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Home / About Us / Podcasts / How to Take Control of Your Career – Ep. 28

How to Take Control of Your Career – Ep. 28

About Episode:

In this episode of Prospecting Pros, John Karsant chats with Anthony Benedettini, AI Enablement Manager at ZoomInfo, about his unconventional journey from health and wellness startups to tech sales and AI enablement. Anthony shares how he got into the SDR role with zero previous B2B experience, became a top performer in record time, and fast-tracked his career through discipline, organization, and continuous learning. He discusses the importance of systematizing, time management, and looking for leadership opportunities before a promotion becomes available.

They also talk about Anthony’s career path from sales development, to enablement, and now to AI training. He talks about how AI is changing go-to-market teams, the skills sellers need to develop and how organisations can drive adoption through practical use cases and training. 

The episode wraps up with valuable career advice on networking internally, aligning career moves with long-term financial goals, and staying adaptable in a rapidly evolving technology landscape.

Podcast Transcript

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: basically trap where you are just like, you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like, we might need you to pivot." And like, I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like, I just wanted to focus and like, grow in a role and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that.

[00:00:19] Speaker 1: So, I think like, the lesson learned is find somewhere that's going to allow you to eventually hit your financial goals at the rate that you want, right? Like, and most companies are not going to be able to, they're going to give you the standard, especially public companies, like, a standard bump. And so, you will have to carve your own path.

[00:00:34] Speaker 1: I had no experience. I didn't even know what ZoomInfo was. Like I said, I was fresh into the B2B space, which is like, ultimately, I don't think you need to have previous experience with something because like, I'm coming in it with fresh eyes, and I'm learning it as I'm a beginner. And like, the key skill is like, you learn it to understand it completely, and then you can apply it, no matter what that is, right?

[00:00:58] Speaker 1: But like, SDR ultimately in nature is a transitional role to get to a closer or to get to somewhere else. Like, there are very few lifelong SDRs. And so, you just have this like, what are, how are you thinking about the future? So, staying organized is like, the biggest thing. Staying organized, make sure no, no lead slips. If you get it, you better be able to book it, or you better be able to disqualify it.

[00:01:21] Speaker 2: I think structuring your day is so important. A lot of SDRs, they just kind of will wing it. But as I always tell them, like, schedule like schedule out, calendar block your schedule. So, that way you're going to get the reminder, "Hey, it's time to call. Hey, it's time to send those emails. Hey, it's time to follow up with the no-shows." Things like that.

[00:01:37] Speaker 2: And so, it's easy to get stuck doing all these internal tasks when really, what what are they hired for? If you're on outbound, you're hired to actually do outbound. So, I think it's just really important to focus on actually what'

[Warning: Gemini stopped because this chunk reached the max token limit. This segment may be incomplete.]

[00:05:00] Speaker 1: basically trap where you are just like you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like we might need you to pivot." And like I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like I just wanted to focus and like grow in a role and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that.

[00:05:19] Speaker 1: So, I think like the lesson learned is find somewhere that's going to allow you to eventually hit your financial goals at the rate that you want, right? Like, and most companies are not going to be able to, they're going to give you the standard, especially public companies, like a standard bump. And so you will have to carve your own path.

[00:05:34] Speaker 1: I had no experience. I didn't even know what ZoomInfo was. Like I said, I was fresh into the B2B space, um, which is like, ultimately, I don't think you need to have previous experience with something because like, I'm coming in it with fresh eyes, and I'm learning it as I'm a beginner. And like, the key skill is like, you learn it to understand it completely, and then you can apply it. No matter what that is, right?

[00:05:58] Speaker 1: Um, but like, SDR ultimately in nature is a transitional role to get to a closer or to get to somewhere else. Like, there are very few lifelong SDRs. And so, you just have this like, what are, how are you thinking about the future? So, staying organized is like, the biggest thing. Staying organized, make sure no, no leads slips. If you get it, you better be able to book it, or you better be able to disqualify it.

[00:06:21] Speaker 2: I think structuring your day is so important. A lot of SDRs, they just kind of will wing it, but as I always tell them, like, schedule, like schedule out, uh, calendar block your schedule. So that way, you're going to get the reminder, "Hey, it's time to call. Hey, it's time to send those emails. Hey, it's time to follow up with the no-shows." Things like that.

