Zev Zoldan

What is the quickest way to improve the performance of your BDR/SDR team? Make sure 100% of their effort is going into ICP accounts and ideal personas. I've probably done 50 audits over the years and it is always shocking (to me and the sales leader) at the percentage of activity into non-ICP accounts and non-ideal personas. I consistently see 20-50% in this area. So, why does this happen? There are three main reasons... 1.) If your BDRs/SDRs have a meeting quota, it is typcially easier to get a meeting in a non-ICP account and/or with the wrong persona. For example, booking a demo with a marketing coordinator at a 100 person company vs a director of marketing at a 500 person company. 2.) The company doesn't have a strong opinion on ICP and ideal personas, so therefore the BDRs/SDRs lack direction and do what they need to do to hit their number. 3.) Misalignment between the BDR/SDR Manager's incentivies, the BDRs/SDRs incentives, and the company's incentives. A BDR/SDR Manager might ignore the problem if his/her team is hitting quota and therefore the BDR/SDR Manager is hitting quota. The company might not realize how big of a problem it actually is since on paper it looks like the BDR/SDR model is working (until it is too late). So, why does this matter so much? Meetings in non-ICP accounts and/or wrong personas create a flywheel of suckiness... 1.) These meetings will typically have a much lower close rate (ie 2-3x lower) 2.) These meetings will typically have a much lower ACV (ie 1-2x lower) 3.) This typcially means an ICP and ideal persona meeting is 3-7x more valuable to the company. 4.) These meetings start to waste precious AE time 5.) BDRs/SDRs get complacent since they are "hitting their number" 6.) AEs get complacent since they are "busy" and appear to have pipeline 7.) Company misses their number 8.) The problem is too late to fix So, what should you do? 1.) Make sure you have a checkbox in your CRM for "Is ICP" on the Account and "Is Ideal Persona" on the Lead/Contact. 2.) Only compensate BDRs/SDRs for meetings that are both ICP and Ideal Persona and ideally have a qualified pipeline and/or close won component to their comp. 3.) Track activity into ICP accounts and Ideal Persona Leads/Contacts. If it isn't 100%, correct it tomorrow. Is your data inconsistent? 1.) It is 2026 and data enichment is now tablel stakes especially with AI. Enrichment is no longer an excuse. DM me for recommendations on vendors. 2.) Use Salesforce with Leads and don't match your Leads to Accounts? Send me a DM and we can implement Align.ly Lead-to-Account next week to fix this problem. 3.) Need help tracking your activity/funnel? Send me a DM and we can implement Align.ly Beacon next week to give you this visibility.

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Things I didn’t realize before becoming an SDR Leader. • Your calendar is no longer yours • You talk about mindset almost as much as metrics • Training is never quick • You celebrate other people’s wins more than your own • You learn that every rep needs something different One SDR needs structure. One needs confidence. One needs accountability. One just needs someone to believe they can do it. The job stops being about activity alone — it becomes about people, patterns, and progress. And the best part? Watching someone go from “I’m nervous to call” to “I booked it.” That’s the win.

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Dear SDR Managers, Millennial and Gen Z SDRs can't survive on a 60k base. The average US household spends around $61,334 annually. (world population review) An unattainable OTE doesn't help. Top SDRs aren’t fooled anymore. They’re checking salary reports [see link below]. They’re talking to peers. And they’re applying to companies where comp plans reflect reality. If you want to keep talent, start with a livable base. Then build a culture where the OTE is real, not theoretical. SDRs talk. Word spreads. Want to see which companies are paying SDRs fairly? Check the list: https://lnkd.in/dgmqT9wp

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