Introduction

If you’re an SDR and you’re looking to level up there are some tried and true techniques and principles that work no matter what. For the purpose of this guide, we will focus on those techniques and principles so that this applies to all SDRs broadly. In a sense, this is more about the mindset and disposition to approach the role with, rather than specifics of the role itself. Each SDR position is different depending on the company, but this will apply everywhere.

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What Drives Performance

There are a lot of misconceptions about what drives SDR performance. What I noticed across 100+ SDRs is that the top performers were good at cold calling, cold emailing, etc, but they truly excelled in their process. Here’s the good news: following a process and being disciplined is not time consuming; it’s a decision you make. You’ll still have plenty of time to practice objection handles, learn email best practices, and more. But the biggest leap you will ever make as an SDR is a daily choice to have a superior process.

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Here’s what top performing SDRs *know* matters the most:

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✅ Consistency

✅ Embracing the grind

✅ Priorities

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In practice that means:

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Doing the same highly productive activities over and over even when:

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→You’re having a bad week

→You’d rather be huddling a friend

→You don’t want to add new prospects

→The phone “feels dead”

→You’ve already hit quota

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Yes, that’s really what matters most.

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Being great as an SDR is 80% process, 20% skill. And that’s why it’s so difficult. Once you realize that you just need to determine what constitutes a highly productive activity in your role.

Building Your Process

In 2024 there is no shortage of noise around what SDRs should be doing to see success. Some people will tell you cold calling is dead and social selling is in. Or vice versa. You shouldn’t be sold on any single idea too strongly. The reality is that they can all work to great success depending on the specific role. Here’s what doesn’t differ from role to role: you need to focus your time on scaling activities that are both high impact and low effort. Essentially, do the easiest activities. Here are some common ways to book a meeting:

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• Cold calls
• Inbound follow up
• Personalized emails
• Mass cadenced emails
• LinkedIn Messages
• LinkedIn social selling
• Vidyard outreach

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There’s plenty more than that, but you get the idea. Brainstorm all of the activities you do day to day in your SDR role and place them in the below matrix. You can even include activities that are unproductive like Slacking a friend, watching TikToks, and so on, just to illustrate where your time is best and worst spent.

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Once you’ve done that you should start with scaling the absolute best activities to the furthest extent you can. You’ll find some activities are highly productive, but just don’t scale well. For example, following up on inbound leads is unfortunately limited to how many inbounds you have. Other activities you will find are super impactful, but also take lot’s of time. The gold is the activities that are relatively low effort and still impactful. Here at CallCloud we find that it's often cold calling with a power dialer, but it might be different where you are. Once you determine which channel is the absolute best, it’s time to drill down deeper. For example, cold calls may be the best channel, but you might find a certain persona is better than the rest. Scale those dials the exact same way.

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Conclusion

At the end of the day, being a top-performing SDR is less about mastering every single skill and more about mastering your process. Consistency, grit, and smart prioritization will carry you further than relying on any one tactic alone.

The beauty of this approach is that it works no matter what your role or the specifics of your company. Whether cold calling, emailing, or using other outreach strategies, the key is to scale the most impactful and efficient activities. Find what works, and then do it—day in and day out—until it becomes second nature.

SDR success isn’t magic; it’s a combination of effort and focus. The top 1% don’t necessarily have better scripts or sharper skills—they just relentlessly stick to a high-impact, low-effort process. And the good news is, you can do this too.

By focusing on your process and building on those activities that bring the best results with the least effort, you can transform your SDR career and go from good to great.

So, the next step is yours. Build that process, stick to it, and watch as your performance takes off. Success is just one solid process away

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