[00:06:37] Speaker 2: And so, it's easy to get stuck doing all these internal tasks when really, what, what are they hired for? If you're on outbound, you're hired to actually do outbound. So, I think it's just really important to focus on actually what's important, what

[Warning: Gemini stopped because this chunk reached the max token limit. This segment may be incomplete.]

[00:10:00] Speaker 1: ...basically trap where you are just like you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, hey, do you want to get promoted? Like, well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like we might need you to pivot. And like I was sick of doing like eight things at once.

[00:10:13] Speaker 1: Like I just wanted to focus and like grow in a role and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that. So, I think like the lesson learned is find somewhere that's going to allow you to eventually hit your financial goals at the rate that you want, right?

[00:10:27] Speaker 1: Like, and most companies are not going to be able to, they're going to give you the standard, especially public companies, like a standard bump. And so you will have to carve your own path.

[00:10:34] Speaker 1: I had no experience. I didn't even know what ZoomInfo was. Like I said, I was fresh into the B2B space, which is like, ultimately, I don't think you need to have previous experience with something because like, I'm coming in it with fresh eyes, and I'm learning it as I'm a beginner.

[00:10:49] Speaker 1: And like, the key skill is like, you learn it to understand it completely, and then you can apply it, no matter what that is, right? But like, SDR ultimately in nature is a transitional role to get to a closer or to get to somewhere else. Like, there are very few lifelong SDRs.

[00:11:08] Speaker 1: And so, you just have to like, what are, how are you thinking about the future? So, staying organized is like the biggest thing. Staying organized, make sure no, no leads slip. If you get it, you better be able to book it, or you better be able to disqualify it.

[00:11:21] Speaker 2: I think structuring your day is so important. A lot of SDRs, they just kind of will wing it, but as I always tell them, like, schedule, like schedule out, calendar block your schedule. So, that way you're going to get the reminder, hey, it's time to call, hey, it's time to send those emails, hey, it's time to follow up with the no-shows, things like that.

[00:11:38] Speaker 2: And so, it's easy to get stuck doing all these internal tasks when really, what, what are they hired for? If you're on outbound, you're hired to actually do outbound.

[Warning: Gemini stopped because this chunk reached the max token limit. This segment may be incomplete.]

[00:15:00] Speaker 1: basically trap where you are just like, you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, hey, do you want to get promoted? Like, well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like, we might need you to pivot. And like, I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like, I just wanted to focus and like, grow in a role and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that.

[00:15:19] Speaker 1: So, I think like, the lesson learned is find somewhere that's going to allow you to eventually hit your financial goals at the rate that you want, right? Like, and most companies are not going to be able to, they're going to give you the standard, especially public companies, like, a standard bump. And so, you will have to carve your own path.

[00:15:34] Speaker 1: I had no experience. I didn't even know what ZoomInfo was. Like I said, I was fresh into the B2B space, which is like, ultimately, I don't think you need to have previous experience with something because like, I'm coming in it with fresh eyes, and I'm learning it as I'm a beginner. And like, the key skill is like, you learn it to understand it completely, and then you can apply it, no matter what that is, right?

[00:15:58] Speaker 1: But like, SDR ultimately in nature is a transitional role to get to a closer or to get to somewhere else. Like, there are very few lifelong SDRs. And so, you just have this like, what are, how are you thinking about the future? So, staying organized is like, the biggest thing. Staying organized, make sure no, no leads slips. If you get it, you better be able to book it, or you better be able to disqualify it.

[00:16:21] Speaker 2: I think structuring your day is so important. A lot of SDRs, they just kind of will wing it, but as I always tell them, like, schedule, like schedule out, calendar block your schedule. So, that way you're going to get the reminder, hey, it's time to call, hey, it's time to send those emails, hey, it's time to follow up with the no-shows, things like that.

[00:16:38] Speaker 2: And so, it's easy to get stuck doing all these internal tasks when really, what, what are they hired for? If you're on outbound, you're hired to actually do outbound. So, I think it's just really important to focus on actually what's important

[Warning: Gemini stopped because this chunk reached the max token limit. This segment may be incomplete.]

