obvious on your linkedin you have what it takes (qualifying yourself)
  • By using speciality keywords (best put at the bottom of your linkedin in the skill section - add saas and or software if it makes sense)
Since linkedin is a search engine, the more visibility you have to be at the top of the search the better (via keywords and a center of influence of peers, execs and founders already connected in this space)

Using keywords: How to find them and add them

If you have worked there, these are your niches
The keywords you should be putting on your linkedin (we suggest bottom of the page) can be found in the “about section” under the “specialities” section of:
  • The companies you have worked at
  • Competitors of the companies you have worked at
  • The people also viewed of the companies you have worked at (most likely)
  • The speciality keywords for the jobs/companies people have pitched you from other cold outbound (there are obviously similarities)
  • The places you want to work (linkedin is a search engine) - you don't have to HAVE worked in an environment to get into the room

    • You can also run a report “account executive, filter: previous company (your old org, competitor or similar) see where they work now and put those speciality keywords (we suggest in the skill section vs the “about me” or as a one line “devops software, series A” before adding numbers and impact examples
Qualifying yourself: Along with the numbers and tone, bullet points to qualify yourself when a recruiter/exec founder has 100 pages open and is going to reach out to the top profiles
Add these (product, service speciality key terms) on your profile to get access to a niche and wider net
3 things in a recruiters boolean
  • Title
  • Specialty keyword
  • Stage of org

    • This is how we find you and how you should find people to build your center of influence with people who can pay you
Step 2 - Qualifying yourself
When sourcing for ideal candidates most people have up 100+ profiles (recruiters, executives, founders)

Like any sales job, we want to start with x profiles and narrow down the “top accounts” to build relationships - 100 profiles open, 50 target accounts, 20 meetings, x hires

If you aren't including recommendations, numbers, social proof/media you may have profile views but don’t get messaged - decreasing your visibility
  • Some question having numbers on their profile for a variety of reasons, then question why they don't get reached out to… if this bothers you, book 1 on 1 consulting and we can talk it out
Even if you AREN’T open to work making sure your linkedin is set up with the right keywords and that you are qualifying yourself will help you be more proactive vs reactive

You “lose” twice not having # and ton in bullet points on your linkedin
  • Top of funnel:
    • When a recruiter (often one of the highest paid sales people in the org) doesn't see you qualified
    • Similar to sales many are not given a chance to get 30 minutes of their time to build their case) so having these details is/can be critical for almost all roles
  • End of Deal:
    • When an exec/founder opens up your profile right before meeting you and starts the call with “why are we here today?” because you haven't qualified yourself
    • Numbers, conversions/persona (predictable math and relevance) and bar raising statements around the impact you had/the tone you use and the “social proof” tied - recommendations, media
How to qualify yourself

Examples of #'s - use bullet points
  • list of things here - need ez copy paste so dont rewrite everything
Linkedin and resume should be about 2 things - numbers & tone

Adding Media - social proof, problem, designed solution, result breakdown - companies want bar raisers

By doing this you will get
  • Access to more jobs
  • Hired faster
  • Hired at the top end of the range
By accessing positions you wouldn't normally see and qualifying yourself early and often

Increase your inbound lead$ Building a center of influence

Job Search Schedule - Active Building a ca$e NOW
Building a case NOW
  • Save speciality keywords you get from niche companies so you can easily copy and paste them into your strings when maxing our your connections
  • Copy and pasting line items from JD's that over sell or are very specific that you can use to reverse engineer to build a better value based resume/linkedin or learn more about the success measurements of your ideal customer (15 min life changing tasks)
  • Links, research and screenshots, talk tracks and resources you can use to “teach” or show in your email outbound to get interviews or in your agendas or post interview follows ups to show you care about the art and science of sales or really understanding your buyer (and how to win meetings and close deals with them)
  • Place to save brag book information and write notes that you can use to build sales stories with (that are great for including in agendas or post interview follow ups to give specifics)
Get out of DM's & start an email thread
Follow up with calls, voice mails, voice notes and intentional follow up

Use tools like Apollo to automate or pull contract data (emails, phone), Apollo also provides daily webinars for more in depth usage
*may need to create a business email to access their free contacts & two free sequences*

Use our resource "10 things to get ahead" to build specific to them messaging
Sequence & Email Ideas
Onboarding checklist - pre-start & beyond

Top 10 tips for getting ahead in your sales interview

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.
Intention & process pays Nurture relationships before, during, and after sales interviews Give value and get noticed No such thing as “too desperate” in an interview - bring value


