Hey Croners! Welcome to Crono Talks, a series of interviews with projects and people that have blown our minds. We aim to inspire and give deserved credit to those working hard and with great ideas.
In this article, we’ll have David Wilkins founder of SDR Leaders of EMEA: a community for Sales Development leaders in EMEA to network and learn from one another.
Crono Talks ep.7: SDR Leaders of EMEA
Nice to meet you David, we like to start with a warm-up: describe yourself in 10 words!
British guy living in the Netherlands. Married and dog dad.
How did you start your adventure in sales? How did you become passionate about it?
Like most people, I fell into it.
I originally moved to the Netherlands from the UK in 2008, where I was a rugby coach. I wanted to move into teaching, so I moved back to the UK, where I worked at a private school, which is like Hogwarts but full of monks.
After a year I realised I loved the Netherlands too much, so moved back with a few €100 in my pocket. I did a few jobs, like working in mayonnaise factories and then finally, a recruiter told me about this role called “BDR“.
She told me, ”I don’t know why, but I think all your skills from coaching and teaching would make you good at this role.” And she wasn’t wrong. I’ve loved the journey.
What are the primary skills SDRs should have right now?
Resiliency.
The world has changed a lot in the last five years, but in many ways, still the same.
We are currently going through those periods of economic contraction; companies are figuring out what to do next. Therefore, commitments made to them at specific periods, like new roles/promotions, might be coming at a different pace than SDRs expect.
That’s not been done maliciously; it’s the knock-on effects on organisations.
I’m still figuring out how the economy is going to go in the next nine months.
So, people, especially SDRs, need to be resilient to this dynamic situation.
What's the secret to build a solid pipeline?
I love this question.
It’s not about doing ”More outbound”. It’s about a ‘one team GTM’ approach.
What do I mean?
Rev ops need to develop a list of accounts that fit the company’s ICP based on demographics and likelihood of spending.
Sales does a sanity check with that list (remove duplicates, subsidiaries) Once that list is finalised, sales ranks the accounts based on top, mid, and low targets.
Marketing then runs account-based marketing motions, with more dollars being spent on those accounts that are considered ‘top’.
Finally, SDRs convert the demand generated by marketing whilst also working with sales on specific campaigns. This is the only way to build a truly solid pipeline.
Inside SDR Leaders of EMEA
Now, let's talk about SDR Leaders of EMEA: how would you describe this project?
I’d describe it as something desperately needed for SDR leaders here in EMEA.
EMEA SDR leaders need coaching, support and mentoring.
Their bosses are often in the US, or they are first-line leaders with no other peers.
So, on New Year’s Eve, five months ago, I started this community; at the time of writing, we have nearly 1500 members and continue to grow and thrive!
What's your favourite memory of the project and biggest accomplishment so far?
It’s been flying a plane whilst building it at the same time!
I would be happy to bring 50 SDR leaders together over six months. We did that in a day.
It’s been about building a scalable community for people that can aid each other.
What are your next goals?
We are starting to run in-person events!
In June, we’ve been in London and Amsterdam, thanks to our sponsor, Orum.
The plan will be to go on the road after the summer and meet all of our community members in Paris, Dublin, Berlin, Barcelona, Lisbon and Dubai! Then, after that, the sky’s the limit!
Why should people join the community?
Our community is here to support all SDR leaders in Europe Middle East and Africa.
Within our Slack community you will get access to, Job opportunities, available SDR talent, Playbooks for running your team, Invites to in-person events, Access to roundtables, Masterclasses, Networking/ mentoring and Merch.
And it’s all EMEA-centric content. What more would you want?!