[00:20:00] Speaker 2: basically trap where you are just like you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like we might need you to pivot." And like I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like I just wanted to focus and like grow in a role

[00:20:15] Speaker 2: and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that. So, I think like the lesson learned is find somewhere that's going to allow you to eventually hit your financial goals at the rate that you want, right? Like, and most companies are not going to be able to, they're going to give you the standard, especially public companies, like

[00:20:30] Speaker 2: a standard bump. And so you will have to carve your own path. I had no experience. I didn't even know what ZoomInfo was. I, like I said, I was fresh into the B2B space, um, which is like, ultimately, I don't think you need to have previous experience with something because like, I'm coming in it with fresh eyes,

[00:20:45] Speaker 2: and I'm learning it as I'm a beginner. And like, the key skill is like, you learn it to understand it completely, and then you can apply it, no matter what that is, right? Um, but like, SDR ultimately in nature is a transitional role to get to a closer or to get to somewhere else. Like, there are very few

[00:21:00] Speaker 2: lifelong SDRs. And so, you just have to like, what are, how are you thinking about the future? So, staying organized is like, the biggest thing. Staying organized, make sure no, no leads slip. If you get it, you better be able to book it, or you better be able to disqualify it.

[00:21:21] Speaker 1: I think structuring your day is so important. A lot of SDRs, they just kind of will wing it, but as I always tell them, like, schedule, like schedule out, uh, calendar block your schedule. So, that way you're going to get the reminder, "Hey, it's time to call. Hey, it's time to send those emails.

[00:21:36] Speaker 1: Hey, it's time to follow up with the no-shows." Things like that. And so, it's easy to get stuck doing all these internal tasks when really, what, what are they hired for? If you're on outbound, you're hired to actually do outbound. So, I think it's just really important to focus on actually what's important, what's going to help keep your job or help you get promoted.

[00:21:51] Speaker 2: So, then that started my research down like, what is enablement? What do they do? And most importantly, what are some of the top salary bands? Because I want to make sure this career path is actually going to help me hit my financial goals when it gets down to it. And, uh, one thing I didn't mention that's like, it's good is like,

[00:22:07] Speaker 2: meet with your leadership. Like, meet with people that are not your direct manager. Because that's what I was doing. I was meeting with my senior manager, I met with my director at the time, just more of like, "Hey, I want to get to know you. Like, what is this? Like, what are the problems?" And I then ended up setting up,

[00:22:23] Speaker 2: because I wanted to become a manager, I ended up setting up time with my senior manager, um, on a bi-weekly basis, on like a just recurring meeting. So, I'm like, "Here's what I'm working on. Like, give me projects. Give me work to help me prepare." So, by the time you get to an interview, "Oh, Anthony's already done X, Y, Z

[00:22:38] Speaker 2: that we've given him, and those are the things that we need in a manager role."

[00:22:44] Speaker 1: Welcome to Prospecting Pros, and on today's show, we have Anthony, and I'm going to try to say your last name, Benedettini? Did I say that right?

[00:22:53] Speaker 2: Almost spot on, yeah. Benedettini. It's a...

[00:22:56] Speaker 1: Benedettini. Welcome. Um, he, Anthony came recommended from our, our, uh, our last guest, so I'm excited to talk with him. Um, and so, the way we typically start is I want to learn a little bit about you and your background and how you got to your current role today. So,

[00:23:11] Speaker 1: I'm on your LinkedIn now. I see some, a wide range of, of different companies from wine to Tesla to ZoomInfo. So, walk, walk the audience through, you know, where you got started and how you got to where you are today.

[00:23:27] Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll take it all the way back to really college, because I feel like that's where a lot of people start. And I was going to University of Florida, studying physiology. Um, decided that that's not what I wanted to do, and I just realized like all the material we're learning was just out of date, because I'm a very

[00:23:44] Speaker 2: self-starter learner. And so, I was reading books where like, we're on the cutting edge of nutrition science and all that. So, I basically dropped out and then decided to do my own thing in, um, health coaching for a bit. That ended up leading me to my first startup job in a company in Napa, uh, called Dry Farm Wines. And so, I did customer,