Sales Interviews

Do extra, get ahead

Be intentional - find the buyer for you

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?
Research do's and don'ts Research tips for sellers by Destiny Writing a drip campaign or prospecting note

You can make a buyer matrix to “show” rather than “tell” for interviews
  • See a few examples on our website here
While companies want people who have experience with this same buyer/icp many are willing to give a candidate without as much a chance (no one gives you an interview for no reason) especially a recruiter who makes $100k-$300k a year

A big reason why people are passed on (at every stage, especially mid to final) is because they dont believe you can sell to that buyer or that you have the predictable pipeline math to get there

By doing some of these “top tips to get ahead” you will show them

Getting a job is matching how someone feels about you to something they can use to champion you

While admin work takes time, do it for jobs you are really excited about

You can even show examples to companies that are similar and say “hey did this for a company I am in talks with, happy to build one specific to you if it warrants the first call, next call”

Companies want people who will do the work and if intentional does NOT come off as desperate. When and where you can use any work you do for a company as template you can send to other orgs in your “templated” search process


Sales Discovery

  • What are generic questions you ask to get a buyer talking?
  • What are specific questions you ask to get a buyer talking to refine need, timeline and budget?
You can use these examples as a great way to get interviews or do extra in the middle of the recruiting life cycle to get them to REALLY see your process

Discovery: Always CLARIFY
  • What made you want to take this call?
  • Can you help me understand
  • Can you walk me through?
  • Talk to me about/tell me about
  • Direct questions like “walk me through or tell me about” will get the ball rolling
  • What are your priorities?
  • What is working for you right now?
  • Why does that work?
  • Is this the only way to do x?
  • How did you/they do that?
  • When did you realize it was time to _______?
  • Why is that important?
  • What do you really want?
  • Why do you think that is?
  • How does that make you feel?
  • Sounds like you care about X I'm curious, what impact could you see by Y
Discovery: Problems
  • “Many of our clients have told us that are having a big issue with ______I don't suppose that surprises you much...” - Charles Muhbauer
  • This makes discovery more of a conversation and gives them an opportunity to say yes or no.
  • What common problems are you having?
  • When did you realize this was a problem?
  • Tell me more about why this is a problem?
  • What solution are you currently using to do that? What’s working?
  • What about your current solution is not working?
Discovery: Solution
  • Have you considered a type of solution for this?
  • What results do you expect from that solution?
  • What do you believe *must be* true of a solution for it to work in your case?"Asking this question:
  • Reveals a buyer's assumptions about their problem
  • Surfaces what your buyer’s already sold on
  • Helps you influence key requirements
  • Lets you challenge their thinking - Nate Nasralla - Fluint.io
  • I think this may make sense__________
  • What is your cell phone number? - Avi Mesh suggest this for getting in touch with your champion
Discovery: Timeline
  • Where do you want X to be by when?
  • What is your timeline for making an investment in fixing this problem? Why not now, and why not later?
More Discovery Examples

Backwards Math Calculator AKA Path to Quota

  • 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

  • Cover letter framework here

  • 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?

AE Planner - Template


AE Planner - Template


Gathering
Receipts

Receipts - Resume


Resumes should be about two things:

Data

  • Activity
  • Conversions
  • What/Where
  • Personas/Places
  • Entry/Exit

Tone

  • Energy the content brings
  • Action verbs you use
  • How you describe yourself
  • Vision
  • Impact

