Groundwork for Success in Sales Development Peer-graded Assignment Solution

Get All Groundwork for Success in Sales Development Peer-graded Assignment Solution

This is Course 1 in the Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate. In order to successfully complete later courses, please ensure you have completed this course before moving on.

This course is here to introduce you to the key role of a Sales Development Representative at a tech company. We want you to develop a winning professional mindset powered by emotional literacy, strategic thinking, time management, and task prioritization.

We’ll also focus on how you’ll be managing your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being in both your personal and professional life. Course 1 in the Sales Development Representative (SDR) Professional Certificate will give you the necessary skills to launch a career in the non-technical side of the tech industry.

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Peer-graded Assignment: Adopting the Winning Professional Mindset Solution

In this assignment:

• You will reflect on the four main personal qualities for success in the SDR role: growth mindset, grit and perseverance, optimism and self-confidence, and coachability; and identify people (real or fictional) that exemplify these qualities
• You will identify the evidence you observe based on each of these four qualities — you will reflect on the stories/quotes/behaviors that align with each quality
• You will reflect on how you can apply your learnings in real life —  what do you intend to do in your life to show evidence of these four qualities? Which strategies and tools will you apply in your daily life?
• You will share your work with one another through the peer review and this will give you glimpses into how others have internalized the four qualities and the role models that they have chosen. 
• You will be able to gain inspiration by the personal connections shared in your peers’ work and you will gain ideas for ways that you can deepen their own reflection. You will also build a sense of community with one another through this assignment because the exercise is personal and there will be some common ground among the selections

Step 1: Open the graphic organizer template below, make a copy to your own Google Drive, open it in google docs, and rename the file with your first and last name and the title of this assignment.

REMEMBER as you go through the following steps, you can refer to the sample submission below in order to see how another learner brought their ideas to life.

Step 2: Reflect first on ‘Growth Mindset’. Now that you have explored this concept, choose a person (real or fictional) who best embodies this quality. This can be somebody in your personal life, a celebrity, a well-known world leader, or a character from a movie or TV show. Write this person’s name in the blank beside Growth Mindset. 

Step 3: Choose a picture to represent this individual and paste it underneath their name. It can be a picture of their face or a picture that symbolizes the quality of a Growth Mindset.

Step 4: Where it says ‘Why did you choose this person?’, provide a description for why you chose this individual as a representative for a Growth Mindset. 

Step 5: Where it says ‘How do you know they possess this quality?’, include evidence of the Growth Mindset such as stories, quotations, and behaviors. Focus on finding evidence for this quality – try not to make assumptions.

Step 6: Where it says ‘Strategies and tools for your daily life’, identify at least 1 strategy or tool that you will apply to your life based on what you have learned from this individual.

Step 7: Repeat steps 2-6 for each of the qualities until the whole idea organizer has been completed.

Step 8: Convert the Google doc to a PDF and submit it here.

Peer-graded Assignment: Building a Weekly SDR Calendar Solution

In this assignment

• You will reflect on what you have learned about metrics orientedness, goal-setting and achievement, working styles and patterns, time management and prioritization, and the importance of proactivity and planning for success
• You will craft a weekly schedule that synthesizes your learnings
• You will reflect on your personal working style and energy patterns
• You will get used to tracking activity for the week through a calendar 
• You will be able imagine your life as an SDR which will help strengthen your commitment and motivation
• You will share your schedules with one another and see various iterations of how the schedule can be created and managed 
• You will see the diversity of working styles and patterns by looking at each other’s work

In this assignment, you are going to imagine that you are an SDR and that you have to create a weekly work schedule that will ensure that you achieve your weekly goals. Please note: the numbers we are using in this scenario DO NOT apply to every company. 

Step 1: We’ll start with some math. For this exercise, imagine that your cold-call to qualified appointment ratio is 100:1. This means that for every 100 calls you make, you get 1 qualified meeting.

Your goal for each week is 5 meetings with a monthly quota of 20 meetings. This means that you need to make 500 calls each week in order to hit your goal of 5 meetings per week. This equates to 100 calls per day. 

If you are able to make 50 calls per hour, then how many call blocks do you need to hit 5 meetings a week? If we do the math correctly, in one week you’ll need to make 500 calls (100 calls yields 1 qualified meeting). 

In this scenario, you need to schedule 2 hours of cold-calls each day to hit your activity goal of 500 calls a week and your quota of 20 meetings per month. Keep this in mind as you move through this whole exercise.

Step 2: Now that you know how many calls you need to make each day, it’s time to create a schedule that will ensure you hit or exceed your quota, taking into account your personal working style and energy patterns. 

Download the SDR calendar template below, open it in Microsoft Excel, and rename the file with your first and last name and the title of this assignment.

Step 3: Begin by noticing the set meetings in the calendar. These are team meetings, manager check-ins, and stand-ups that can’t be moved (for the sake of this exercise). In real life, you can always provide your manager with feedback if a set meeting time isn’t working for you and your team. 

Step 4: Now, take note of best practices on prospect-facing hours. These are also known as golden hours or money-making hours because these are time-blocks dedicated to direct prospect outreach. These time blocks yield meetings and the more meetings you can book, the more likely you will hit or exceed your quota and receive a bonus ($$$!). 