[00:24:01] Speaker 2: uh, customer service there, I did affiliate marketing, a lot, right? Small company, you wear many hats. And so, I lived in that world of health wellness in like the startups, basically all companies under 100 people, uh, for like supplements and various products for about five, five, six years. Um, and it was just a, a big stint of my career. And then eventually, I hit a point in like 2022 where I was doing

[00:24:27] Speaker 2: strategic partnerships for one of the companies and was like, "I kind of want to get out of this industry." And so, I don't, I don't know where to start, but I have, I lived in Austin at the time. And that's where I met, um, one of my good friends, uh, Chris Bussing, who he was in tech sales. Uh, he used to be a seller at Google, and then, uh, was selling. He was like, "You know, you should try tech sales. Like, it's,

[00:24:44] Speaker 2: you're a good seller, like you would just fit right in." And I had never really considered tech, but I think the, the thing that I wanted to get out of was the startup, um, basically trap where you are just like, you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like we might need you to pivot." And like I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like I just wanted to focus and like grow in a role

[00:25:00] Speaker 2: and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that.

[00:25:00] Speaker 1: basically trap where you are just like you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like we might need you to pivot." And like I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like I just wanted to focus and like grow in a role and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that.

[00:25:19] Speaker 1: So, I think like the lesson learned is find somewhere that's going to allow you to eventually hit your financial goals at the rate that you want, right? Like, and most companies are not going to be able to, they're going to give you the standard, especially public companies, like a standard bump, and so you will have to carve your own path.

[00:25:34] Speaker 1: I had no experience. I didn't even know what ZoomInfo was. I, like I said, I was fresh into the B2B space, um, which is like, ultimately, I don't think you need to have previous experience with something because like, I'm coming in it with fresh eyes, and I'm learning it as I'm a beginner, and like the key skill is like, you learn it to understand it completely, and then you can apply it. No matter what that is, right?

[00:25:58] Speaker 1: Um, but like, SDR ultimately in nature is a transitional role to get to a closer or to get to somewhere else. Like, there are very few lifelong SDRs. And so, you just have this like, what are, how are you thinking about the future?

[00:26:11] Speaker 1: So, staying organized is like the biggest thing. Staying organized, make sure no, no leads slip. If you get it, you better be able to book it, or you better be able to disqualify it.

[00:26:21] Speaker 2: I think structuring your day is so important. A lot of SDRs, they just kind of will wing it, but as I always tell them, like, schedule, like schedule out, uh, calendar block your schedule. So, that way you're going to get the reminder, "Hey, it's time to call. Hey, it's time to send those emails. Hey, it's time to follow up with the no-shows," things like that.

[00:26:38] Speaker 2: And so, it's easy to get stuck doing all these internal tasks when really, what, what are they hired for? If you're on outbound, you're hired to actually do outbound. So, I think it's just really important to focus on actually what's important, what's going to help keep you, your job, or help you get promoted.

[00:26:51] Speaker 1: So, then that started my research down like, what is enablement? What do they do? And most importantly, what are some of the top salary bands? Cuz I want to make sure this career path is actually going to help me hit my financial goals when it gets down to it.

[00:27:04] Speaker 1: And I, one thing I didn't mention that's like, it's good is like, meet with your leadership. Like, meet with people that are not your direct manager because that's what I was doing. I was meeting with my senior manager, I met with my director at the time, just more of like, "Hey, I want to get to know you. Like, what is this? Like, what are the problems?"

[00:27:21] Speaker 1: And I then ended up setting up, because I wanted to become a manager, I ended up setting up time with my senior manager on a bi-weekly basis on like a just a recurring meeting. So, I'm like, "Here's what I'm working on. Like, give me projects. Give me work to help me prepare."

[00:27:35] Speaker 1: So, by the time you get to an interview, "Oh, Anthony's already done X, Y, Z that we've given him, and those are the things that we need in a manager role."

[00:27:44] Speaker 2: Welcome to Prospecting Pros, and on today's show, we have Anthony, and I'm going to try to say your last name, Benedettini? Did I say that right?

[00:27:53] Speaker 1: Almost spot on, yeah. Benedettini. It's a...

[00:27:56] Speaker 2: Benedettini. Welcome. Um, he, Anthony came recommended from our, our, our last guest, so I'm excited to talk with him. Um, and so, the way we typically start is I want to learn a little bit about you and your background and how you got to your current role today.