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
Scheduling Link
  • Include a scheduling link to bottom
  • Create a free Calendly
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!
  • 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!
Use these action verbs to describe the impact you've made in your roles
  • Generated
  • Improved
  • Increased
  • Administration
  • Arranged
  • Chaired
  • Coordinated
  • Directed
  • Designed
  • Developed
  • Co-Developed
  • Pioneered
  • Executed
  • Delegated
  • Headed
  • Managed
  • Operated
  • Orchestrated
  • Organized
  • Oversaw
  • Planned
  • Produced
  • Programmed
  • Spearheaded
  • Built
  • Charted
  • Created
  • Tested
  • Designed
  • Developed
  • Devised
  • Founded
  • Engineered
  • Established
  • Formalized
  • Formed
  • Formulated
  • Implemented
  • Incorporated
  • Initiated
  • Institute
  • Introduction
  • Launched
  • Proposed
  • Accelerated
  • Achieved
  • Advanced
  • Amplified
  • Boosted
  • Capitalized
  • Conserved
  • Consolidated
  • Decreased
  • Deducted
  • Delivered
  • Enhanced
  • Expanded
  • Expedited
  • Furthered
  • Gained
  • Improved
  • Increased
  • Lifted
  • Maximized
  • Outpaced
  • Reconciled
  • Reduced
  • Saved
  • Stimulated
  • Sustained
  • Yielded
  • Centralized
  • Clarified
  • Converted
  • Customized
  • Digitized
  • Integrated
  • Merged
  • Modernized
  • Modified
  • Overhauled
  • Redesigned
  • Refined
  • Refocused
  • Rehabilitated
  • Remodeled
  • Reorganized
  • Replaced
  • Restructured
  • Revamped
  • Revitalized
  • Simplified
  • Standardized
  • Streamlined
  • Strengthened
  • Transformed
  • Updated
  • Upgraded
  • Aligned
  • Cultivated
  • Directed
  • Enabled
  • Facilitated
  • Fostered
  • Guided
  • Hired
  • Mentored
  • Mobilized
  • Motivated
  • Recruited
  • Shaped
  • Supervised
  • Taught
  • Trained
  • Unified
  • United
  • Acquired
  • Closed
  • Forged
  • Navigated
  • Negotiated
  • Partnered
  • Pitched
  • Secured
  • Signed
  • Sourced
  • Upsold
  • Advised
  • Advocated
  • Coached
  • Consulted
  • Educated
  • Fielded
  • Informed
  • Recommended
  • Resolved
  • Diagnosed
  • Prescribed
  • Analyzed
  • Assembled
  • Assessed
  • Audited
  • Calculated
  • Compiled
  • Discovered
  • Evaluated
  • Examined
  • Explored
  • Forecasted
  • Identified
  • Interpreted
  • Interviewed
  • Investigated
  • Mapped
  • Measured
  • Modeled
  • Projected
  • Qualified
  • Quantified
  • Reported
  • Surveyed
  • Tested
  • Tracked
  • Visualized
  • Authored
  • Briefed
  • Campaigned
  • Coauthored
  • Composed
  • Conveyed
  • Convinced
  • Corresponded
  • Counseled
  • Critiqued
  • Defined
  • Documented
  • Drafted
  • Edited
  • Illustrated
  • Lobbied
  • Outlined
  • Persuaded
  • Presented
  • Promoted
  • Publicized
  • Reviewed
  • Wrote
  • Adjudicated
  • Authorized
  • Blocked
  • Dispatched
  • Enforced
  • Ensured
  • Inspected
  • Itemized
  • Monitored
  • Screened
  • Scrutinized
  • Verified
  • Attained
  • Completed
  • Demonstrated
  • Finished
  • Earned
  • Exceeded
  • Outperformed
  • Overcame
  • Reached
  • Showcased
  • Succeeded
  • Surpassed
  • Targeted
  • Won

Job Seeker Resume Prompts

Receipts - LinkedIn


Increase Outbound & Conversions


Set up your LinkedIn
Add media to your LinkedIn
Use product keywords

SELL Yourself


  • Change your Headline and use titles like:
    • $100M in revenue generated | Series A/B Account Executive
    • Sales Development Representative - 20+ qualified meetings per month generated
    • 5x Chief Revenue Officer | Influenced $1B in revenue | GTM SaaS

  • Be sure to get as many recommendations as possible, executives, peers, cross functional teams
  • When starting a new job make a “bestie” in every department, ask them questions, teach each other and ask them to write you a recommendation - this can be your SDR team, customer success, product, engineering, talent - give and get proactively
  • When asking people to write you recommendations (proactively or reactivly) make it easy, ask to write a draft for them to approve and FOLLOW up - don’t let your ego get in the way of building social proof of performance before you need it
  • Include “social proof”
    • Images of dashboards, slack messages of coworkers, clients and leaders giving you praise
    • Don't over think the type of “proof” someone is going to want to see before, during and after recruiting you
    • even if you ARENT considering leaving a job now you still want to see the types of positions people are willing to pitch you (intro them to us for (closed) cash if it doesn't serve ya!)
  • Having social proof (no matter how big like a presidents club award or trip pic, or small) can help get more messages to you and convert more leads (when an exec is looking at your profile right before a final)

  • 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

Recruiting Life Cycle Success

Increase your close rate (and comp)


Top 10 tips for putting your best foot forward in a sales/exec interview

Proactive interviewing


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.

  • Add the person you are interviewing with, make your personal invite great
    • “Destiny Brandt sent me, I have influenced $10M in new logo revenue, 150+ dials a day, excited to win a spot on your team at day, time, time zone”

  • 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.

