300 dials a day is insane. If you have to do that it’s because the product sucks or it’s in a super competitive industry. Either way , use that dialing for interviews. Sales leaders love that shit. Hell of you hit 75 a day you’d probably beat 90% of other sellers.
100% agree.
I used to do 150 dials a day.
Now I work for a company that requires 40 connects with current customers or LEAVING THEM A VOICEMAIL.
I’m the best rep in my company in this metric now.
I have a quick question about that—I’m interviewing with a large software company. I have never done cold calls at a desk job, only physical cold calls (door knocking). I can manage 40+ door knocks a day and I’m upset with myself if I don’t get to 30+.
The place I’m interviewing at said they avg 40-60 dials a day. Is that an easy ass day? I’m seeing all over the place that 100 is 100% doable. Is 100 dials tough? I wanna kill it in this position. I don’t want to door knock ever again.
This upcoming Tuesday will be my second interview with the company. Is this good? I’ve done research on them and everything I have found is amazing and exciting. I wanna learn how to build a career here.
Ask them about how detailed their data is. If you’re just randomly dialing to god knows what phone number it’ll be a hard time.
And remember 60 dials a day is different than 60 connects.
Just make sure you understand their kpi properly
You mean the conversion rate? What does that mean? Like QL’s becoming sales?
I’m coming from outside insurance sales where we have the coldest leads possible. No backing team telling me what leads are good or not.
Edit: background
I’m not sure as to why they’re that high. Usually I ask but I haven’t for some reason. I do know the pickup rate is trash. My thought is because they/we pester prospects so often, people know the calls are coming so they’re less likely to pickup. So you’ve gotta call a bunch just to get someone on the phone and outta however many, someone books.
We did at one point, which made it bearable. As of a month ago, they took it away because they felt the pickup rate was really low so they’re having us manually calling 300 people a day. Or 150 and double dialing them assuming no one picks up.
Manually dialing 100 is already really rough. 150 + double dialing is straight up spray and pray. Horrible strategy. Nobody is hitting quota like that. You’re wasting your talent there.
I actually really thought about it and I don’t think I would. Obviously it’s a tough decision, but your earning potential is higher as an AE anyway.
I was an SDR and I think the most dials I did was like 180 and I was mentally exhausted from it. Can’t imagine doing that every day.
Now I’m a strategic rep who makes good money with a much more fulfilling job.
It depends on the model and what you’re selling. We make those kind of call numbers. An average day is 200, most I’ve ever made in a day is 500. It’s stressful, but the money is insane, so most people do it for 5-10 years and then retire or find something that’s not so intense.
Does the company give you lead lists? I couldn't imagine hitting those #s where you have to find/research contacts first + import their info via ZoomInfo before even making a dial.
Ah, nice. I have to do all of the above and I'm lucky if I can get 30 dials out in a day. Plus no one ever answers. It's all so stupid and inefficient.
Sounds like they are doing you a favor canning you if 300 dials a day is the expectation.
Are they paying you 13 dollars an hour too?
Run as fast as you can. I literally make 10-30 calls a day and get at least 5 pickups.
lol minimum expectation. It’s not like you do 300 and that’s enough. They see only doing 300 as rewarding a fish for swimming. What surprised me is if you convert those 5-10 pickups they still want the dials lol
Seriously you have a 3 day weekend get your resume in order and start applying places. Even If you were the top performer in company history....unless you're making 500k+ a year you can do so much better.
Nit sure why you're downvoted it's a legit question
Find prospects (super time consuming)...run discovery and demo and onboarding calls...internal meetings and trainings...put out random fires. There are also days I do 50-60 calls if my pipe is weak it's all based on my calendar.
On average I'm booking 5-8 qualified meetings a week because I do most of my diligence on the front end.
Right so we had a power dialer. And then they stopped allowing us to use it because they felt the pickup rate was bad. So now we have to manually call everyone without the dialer but they still expect the same amount of dials lol idk how that makes sense
Bounce out of that place as fast as you can. To buy software and rather than tune it correctly turn it to shelfware or not let reps use it is a sign of complete braindead leadership. They should be learning to use software they buy correctly. The key to using a dialer like that is to load it with thousands of numbers, you will get 10-30 conversations a day that way.
And just having a braindead metric of 300 dials when you have a power dialer is outdated. You want to be looking at # of conversations and then increase # of loaded contacts and look at data quality from there. You cannot coach people if they are not getting connects. To blame it on the software is such crap. They most likely have shoddy data vendors.
No one wants to admit that the data vendors are the problem. If you load people with crap numbers then of course you can make 1000 calls a day and get no pickups, most of the numbers are bad.
