Dr. Sofia Nastri, BVMSci fCMgr MRCVS

Great to see stories like this being shared from within OneAdvanced 👇 https://lnkd.in/e5DqTmxe A real look into what it’s like to start and grow as an SDR — and how that journey can evolve over time. Building a career in sales isn’t always linear, but having the right support and environment makes all the difference. Worth a read if you’re considering a role in tech sales or early in your career. #OneAdvanced #NewRole #SDR #LifeAtOneAdvanced

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Interesting post ! The strategy of Salesforce behind those recent 3 acquisitions is to be able to reduce frictions in existing processes and legacy applications. ‘Supply chains and backoffices would seem to be rich environments for AI agents. nothing is more antique, point-and-click (if even), tedious and manual than rummaging ERP, Excel, email etc.’

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Stop treating your performance data like a stick to beat yourself with. I've been in sales 6 years, the last year in a 360 role: calls, meetings, the lot. This week: more output than last week. Fewer calls. Fewer conversations. But the conversations I did have? Better than they've been in months. Without that context, "fewer calls" looks like a bad week. It isn't. I've got a rare free afternoon today, and I'm using it to get back on the phones and see if I can keep this run going. The rule I've set myself this year: always try to beat last week. Not everyone else; just the version of me from 7 days ago. What's the one number you check to know if your week actually worked?

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The most successful reps do 2 things for every call Once you try this and see the results, it is eye-opening for you 1. Pre-call prep Preparation ahead of the call identifying > Goal > Agenda > Who speaks first > Questions still needing to be asked > Uncovering who needs to be involved > Next steps My template: - About them: name, title, personality type, etc - Reason for the call - Meat of the cal — Customer pains & business objective — What do you already know — What you need to know/questions to ask? — What you think they want to know? — Questions you’ll likely get - Social proof you want to reference - Next steps - Tools needed for this call? - What makes this call successful? Confidence & results skyrocket with your prospect and customers calls 2. Post call recap After a call, I thought I heard it exactly right I was there, I was talking, why would I need to recap it? I missed so much My post call framework: - Record call? - What was missed from pre-call checklist - Follow You, I ,We call framework during call - Uncover a pain they agreed to with business objective - What are next steps? - 2 positives of the call - 2 what could do betters - Balance of time and speaking? - Review tone, speed, confidence and mirroring - Leveraged qualification criteria as needed? Post call recap with and without a recorded call is essential in my mind now *Pro move: do these with your manager (or colleague) Great for coaching Great for self coaching Great for identifying areas of improvement Implement these two into your sales calls and you'll see measureable growth

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CS teams reporting to a CRO jumped from 24% to 33% in a year. Everyone's arguing about whether that's good or bad for the trusted-advisor role. Wrong debate. I've worked under both structures. The box changed less than people think. What actually changed was who asked me for proof. Under a CRO, nobody cared about my QBR deck. They wanted to know which accounts were shrinking before the forecast caught it. Under a CCO, softer language could buy me another quarter. "Relationship is strong." That's not a number. In public sector accounts specifically, procurement moves slow and CS work can look invisible for months. That used to be fine. It isn't anymore, because someone has to defend your headcount in a room that cuts invisible work first. I've watched good CSMs lose their jobs under both structures. It was never the box. It was always the proof. What's the actual test you use to know your work moved a number that matters? Know a CS leader stuck arguing about org charts instead of this? Repost it for them.

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Top Tip for all CSMs (or client facing friends): Don’t take negative client feedback personally. This is something I wish I’d known earlier in my career. Being in a client-facing role means you’re constantly engaging with people and inevitably, there will be moments of frustration or tough conversations. The key is to remember: it’s rarely about you. You never truly know what’s going on in that individual’s day or personal life. Instead of reacting defensively, listen, validate, and use the feedback as a chance to learn, grow, and resolve. Every challenge is an opportunity to strengthen trust and show your value. In the long run, you’ll find there are far more positive moments than negative ones and each one makes you a stronger CSM.

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People think SDRs just “need better messaging.” Here’s what actually breaks reps long before quota does. You start the day confident. Coffee in hand. Pipeline open. Then reality kicks in. • Spend 20 minutes researching an account that will never reply • Personalise an opener that gets skimmed (at best) • Debate whether the follow-up is “too soon” or “too late” • Re-read the same sentence 6 times before hitting send • Check replies - nothing • Refresh inbox - still nothing • Jump on calls anyway because numbers don’t care how you feel • Get told “bad timing” by someone who was never going to buy • Second-guess your tone, your timing, your targeting • Watch a Slack message say “any updates?” • Convince yourself tomorrow will be different • Log activity. Close tabs. Do it again. No one talks about this part. The mental negotiation you do with yourself all day: “Should I push?” “Should I wait?” “Is this me… or the market?” Being an SDR isn’t just outreach. It’s decision-making under uncertainty, over and over again. That’s the real skill you’re building, even when it doesn’t feel like it. If you’re still showing up, still thinking, still refining, you’re learning faster than you realise. What’s the part of the SDR role that surprised you the most once you were in it? #SDR #SALES

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