[00:28:11] Speaker 2: So, I'm on your LinkedIn now. I see some, a wide range of, of different companies from wine to Tesla to ZoomInfo. So, walk, walk the audience through, you know, some of your, your, um, you know, where you got started and how you got to where you are today.

[00:28:27] Speaker 1: Yeah, to take it all the way back to really college, cuz I feel like that's where a lot of people start, and I was going to University of Florida, studying physiology. Um, decided that that's not what I wanted to do, and I just realized like all the material we're learning was just out of date, cuz I'm a very self-starter learner, and so I was reading books where like we're on the cutting edge of nutrition science and all that.

[00:28:51] Speaker 1: So, I basically dropped out and then decided to do my own thing in, um, health coaching for a bit. That ended up leading me to my first startup job in a company in Napa, uh, called Dry Farm Wines, and so I did customer, uh, customer service there, I did affiliate marketing, a lot, right? Small company, you wear many hats, and so I lived in that world of health wellness in like the startups, basically all companies under 100 people, uh, for about five, five, six years, um, and it was just a, a big stint of my career.

[00:29:27] Speaker 1: And then eventually, I hit a point in like 2022 where I was doing strategic partnerships for one of the companies and was like, "I kind of want to get out of this industry." And so, I don't, I don't know where to start, but I have, I lived in Austin at the time, and that's where I met, um, one of my good friends, uh, Chris Bussing, who he was in tech sales. Uh, he used to be a seller at Google, and then, uh, was selling, and he was like, "You know, you should try tech sales. Like, it's, you're a good seller, like you would just fit right in."

[00:29:49] Speaker 1: And I had never really considered tech, but I think the, the thing that I wanted to get out of was the startup, um, basically trap where you are just like, you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like we might need you to pivot." And like I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like I just wanted to focus and like grow in a role and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that.

[00:29:56] Speaker 1: basically trap where you are just like you don't really know what's next. There's no structure. And it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit..."

[00:30:00] Speaker 1: basically trap where you are just like you don't really know what's next. There's no structure, and it's like, "Hey, do you want to get promoted?" Like, "Well, your role might not exist in a little bit, and like we might need you to pivot." And like I was sick of doing like eight things at once. Like I just wanted to focus and like grow in a role and hit numbers. I just was never able in a position to do that.

[00:30:19] Speaker 1: So, I think like the lesson learned is find somewhere that's going to allow you to eventually hit your financial goals at the rate that you want, right? Like, and most companies are not going to be able to, they're going to give you the standard, especially public companies, like a standard bump, and so you will have to carve your own path.

[00:30:34] Speaker 1: I had no experience. I didn't even know what ZoomInfo was. I, like I said, I was fresh into the B2B space, um, which is like, ultimately, I don't think you need to have previous experience with something because like, I'm coming in it with fresh eyes, and I'm learning it as I'm a beginner. And like the key skill is like, you learn it to understand it completely, and then you can apply it, no matter what that is, right?

[00:30:58] Speaker 1: Um, but like, SDR ultimately in nature is a transitional role to get to a closer or to get to somewhere else. Like, there are very few lifelong SDRs. And so, you just have this like, what are, how are you thinking about the future? So, staying organized is like the biggest thing. Staying organized, make sure no, no lead slips. If you get it, you better be able to book it, or you better be able to disqualify it.

[00:31:21] Speaker 2: I think structuring your day is so important. A lot of SDRs, they just kind of will wing it, but as I always tell them, like, schedule, like schedule out, uh, calendar block your schedule. So, that way you're going to get the reminder, "Hey, it's time to call. Hey, it's time to send those emails. Hey, it's time to follow up with the no-shows," things like that.

[00:31:38] Speaker 2: And so, it's easy to get stuck doing all these internal tasks when really, what, what are they hired for? If you're on outbound, you're hired to actually do outbound. So, I think it's just really important to focus on actually what's important, what's going to help keep your job or help you get promoted.

[00:31:51] Speaker 1: So, then that started my research down like, what is enablement? What do they do? And most importantly, what are some of the top salary bands? Cuz I want to make sure this career path is actually going to help me hit my financial goals when it gets down to it.

