Layoff: A Step-By-Step Guide To land your next SDR job ASAP
(A 7 step process + Survival Kit)
Exciting update: I’m launching a job board for SDRs!
Last week I announced that I was building it, and It's finally ready.
The goal of this job board is to help SDRs who have been laid off get a new job or SDRs who are looking for a new adventure. For companies: to find their next SDRs.
If you are looking for a job: visit the job board here, we already have 12+ roles on the website.
Hiring managers/recruiters: feel free to post your roles on the SDR Game job board, for Free, here.
Podcast: I’m preparing episodes to talk about how to land a new job.
I already have 3 interviews scheduled: Florin Tatulea, Landon Meyer, and Adrianna Vidal.
Let me know if you know someone that would be interested in this topic.
Today I’m going to share with you the process I’m following to get my next job and what you can do to get your next job.
On top of that, I gathered content from different sales leaders and people sharing content in the past few weeks on LinkedIn
At the end of this newsletter, I’ve included a Notion Page: SDR Layoff Survival Kit with everything in one place (I’m going to update it weekly) so you can use it for to land your next role.
Treat the hiring process as a sales process. Show them you can do the job before getting the job
You need to own the process
Let’s go:
Step 1: Process it
Take the time to process it. To process the disappointment, sadness, and anxiety.
Go see your family. Your friends, or do something fun.
1 mistake that I made was trying to do too much right after, finding my next role, and working on this newsletter and the podcast.
I felt super tired this week because of that.
Now, I took more time with my wife this week and enjoyed long breakfasts, lunches, and dinners (we both work remotely). I went to see some friends and family. And reflect on what I want to do next.
Step 2: Time to reflect
Don’t apply to new roles right away.
This is the right time to reflect on what you want for your next role:
What do I really want to do?
The type of companies you want to work for
What kind of job do you want?
Where you want to do it.
What type of boss do you want to work with?
Etc
For example, for me:
Remote only
Role: SDR leadership, Enterprise/Strategic SDR, or SMB AE roles.
Buyer personas: I have a preference for GTM teams, but open to other personas (IT, data, HR, etc).
Type of boss: one that challenges me, and is here to support me.
Resources:
Amy Volas: How to Create a Job Scorecard Template to Find Your Dream Sales Gig In 5 Steps (+ Why You Should)
Step 3: Pick the companies you want to work for
Like you are doing with your SDR role. You should have a list of the top-tier accounts you want to work for.
Tier 1: have all the criteria you are looking for
Tier 2: meet most of your criteria
Tier 3: Meet a few of your criteria
For me: remote-first companies, Series A or B minimum, they are growing (and hiring), and buyer personas: GTM or Data/IT.
Then I use the resources below to find those companies who fit those criteria.
Resources:
LinkedIn Sales Nav
Job boards:
Step 4: Contact your network, and ask for referrals
Now that you have your account list, reach out to your network.
Be specific as possible in what you are looking for.
For me, I’m building a spreadsheet with my account list that I’m going to share with my network and ask for referrals.
Step 5: Research your accounts
This step is critical in your process, you want to qualify your accounts and do the job before the job, and show them:
Learn about the product
Research the hiring manager, or VP of sales to see what you can find about them
Contact SDR/AEs at the company. To learn more about the sales culture and if they are happy about their roles
And those who left the company: to learn why they left.
Tools:
LinkedIn
Step 6: Contact hiring managers, and VP of sales
Now time to time block to your outreach.
If they have an open role, you can apply at the same time.
Research on LinkedIn or Apollo the hiring managers and VP of sales.
Find their contact info via Apollo.
What you can do:
Show them what you find during your research
Here’s how you can help
Here’s what I’ve done
Template (I’m working on my template right now, and will update it in the next few days)
Hi HIRING MANAGER,
Just read your LinkedIn post about {TOPIC} and {INSERT RELEVANCE}
I was recently laid off, but as any great salesperson, I'm not going to let one rejection define me. This is just the beginning for me and I'd love to channel this energy on your team.
