SDRs and BDRs are often young and ambitious, and their investment in these entry-level positions is formative to developing their sales style and shaping the career paths they will choose. But for those who don’t necessarily aspire to become account executives, their professional futures may seem murky and unclear.
Less obvious career outcomes for sales professionals
Look past the average 15-month tenure of a starting SDR at some career opportunities that veer away from sales executive roles
- Here are some questions young sales professionals should be asking themselves ahead of their next move to better understand what they should look for in a sales role.
SDR roles are a great training ground for budding marketers
There is a clear cross-over in the skillset needed to succeed in marketing
- Marketers must know how to create content that speaks to clients and prospective clients in a way that engages and resonates with them
- Most SDRs are familiar with marketing collateral
SDRs can be a shoo-in for RevOps roles
They integrate the efforts of the sales, marketing, and service departments to allow a better end-to-end view of a company’s revenue-producing cycles.
- Their first order of business: really getting to know their clients.
SDRs can make excellent customer success reps
Sales development and customer success have in common a customer-facing approach
- Customer success managers are the first ones to interact with the client once the deal is closed
- How passionate am I about listening to clients?
- Am I a problem solver?
SDR experience can be useful for professional services roles
No matter how simple or complex a product is, the customer is more likely to get the full value of the service when helped along by a professional services rep.
- Having interacted with customers even before they became qualified leads, an SDR has the advantage of having researched them; their company, industry, their pains, and the solution they expect to receive.