Based on this article entitled ‘The Best Time(s) of Day to Make a Sales Call in 2020’, let’s operate with one best practice of call blocks taking place from 8-9:30 am and 4-5 pm. 

Include 2 hours of cold-calls in your calendar each day using the legend on the right side – you can copy and paste the cell directly. Remember that on some days you may not be able to make 100 calls, so you’ll need to adjust accordingly. 

Step 5: Now ponder your working style and patterns. What time do you want to get into the office so that you get a head start to your day? What time will you end your day to take full advantage of the limited selling hours? 

Step 6: Next add in your morning routine, lunch breaks, and any other exercises (walks, the gym, yoga, etc.) that you know you will need to stay motivated and healthy throughout the week. Ensure that you copy and paste a 30-60 min LUNCH for each day at a reasonable time that works for your working style and energy patterns.  

Step 7: Now reflect on how you will ensure that you get the most out of your call-blocks. In order to maximize the value of your conversations with prospects during call blocks, you will need to do research, write and respond to emails, and engage with prospects on social media as you build your understanding of how your product can help a company. 

Use the PLANNING, RESEARCH, EMAIL, VIDEO, and SOCIAL time blocks to ensure that you have at least one of each per day. Success as an SDR stems from consistent activity. 

Be sure to strategically place these other supportive activities before and after call blocks so that when your prospects actually answer the phone you are prepared to have informed and valuable conversations with them.

Step 8: Lastly, look at any open spots in your calendar and reflect on how you can use these for collaboration, continued learning, and opportunities to take leadership. Add in COLLABORATION, LEARNING, and LEADERSHIP blocks where you see fit, ensuring that these do not come at the cost of hitting and exceeding your activity goal. 

Step 9: Upload your spreadsheet here.

Peer-graded Assignment: Taking Responsibility for Disruptions to Your Plan Solution

In this assignment:

• You will reflect on what you have learned about taking 100% responsibility, thriving with curiosity, and balancing collaboration and competition 
• You will revisit the weekly schedule you crafted in the Module 3 peer-review assignment, “Building Your Weekly SDR Calendar”, now presented with 3 significant disruptions to your plan
• You will strategize a plan for how you’ll fit these disruptions into your schedule, while staying on track toward your goals 
• You will reflect on each of the three disruptions to your schedule in the spirit of taking responsible, thriving with curiosity, and balancing collaboration and competition
• You will reflect on the success of your overall strategy, paying attention to what you’ve had to sacrifice in the short-term and what you will gain through adjustments to these disruptions
• You will share your work with one another through the peer review and this will give you glimpses into how others have approached their strategy, and see what others prioritize
• You will be able to gain an appreciation for alternative viewpoints and strategies for handling disruptions to their workflow and carefully laid plans.

Step 1: Return to the schedule you created in the Module 3 peer-review assignment, “Building Your Weekly SDR Calendar”.

Step 2: Start a new Google Doc and reflect on the disruption scenarios below. Record your response to the following questions for each dilemma: 1) What are you thinking and feeling in this scenario? (1-2 sentences)

2) What would you change on your schedule in order to set yourself up for success? List at least one major change.

3) How will you orient yourself to the title commitment of this scenario? (I.e. How are you taking 100% responsibility in your new strategy? How are you aiming to thrive with curiosity in your new strategy? How are you aiming to excel through collaboration and competition in your new strategy?)

Disruption Scenario 1 – Taking 100% Responsibility

You are at the halfway mark of the quarter. Last quarter, you hit 90% of your meeting quota, and have made a goal for yourself to hit 100% this quarter. You noticed that you are at 25% of your quota, and the other SDRs on your team are tracking at 60% to their goal. Today, your manager took notice and has asked you to strategize a plan for getting back on track.

Disruption Scenario 2 – Thriving with Curiosity

You are 3 months into your role, and have settled into a manageable workflow. Your Account Executives have expressed concerns around your qualification process, as many of your prospects have turned out to not be a good fit for the product. Your manager has reviewed your last batch of calls, and asked you to devote 10 hours this week to training on qualification. 

Disruption Scenario 3 – Excelling through Collaboration and Competition

You have been at your company for 5 months, and are regularly exceeding your targets. You have been praised for the speed of your ramp up, having set 10 meetings in the first month despite not having a quota. Your company has hired a new SDR, and you’ve been asked to take the lead on onboarding them. You are tasked with devoting 5 hours of your week to onboarding. You are eager to guide the new SDR, but also cautious about not falling behind this quarter.

Step 2: Take a step back, and reflect on your strategies by answering the following questions: 

1. What did you lose in your re-strategizing? What did you gain? List at least 1 for each. 
2. What have you noticed about strategizing by orienting yourself to commitments like taking 100% responsibility, thriving with curiosity, and excelling through collaboration and competition?

Step 8: Convert the Google doc to a PDF and submit it here.

Conclusion:

I hope this Groundwork for Success in Sales Development Peer-graded Assignment Solution would be useful for you to learn something new from this Course. If it helped you then don’t forget to bookmark our site for more peer graded solutions.

This course is intended for audiences of all experiences who are interested in learning about new skills in a business context; there are no prerequisite courses.

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