Here’s how I think I can help: {Topic 1}, and {Topic 2}.
Here’s what I’ve done: {Achievement 1}, and {Achievement 2}.
Saw that you are hiring an SDR, I already applied on your career page. Let me know what would be the next steps.
Cheers
PS: I build this list of accounts and prospects, feel free to use it.
What can you use in your outreach to stand out?
LinkedIn
Venn Diagram - to follow up
Videos - to follow up or record
Add value
As an SDR do the job before doing the job: do research on their company, find 5 accounts, 2 prospects at each, and send them that list for their team to leverage
App/tools you can use to stand out
Lavender - to rewrite your emails or LinkedIn messages
Apollo - to find the hiring managers and their contact info
LinkedIn Sales Nav
Vidu - to stand out
Step 7: Contact the CEO
This step, I stole it from Florin Tatulea’s post.
Note: if you are going after a large company (1k+ employees), the CRO might be a better option to contact.
Go on google and type in "{CEO NAME} + 2022". That CEO will almost certainly have interviews, blog posts, and articles in which you can tie back a reason why you want to work for them.
Template
Hi CEO,
Just watched your interview on {X PODCAST} and {INSERT RELEVANCE}
I was recently laid off, but as any great salesperson, I'm not going to let one rejection define me. This is just the beginning for me and I'd love to channel this energy on your team.
I've reached out to {MANAGER} & {VP} regarding the open SDR role, but wanted to put myself on your radar as well.
Best from a very hungry SDR,
To recap
Step 1: Process it
Step 2: Time to reflect
Step 3: Pick the companies you want to work for
Step 4: Contact your network, and ask for referrals
Step 5: Research your accounts
Step 6: Contact hiring managers, and VP of sales
Step 7: Contact the CEO
SDR Layoff Survival Kit
I created a Notion Page that I’m going to update and add more content (from other sales leaders and from me) to help you.
In this doc, you can find everything in one place: apps, tools, content, communities, job boards, etc.
If you find this valuable, feel free to share it with someone who needs it right now.
Get the Survival Kit here:
Getting laid off is hard. But you shouldn’t feel bad about this.
Rejection is part of the SDR role and your sales career.
This layoff might be the best thing that happened to you.
I hope you find this guide helpful.
✌️
PS: Special shout out to Anand Gopinathan, Florin Tatuela, Zoe Hart, Caroline Maloney, Scott Barker, and Amy Volas.
They inspired me to write this newsletter, improve my process, and create this Notion page.
New Podcast: #7: How to get an SDR job within 2 weeks (without sales experience) a 5 step process, how to use video, and what to include in your resume - Anand Gopinathan, Business Development Manager at Solid
In this episode, I talk with Anand Gopinathan, Business Development Manager at Solid.
We talk about his process to get an SDR job within 2 weeks. Step 1: find the company. Step 2: find the right person. Step 3: Record a video. Step 4: send a Venn Diagram. Step 5: bump email. What to include on your resume. How to handle objections during the interviews, etc.
New Podcast: #6: Email deliverability 101, the steps to ensure your emails hit your prospect’s inbox, how to improve your open rate - Jed Mahrle, Head of Outbound Sales at Mailshake
In this episode, I talk with Jed Mahrle, Head of Outbound Sales at Mailshake.
We talk about email deliverability 101, the Steps to Ensure Your Emails Hit the Prospect’s Inbox, how and why you need to use content to help your deliverability, how he improves his team open rate, and how you can switch your outbound approach from the “me driven” to “them driven”.
Resources from the episode: The Ultimate List of 394 Email Spam Trigger Words to Avoid in 2021
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That's all for this Sunday.
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See you next week.
Happy prospecting,
Elric
PS: Here're the 3 last issues if you miss them:
If you want to read the previous ones, you can here.
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