Sending a Pre-Interview Note

The interview starts the moment you apply, and doesn't end for weeks after.

Like the sales cycle, make every interaction count.

Pre-Interview Note Send an Agenda





Examples: Agendas Examples: Sales & Strategy

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.



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!

Answering with research & positioning




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?
  • had two deadlines due on the same day and the result?
  • had a difficult costumer and your steps to resolve their issue
  • had a goal and the steps you had to take to accomplish it?
  • had to recovery quickly/ made a decision that went wrong and your steps to resolve the issue?
  • had to build trust?
  • a conflict with an employee or customer?
  • were creative and innovative?
  • had a hard time collaborating?
  • had a problem and you had to resolve it without a manager?
  • had two competing deadlines and how you handled it?
  • had to work with a decision someone else made that you disagreed with?
  • missed a deadline and how you handled it?
  • 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 to ask

Most questions 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?

Phases of asking value based questions



Asking Value Based Questions
Next Steps

Getting intel & keeping your champions/decision makers close in the interview

  • Get insight into the next call
    • Who is next, what should you prepare for?
    • Does x seem like a good question to ask?
    • What do they like to talk about? Not like to talk about?
    • Should you prepare x (offer something, drip, more examples around your experience building pipeline with limited resources at your current startup?)

  • Can you get their phone #?
    • Like sales, getting access to your champion early and on is critical

  • Ask for feedback but narrow in
    • “Based on the core aspects of (founding) sales roles - prospecting, discovery, needs analysis, pricing and closing (on a plg motion) are there other examples you should provide to her or the next person in the interview cycle to “show” rather than tell in my follow up email before you determine next steps? Or have I built enough trust with you in order to move forward? Either way ill be sending a follow up with more context"

  • Get Access
    • Can you have their #?
    • Like any relationship you dont depend on businesses to tie the loop together, you prefer direct access and insights

  • Self-assign homework and ask for their eyes on it/another time to connect with them
    • Especially if this is a champion, it can be great to get another meeting with them, or if this is your decision maker but they have a bar raiser meeting you next, having the next meeting with both can really put you ahead
    • “Destiny I am going to work on the technical questions I'll be asking your founder if you give me a chance to meet them, can you share with you via email by x? Or write a drip campaign/outbound cadence with how I would target x persona using what I learned from you today. Can you share that with you? No pressure to get back and give feedback or can call you/send you an invite for x (before or after the next call)
    • Or BOTH if you are talking to your direct boss who you feel is really going to champion you (can’t hurt to ask for a prep + debrief essentially so you can win together)
    • Another way of getting another meeting with your champion can be to teach them something in exchange for more time
      • Give an AI prompt
      • Show them how you'd build x
      • the best sellers teach without expecting and if you have things up your sleeve you can teach this can really help stay credible throughout the process and put your best foot forward both in interviewing and with buyers

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.
Value based follow ups The art of the post interview follow up








Interview Cheat Codes - Blake Hudson


Networking Into Your Dream Job


Set up your LinkedIn

Focus on increasing your inbound leads by getting on reports & qualifying yourself
  • Numbers
  • Tone
  • Action words
  • Social proof like media & recommendations
Increase your inbound lead$
Max out your connections

Max out weekly using the same boolean concept of how people find you
  • Founder AND transportation SaaS AND seed stage
  • Audit the execs and peers those people are connected to, to further penetrate a center of influence
Building a center of influence
Grow a niche following

Follow sales creators and like/reshare and respond thoughtful comments and questions, look who they follow

Click the bell icon to be notified & learn from your favorite sales creators when they post.


Adding Connections:
  • Looking up titles like sales development representative or founding account executive and filtering by computer software industry is a good place to start when finding people who are in this same space.
  • Then you can go to the people section and add any VP, head of, founder, or c-suite
  • 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.
  • The more specific you are with product or service keywords the better your inbound
  • Companies don't want to run an ad, they would prefer niche candidates with experience in their industry/ buyer to fall into their lap and you can do that by maxing out connections intentionally!

