Three weeks ago, I didn’t know what on Earth to do. I’m in lockdown, my whole team is in lockdown, all our prospects are in lockdown and… all events for the next 6 months are cancelled!?
It’s been a rocky few weeks but after putting our heads together as a team at Reachdesk & consuming some hugely useful content I’ve found a way to keep productive, demonstrate empathy in my outreach & ultimately book meetings. That’s why us BDRs are here, right?
I’ve boiled it down to these key factors - hope it helps.
1. Plan your day - properly!
Structure has been thrown out the window, so you’ve gotta force it back in. Having a notepad/ laptop alongside your morning Lucky Charms and mapping out the day is more important than ever. Think about what needs doing today, how long it is going to take, what else you’ve already got booked in - then structure the day accordingly.
This helps you prioritise your critical tasks and stay productive! Once you’ve outlined your schedule, be strict with yourself. When it hits 11 am move on to the next task as you planned - if you don’t keep to this, there’s no point!
2. Use referrals
If you’ve been prospecting for a few months, or even years, you’ve likely touched bases with hundreds if not thousands of people. Hopefully, out of them there’s a good few that you’ve connected with on a personal level & like you to at least some small degree…
Hit these guys up! Start with some value or insight that could be helpful to them (deposit!), find out how they’re getting on, then don’t be afraid to ask ‘Hey - when we spoke I really felt you saw the value in us - is there anyone within your network that comes to mind who might appreciate me reaching out?’
This works well for people you’ve met in person at events as they’re more likely to remember you & your charming qualities!
3. Think outside the box
Normal prospecting channels were saturated before and they’re even worse now. Has anyone ever been invited to so many webinars via email?
That means we’ve got to push the boat out with more unique touchpoints. Video is essential in my book, eGift cards (UberEats, Amazon, NowTV) are a godsend for a lot of people right now, hyper-personalised subject lines go a long way, and voice notes on LinkedIn are getting a lot of praise from the BDR community.
If you’ve not tapped into these, now is the time to scratch up on your skills & introduce them to your routine.
4. Personalisation (duh)
Personalisation is prospecting 101. But! In this moment, your personalisation has to consider the specific problems that you can solve right now.
With so much business uncertainty, your prospects will be finding it hard to look beyond the short term. If your messaging isn’t relevant to the here & now it won’t resonate and people won’t want to talk.
Apply this on the phones & in written communications. We’re helping people in your position who are asking themselves ABC at the moment. We can help with this through XYZ…
5. Consume content (but not too much)
There’s been some super useful content on LinkedIn recently - it’s not hard to find and a webinar 2/3 times a week is extremely valuable for picking up what’s working for others in the industry.
Rich Smith & the Refract team have run regular webinars specific to BDR problems, the SDRs of London community (Ben Smith, Jack Neicho) too, and our Co-Founder Alex Olley (can I name drop my own co-founder?). All have provided invaluable content over the last month - connect with them if you haven’t already!
However, there’s way more content out there than you could ever consume and ultimately you know what messaging will suit yourself best. Cherry-pick some neat ideas then back yourself and execute!
6. End the day and ‘commute’
With the lines between work & home life becoming so blurred, it can be hard to switch off at the end of the day. Because we’re not physically leaving the office your mind doesn’t have the chance to naturally switch off from work-related thoughts.
Once you’ve given some thought to how well you executed your schedule for the day and what tomorrow holds, try scheduling a jog/walk. This allows the day to feel like it’s come to a natural conclusion and you can enjoy some peace in the evening so you’re fresh for the next day!
This is a strange time but for the interim WFH is the new norm...
It’s essential, for the sake of all of the businesses we represent, that we continue to drive value & connect with people whom we can help in moving their own businesses forward.