[00:32:04] Speaker 1: And, uh, one thing I didn't mention that's like, it's good is like, meet with your leadership. Like, meet with people that are not your direct manager because that's what I was doing. I was meeting with my senior manager, I met with my director at the time, just more of like, "Hey, I want to get to know you. Like, what is this? Like, what are the problems?" And I then ended up setting up, because I wanted to become a manager, I ended up setting up time with my senior manager on a bi-weekly basis, on like a just recurring meeting.

[00:32:30] Speaker 1: So, I'm like, "Here's what I'm working on. Like, give me projects. Give me work to help me prepare." So, by the time you get to an interview, "Oh, Anthony's already done X, Y, Z that we've given him, and those are the things that we need in a manager role."

[00:32:44] Speaker 2: Welcome to Prospecting Pros, and on today's show, we have Anthony, and I'm going to try to say your last name, Benedettini? Did I say that right?

[00:32:53] Speaker 1: Almost spot on, yeah. Benedettini. It's a...

[00:32:56] Speaker 2: Benedettini. Welcome. Um, he, Anthony came recommended from our, our, uh, our last guest, so I'm excited to talk with him. Um, and so, the way we typically start is I want to learn a little bit about you and your background and how you got to your current role today. So, I'm on your LinkedIn now. I see some, a wide range of, of different companies from wine to Tesla to ZoomInfo. So, walk, walk the audience through, you know, some of your, uh, you know, where you got started and how you got to where you are today.

[00:33:28] Speaker 1: Yeah, to take it all the way back to really college, cuz I feel like that's where a lot of people start, and I was going to University of Florida, studying physiology. Um, decided that that's not what I wanted to do, and I just realized like all the material we were learning was just out of date, because I'm a very self-starter learner. And so, I was reading books where like, we're on the cutting edge of nutrition science and all that. So, I basically dropped out and then decided to do my own thing in, um, health coaching for a bit.

[00:33:56] Speaker 1: That ended up leading me to my first startup job in a company in Napa, uh, called Dry Farm Wines. And so, I did customer, uh, customer service there, I did affiliate marketing, a lot, right? Small company, you wear many hats. And so, I lived in that world of health wellness in like the startups, basically all companies under 100 people, uh, for about five, five, six years.

[00:34:20] Speaker 1: Um, and it was just a, a big stint of my career. And then eventually, I hit a point in like 2022 where I was doing strategic partnerships for one of the companies and was like, "I kind of want to get out of this industry." And so, I don't, I don't know where to start, but I have, I lived in Austin at the time, and that's where I met, um, one of my good friends, uh, Chris Bussing, who he was in tech sales. Uh, he used to be a seller at Google, and then, uh, was selling, and he was like, "You know, you should try tech sales. Like, it's, you're a good seller, like, you would just fit right in." And I had never really considered tech.

[00:34:51] Speaker 1: But, I think the, the thing that I wanted to get out of was the startup, um, basically trap where you are just like,

[00:35:00] Speaker 2: I post about AI content on there, and then just in general, LinkedIn is the best spot. But more than happy to chat with anyone, or really like give you insight into what we're doing at ZoomInfo in terms of enablement. Love speaking on all things AI, so really just want to connect with as many people as possible. So yeah, LinkedIn, best spot.

[00:35:20] Speaker 1: Awesome. We'll drop his LinkedIn profile. Check out ZoomInfo. We're also ZoomInfo users at LevelUp Leads. We rely on their data for our SDRs as well. So, thanks for coming on. Appreciate it. Until next time.

[00:35:34] Speaker 2: Yeah.

