My Journey from CDP to SDP: Structured Like a (Longer Than Normal) Email to a Prospect!
By Caleigh Simons, Sales Development Representative
Dear Reader,
Given your interest in Generation Veeva and the opportunity to explore different career paths, I wanted to reach out and share my Veeva journey from the Consultant Development Program (CDP) to the Sales Development Program (SDP), to see if my experience so far can help you on your path of exploration.
My name is Caleigh, and I’m a Sales Development Representative here at Veeva. Prior to joining the sales team last April, I was a part of the R&D CDP team where I worked on several different projects to implement Veeva’s Regulatory applications for our customers. While I enjoyed my role as a configuration specialist, and all that it taught me about the technical aspects of the Veeva products, I found that my daily tasks were becoming a little too “in-the-weeds.” I wanted a bigger picture outlook on Veeva, our applications, and how they help solve problems for our customers and the industry as a whole. If this is something you’re after as well, then sales at Veeva might be for you.
Gaining experience in consulting before joining sales has been paramount to my success. Consulting taught me how to problem solve (both independently and with groups), how to collaborate intelligently with customers, and how to maintain a strong work ethic with and without deadlines. I still use all of these skills in my new sales role, just with different tasks at hand.
Day-to-day I find new prospects, establish if they are a good fit for Veeva’s applications, reach out through various channels, and lead qualification calls to identify and understand a business need that Veeva applications may solve. While these steps are different to how my day-to-day looked in consulting, the soft skills I learned are the foundation for my success as an SDR. So if you’re interested in the switch from CDP to SDP, it’s important to develop these transferable skills that you can bring along with you no matter where you end up in the Veeva journey.
The sales culture is collaborative, and filled with excellent mentors who invest in your growth as a future Veeva Account Partner. Phil Sager, Senior Director of NA CRO Sales at Veeva, said it best: “There’s really no other place where you could go and learn from the best people, sell the best products, and represent the best company in its field.”
If my experience resonates with you and sounds like a path you’d like to follow, let’s talk about it! Are you free to connect sometime next week?
I look forward to talking soon,
Caleigh Simons
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Veeva.
