SDR: the key element between Marketing & Sales
Job descriptions are never fixed, they evolve over time and with the people who occupy these positions. So to be as close as possible to the different missions for which we recruit at PayFit, we are launching a series of interviews to share with you the daily life of each employee. How do SDRs work, what is the role of Payroll Experts, what does our Legal Advisor do on a daily basis?
For this first edition, I interviewed Marie Boyé and Malo Beaudouin who share their experience as Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) at PayFit.
What was your background before joining PayFit?
Marie: I have a fairly classic business school background: after a 3-year Bachelor’s degree at Toulouse Business School, I continued with a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship at Skema. During my studies, I did several internships in small “digital-oriented” structures that attracted me more than larger groups.
From the first year of my Master’s degree, I had my first commercial experience, joining the Sales team of a German company based in Berlin. At the end of my studies, I joined PayFit, mainly because I liked the high technicality of the product and the hyper-growth of the company.
Malo: I started my studies with a BTS MUC (Business Unit Management) which I completed with a master’s degree from Huddersfield University in England.
After several experiences abroad during my studies, I worked part-time in a business centre on the company side. It made me realise one thing: big groups are not for me! So I took several gap months in Asia with my backpack as my only company.
Back in France, I joined a startup company, Bird Office, which is a platform for renting and booking meeting rooms and seminars. I worked there for a year as a Business Developer, which was a very good experience. I then joined PayFit because I wanted to work for a company that is revolutionising its market. With its SaaS payroll software that differs from traditional solutions, PayFit was the ideal choice.
What is your role at PayFit?
Malo: We can say that we are “pre-Sales”. In a simple system, the sales representative calls, approaches potential customers and makes a commercial proposal: he manages the entire sales cycle.
At PayFit, we have divided this role into two parts: SDRs and Sales.
The role of SDRs is key: we must be able to identify upstream the profiles of prospects for whom the PayFit product can bring a high added value and we must then understand with great precision the needs of this prospect. It is thanks to this meticulous work that Sales can be much more effective during their product presentation.
We also have a role in evangelising the PayFit solution in order to convince our potential customers.
Marie: Our main mission is to respond to incoming requests from Marketing (inbound), but also to create new opportunities, by contacting potential customers directly (outbound).
We are in charge of qualifying these two types of lead. In concrete terms, during a call, we try to identify their needs as closely as possible by asking them a series of questions, the aim being to be sure that PayFit’s features best meet their expectations. Relationship is essential to create trust and make the value of the solution quickly understood.
Once the lead has understood the benefits of the solution and we think that PayFit could answer their problems, then we introduce the lead to a Salesperson to perform a live demonstration of the product. We therefore save them time by making the customer conversion process more fluid.
What is the difference between an SDR and a Sales?
Marie: When the product is simple, there is no segmentation between SDR and Sales. There is no need to “feed” a lot of information to the lead so that they understand the added value of the solution…
At PayFit, it’s different: a potential customer will not change their payroll management like they will buy a baguette. This is an important decision, all their employees will be impacted. SDR/Sales segmentation makes sense because there is a real need for upstream product information.
Some SDR candidates do not identify this organisation at first glance because it is an operation that is characteristic of American tech companies, which are less common in France.
Some may be disappointed not to be responsible for the closing part (the last step in the sales process) that belongs to the Sales, but if we want to do things right, we must take the time to explain: this is the role of the SDR and all the information they have provided to the prospect is the driving force behind the successful sale.
Moreover, we are as valued as the Sales at PayFit: each SDR has a variable salary based on obtaining commercial opportunities (qualified demos). This is what corresponds to the closing for SDRs.
Malo: We intervene upstream of the Sales, we evangelise.
As an SDR, we must position ourselves as experts in our subject in order to precisely meet the expectations of leads.
This can be done through different channels: for example, Sales Navigator is used to contact them via LinkedIn, and HubSpot (https://www.hubspot.fr/products/crm), a CRM that is used for emails. In parallel, Hunter is a very useful tool for checking business email addresses.
To start the relationship, the content created by the Marketing team is also very important. We use a lot of folders, white papers or events set up by Marketing to highlight PayFit’s expertise.
What are the qualities that a good SDR must have?
Malo: Perseverance: Sometimes the first answer is “No, I’m not interested” and the process can take several months.
You also need to have a taste for challenges: everything you do is measured and you have quantified objectives to achieve.
We must also not forget the psychological and creative aspect: we are dealing with people who are all different, we must choose the right approach to contact them, adapt to what they are looking for. For example, some people will need to be more attentive, while others need a more punchy speech. It is up to us to adapt to the customers, not to them to adapt to us.
Marie: Organisation is essential. Sometimes, we want to interact with one client first rather than another, to start a new task when we have one in progress… We must not lose sight of the organisation.
What is the typical day of a SDR?
Malo: Generally, no one likes to be called early in the morning. I take this opportunity to organise my day, process my emails and possibly look for leads.
From 10:30 am, I start my calling session which ends around 12:00, 12:30 pm.
Around 2pm, I start looking for leads again before resuming calls around 3pm until 6pm, when offices start to empty themselves. This is the ideal time to contact the CEOs directly, who then have more time to devote to us.
Then, I take a little half an hour to train myself, because you have to know about payroll to talk to our leads about it!
Marie: It was quickly noticed that there were times when calls were less favourable, such as Monday mornings or Friday afternoons.
I take advantage of these moments to do account management, to answer customers and write personalised emails.
We have several tasks to perform every day (looking for new leads, managing existing ones…), so we have to be organised and rigorous.
What tools do you use to train yourself?
Malo: For training, the PayFit online help is very useful, very well structured. Le Petit Paie, a guide on the French payslip is also a must-have: it allows us to have quality discussions with prospects, which is what we are all looking for.
TeamDrill, a self-assessment software, is also used. The principle is simple: we create Q&As regularly based on those asked by leads during calls, then the tool asks us the same questions again at regular intervals and it will be up to us to self-assess our answers. This enables us to see if we have assimilated everything we need to know about payroll and HR.
What do you like most about your job?
Marie: The adrenaline of the challenge when you discover the customers, when you can motivate them. We have the chance to sell a solution that allows us to have very interesting conversations with prospects, it’s very rewarding.
Malo: It’s a very challenging job. You have to surpass yourself every day, but as soon as you get a customer appointment, it’s the emotional elevator: you never get bored.
Any advice for an incoming SDR?
Malo: You really have to ask questions to everyone and listen to others. We have the chance to evolve in an open-space, we must take advantage of it to develop our skills and learn from others.
Marie: When you arrive, you are super-motivated, you want to meet the customer directly and organise demos: it means you like the challenge, and it’s positive. But the product and the sector are quite technical; you have to listen to everything, meet as many people as possible because everyone has their own way of explaining things.
You shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry because you only have one chance when you call a customer: you have to anticipate their expectations and needs to attract their attention and arouse their interest.
At PayFit, we are developing a SaaS tool for payroll and human resources management. If you want to join the adventure as SDR, apply here.