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How Top SDR Teams Are Evolving with AI – Ep. 33
Elric Legloire ran SDR teams at Chili Piper, earning three or four promotions in two years, before leaving to advise companies on his own. Working solo, he says, is what lets him see the same handful of problems repeat across every industry. His take on promotion: it doesn't come from being the top performer, it comes from visibly improving the playbook and coaching the people around you. When he hires, he runs a role-play and watches how the candidate takes feedback, because someone who pushes back on coaching early rarely takes it later. On AI, he thinks the panic about SDRs disappearing has it backwards. Thirty thousand more SDRs were added globally over the past year, and OpenAI and Anthropic are now hiring reps to go after their biggest accounts. What has actually changed is the day itself: prospecting used to eat about a third of the week and now runs closer to 80%. He also tells clients to expect a full year before outbound turns into revenue, once you account for the sales cycle, hiring, and ramp. The episode wraps up with practical advice on asking better discovery questions, building SDR programs from scratch, and how sales professionals can stand out by focusing on genuine curiosity, empathy, and solving real customer problems.
Why Hard Work Beats Talent in Sales – Ep. 32
Matt Bastin liked sales but couldn't stand selling insurance in Ireland, so he moved to Canada for a tech job and made a game of catching the office's top performer. He outworked people rather than out-talenting them. He now runs an inbound team of about 30 at Clio, and when he hires he looks for the opposite of a polished candidate. He wants to see the cracks. He asks everyone the same two things in an interview: one thing you love about sales and one thing you hate. He also keeps the room relaxed on purpose, because nobody's dying if you fumble a phone call. He likes AI for role-play and onboarding, and his new hires run close to 100 practice conversations before they ever dial a real number. But he draws a line at leaning on it too hard. It's a tool, not a replacement for knowing how to write the email yourself. His biggest regret is not taking the career seriously until 28, and once taking a high-paying fintech job to sell something he couldn't stand talking about. The episode wraps up with practical advice on asking better discovery questions, building SDR programs from scratch, and how sales professionals can stand out by focusing on genuine curiosity, empathy, and solving real customer problems.
The #1 Trait Every Great SDR Has – Ep. 31
Matt Roberts got into tech sales almost by accident. He was pouring wine in Santa Barbara when friends pulled him into an SDR seat, and he rode that start all the way to director of sales development at Chili Piper. These days he places reps at AI-native startups. Ask him what he screens for and the answer is coachability and curiosity, ahead of experience every time. In his view no good SDR is missing either one, with grit and a real team-first streak close behind. He's blunt that booking a meeting is harder now than it was in 2019, and that your online presence often decides whether a prospect even bothers to reply. The two things most early-career reps skip, building a network on purpose and making yourself hard to replace, are the ones that pay off for years. The episode wraps up with practical advice on asking better discovery questions, building SDR programs from scratch, and how sales professionals can stand out by focusing on genuine curiosity, empathy, and solving real customer problems.
Startup Failures & Scaling to $16 million ARR – Ep. 30
Nick Velkovski failed something like ten startups before HeyReach. The one right before it, a Reddit marketing tool, burned through the largest raise in Macedonia's history in a single year. HeyReach itself sat stuck under $8K MRR until a co-founder talked him into niching all the way down to lead-gen agencies. From there he bet on integrations instead of trying to build an all-in-one product, and that bet carried the company to $16M ARR. Asked what he'd do differently, he doesn't hedge: hire seniors sooner, start trusting the data earlier, get on AI faster. His bigger point is that luck isn't only something that happens to you. You can manufacture it by putting yourself in enough situations where it has a chance to find you.They talk about the common mistakes SDRs make and Dillon says that bad follow up is often the biggest reason opportunities are lost. He explains how prioritizing prospects, eliminating friction and making scheduling easy dramatically improves conversion rates. Dillon also talks about the importance of multi-channel prospecting via phone, email, and LinkedIn, while adjusting to evolving buyer behaviors. The episode wraps up with practical advice on asking better discovery questions, building SDR programs from scratch, and how sales professionals can stand out by focusing on genuine curiosity, empathy, and solving real customer problems.
Why Follow-Ups Lead To Sales – Ep. 29
In this episode of Prospecting Pros, John Karsant talks to Dillon Tucker about his transition from finance and insurance sales to SaaS, SDR leadership, and fractional growth consulting. Dillon shares his early mentorship experiences at Outreach that sparked his love for coaching and developing sales talent. They talk about the common mistakes SDRs make and Dillon says that bad follow up is often the biggest reason opportunities are lost. He explains how prioritizing prospects, eliminating friction and making scheduling easy dramatically improves conversion rates. Dillon also talks about the importance of multi-channel prospecting via phone, email, and LinkedIn, while adjusting to evolving buyer behaviors. The episode wraps up with practical advice on asking better discovery questions, building SDR programs from scratch, and how sales professionals can stand out by focusing on genuine curiosity, empathy, and solving real customer problems.
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