Some Examples of Sales Leaders we love:

Using product based keywords to find companies, projects and personas

Self Care in Sales




Attachment styles (generalized)

Sales people usually are a combination of anxious and avoidant - anxious when we “need to be” and ability to move on when we “should”

Tons of sales people are secure people and everything in between but as someone who talks to thousands of sales people a year who struggle with the side effects sales, trying to “balance” loving themselves enough to work for the life they want (even through the bad times) but being “unhealed” enough to continue to pick a career that we profit the more we push ourselves (and the self hatred that can come with that) I talk about attachment styles every now and again



Working with your thoughts & emotions

Reframing "negative" thoughts
The 4 R’s of negative belief reframing Negative thoughts: consciously - ideally verbally go through acknowledging the thought and releasing the “power” it has on you:
  • Realize
    • Acknowledge the thought/feeling
  • Refuse
    • "No"
    • My thoughts are my reality, yet I am not this thought
  • Release
    • Emotions are neutral
    • What I am feeling once protected me but no longer serves me in this chapter
  • Rework
    • I am feeling x emotion
    • These thoughts and feelings may be coming up because I’ve been working though x
    • I will continue to be curious about myself & my feelings
    • Being uncomfortable is an opportunity to honor (in a healthy way) and understand myself and so I can ask people I love for what I need


How to provide It’s Destiny Recruiting with leads that get you PAID
Lean on your network
Are you connected with any earlier stage founders?

It is FREE for them to interview

If they hire and pay – we will comp you within 15 days of the candidates start *our net terms*
Post Content
An obvious one

If you like working with us (or trust us) post, and anyone that comes to us or is intro’d via you (ideally earlier stage, but also open to smaller companies of less than 200), we will comp you as soon as invoice processes.
Turn a loss into a win
When you are interviewing, turn a rejection into an introduction

Jobs you turn down, companies that go in another diection
Play both sides
Establish the relationship (b2b) as an IDR advisor (selling our constituency services) and see if they recruit you because of your sales skills giving you the upper hand

They hire you and then you get comp’d for the 1st placement we make after you are hired
If given leads
If you spoke to an earlier stage founder who works with another “staffing” agency but you know our process is better

This is NOT our ideal referral (as we have a good track record of picking up new accounts other agencies are NOT working on) but are open to selective introduction
Starting a business on paper is easy (5 steps)
*you can work 1099 without a LLC but if you want to start growing your own biz, this is how*
Get your receipts
Forming your LLC
  • Limited Liability Co
    • This essentially is your document that you have a business and the first step to getting a bank account to collect invoices!
  • Boring stuff that will come up getting this document
    • Tax Classifications & Registered Agents
      • When going through any method for obtaining your LLC you will need to decide how you will classify for taxes
      • If you utilize option 1 or 2 these services will help you with a bit more $ up front, but little effort beyond basic research.
      • If utilizing option 3 then you can become your own registered agent you just need a physical address in the state for legal documents to be sent. Easy enough.
    • Tax Classifications
      • Sole Proprietorship/Partnership - all revenue is taxed as personal income
      • S Corp - pay yourself a salary and that salary is taxed as personal income instead of all revenue
      • C Corp - additional option
Receipt #1
Business License/Articles of Incorporation
  • LLC - Option 1 - LegalZoom
    • LegalZoom is a good option if you want step by step instructions & filing reminders
    • IDR used this option to start as it was a helpful step by step at first
    • Think TurboTax for business incorporation
    • Cost: $200/yr
      • Additional $100+ for registered agent services - essentially your attorney in your state for paperwork
  • LLC - Option 2 - Hire an attorney
    • Cost: $500 - $1,000
  • LLC - Option 3 - DIY
    • Manually file documents & apply for a business license on governemtn website
    • Cost: $50
      • Will require a little more research & management
Receipt #2
Taxes
  • Once your LLC is approved you will get an EIN (Employer ID #) or your TAX ID (like a social security for your biz)
  • You'll take that to open a business bank account
Receipt #3
Bank Account
  • Take your EIN to the bank or credit union
  • Open bank account
  • Everything for your business goes on that account so it can be tracked and categorized
  • Link to an accounting software or work with a small business accountant
Receipt #4
Accounting, Invoicing & Collecting $ Financial Logs
  • My recommendations:
    • You can outsource your accounting someone who can manage everything for you ($250-$500 month) someone like the person above even then they would have you use a software most likely QuickBooks
  • Cost: $50/mo
  • Reminders/organization
  • Expense logging
  • Invoices/payment processing
  • Payroll
Receipt #4
Contract$
  • PandaDoc is the best and what we use create, send & track contacts
  • Hiring W2 employees
    • If you hire w2 employees you'll need a registered agent, business license, and various state tax accounts in every state you employ and pay people in
    • Essentially starting a new business in every state. Scale wisely. It's a lot.

If you can dream it you can do it!

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