Identifying high-impact training activities for your new SDRs & BDRs takes time. Structured onboarding processes help team members reach their goals more quickly, but building a new curriculum can feel like a major time-sink when your sales team needs to ramp up fast.  To accelerate their ramp time, make sure to include these two key training activities:

Most Impactful Training Activity: Roleplays

Roleplays are the single most important training activity for sales teams. For entry-level BDRs and SDRs, practicing their script with another team member is one of the fastest ways to help build their confidence. To get the most out of your roleplay sessions, we recommend the following:

  1. Practice multiple scenarios. Even entry-level SDRs and BDRs need practice selling to tough prospects. Start with simple scenarios and polite prospects to build their confidence, and introduce realistic objections, interruptions, and obstacles over time. Your first roleplay can start with them speaking with a decision-maker who’s ready to buy. Later roleplays should include skeptical gatekeepers and decision-makers with lots of questions.
  2. Deliver actionable feedback after each roleplay. Tell your sales representatives what they did well along with where they have room for growth. Keep your feedback concise and specific.  Listing too many areas of improvement, or only providing vague directions, will make it tougher for your team member to implement the feedback that you’ve shared.
  3. Get specific. When your SDRs and BDRs share tough calls during a team call review, use those situations to tailor your next roleplay session. Ask your team to identify what needed to change during the call, and practice those skills with them.
  4. Be consistent. Entry-level team members should practice roleplays at least once per week, either with a member of your leadership team or with another senior sales representative. Each session gives them the opportunity to practice their script, ask questions, receive feedback, and refine their skills.

Key for Development: Learn from Expert Team Members

Senior team members are one of the best resources for new team members to learn from. Reviewing recordings of past calls and meetings is the most impactful independent training activity that entry-level SDRs and BDRs can engage with. The recordings don’t need to be perfect – in fact, it’s better that they aren’t. Seeing where a call can go wrong will help your entry-level team members recognize the obstacles that they’re likely to face in their own calls. Those previews can help them avoid making the same mistakes, or equip them to respond effectively to tough questions.

While reviewing recordings is immensely helpful, mentorship programs are even more impactful. At Bandalier, every new team member is paired with a mentor who will guide them through their first few months on an outsourced inside sales team. By giving new BDRs & SDRs a point person who can answer questions, provide guidance, and offer personalized coaching, you’ll give them a path to ramp up faster.

Learn with the Best

Developing a great training program helps your entry-level BDRs and SDRs ramp up faster and reach their goals soon. Contact us to learn how Bandalier University can help your team keep growing.