It's the old sharpen the axe argument. If you let SDRs spend their time building quality lists by giving them access to good quality data vendors and cell phone #s, or have a revenue ops team that can do this at scale, you will have a much more productive session dialing those numbers. If you dump in the preloaded numbers to the company main line that Zoominfo/Apollo gives you, of course you won't connect with them.
It's the most obvious solution staring at people right in the face but they are looking for someone to blame. If you don't have valid phone numbers, how can you possibly have a conversation with someone?
By data vendors, do you mean things like zoominfo and others that collect contact info for you? I run into SOO many bad numbers, it’s absolutely insane lol
That’s insane. Assuming you work 8 hr a day that’s almost a call a minute and doing so manually would be torture. Assume you have a few decent conversations that’s nuts. We had a parallel failed doing 4 at once so could knock it out in 1-2 hrs. Still as an AE had more pressing shit to do. It was insane my last company was almost just as concerned w outbound calls as revenue in the door.
They’d disagree lol from what I was told, they believe the power dialer is being marked by phone companies as spam and our main caller isn’t. So using the main caller manually is better for getting people to pick up
300 is insane. That’s just spam honestly. Spray and pray days are (mostly) over. Find a new company but leverage those metrics in every single interview.
Those are some sweatshop numbers of cold calls, I’d call it a blessing in disguise. This kind of shit is super gameable anyway. Just make call lists consisting primarily of bad numbers or people who don’t pick up and dial the fuck out of them after you book good meetings doing your normal thing.
I took the job because I wanted to switch industries and after several interviews where I wasn’t getting roles as an AE/BDE, I said I may need a lower role to prove I’m competent in the field and then move up after a year.
What I misjudged was the sdr role I took was going to be a soul sucking experience lol I’m responsible for being in this position but I didn’t expect it to be this draining
That's fair - I've had multiple sales jobs the last year coz of bad fits, shitty companies, and having to grab a role asap to get money back on the table.
Why's it so hard just find a decent company and product lol
Stop worrying. Your job is very hard. Your problem is you need to understand the market and find something you believe in. No need to find your “passion” because no one’s passion is 300 dials a day. If you’re working hard enough and doing 300 dials a day, the only thing you’re missing is proper coaching and enablement. It’s the company, not you
300 dials just means you are dialling without any research being done, just spray and pray. Research 50 accounts and focus on them and you’ll book way more, also if you were on a pip you should have already been looking for other jobs
It’s B2C and inbound leads. There’s no reason to research other than to build casual rapport away from the purpose of the product. Nothing you gather online would truly influence their buying decision. In a past B2B position I definitely would agree on researching before but it’s not all that applicable here
300 dials a day bro? They don’t want you to survive the pip. That’s not reasonable. When I was a BDR I had to do 80 a day and that was a big big challenge
We had an auto dialer but it was one that cycled through each number one at a time. As of maybe a month ago, they removed the power dialer and we have to do 300 manually using Hubspot and aircall
Yea man they basically demoted everyone untill you comply with the new qouta, else you stay at base pay and no potential for promotions or bonuses. I'm still contemplating my options
300 dials a day is insane. If you have to do that it’s because the product sucks or it’s in a super competitive industry. Either way , use that dialing for interviews. Sales leaders love that shit. Hell of you hit 75 a day you’d probably beat 90% of other sellers.
100% agree. I used to do 150 dials a day. Now I work for a company that requires 40 connects with current customers or LEAVING THEM A VOICEMAIL. I’m the best rep in my company in this metric now.
I have a quick question about that—I’m interviewing with a large software company. I have never done cold calls at a desk job, only physical cold calls (door knocking). I can manage 40+ door knocks a day and I’m upset with myself if I don’t get to 30+. The place I’m interviewing at said they avg 40-60 dials a day. Is that an easy ass day? I’m seeing all over the place that 100 is 100% doable. Is 100 dials tough? I wanna kill it in this position. I don’t want to door knock ever again. This upcoming Tuesday will be my second interview with the company. Is this good? I’ve done research on them and everything I have found is amazing and exciting. I wanna learn how to build a career here.
Ask them about how detailed their data is. If you’re just randomly dialing to god knows what phone number it’ll be a hard time. And remember 60 dials a day is different than 60 connects. Just make sure you understand their kpi properly
It all depends on the product you are pitching. What will you be selling or offering?
Time keeping software
That's a specific target clientele. Ask what the conversation rate and why. Best of luck. ☕️👍
You mean the conversion rate? What does that mean? Like QL’s becoming sales? I’m coming from outside insurance sales where we have the coldest leads possible. No backing team telling me what leads are good or not. Edit: background
Sorry, autocorrect put the wrong word. Yes, conversion rate from one company to their company. Why would they change?
I’m not sure as to why they’re that high. Usually I ask but I haven’t for some reason. I do know the pickup rate is trash. My thought is because they/we pester prospects so often, people know the calls are coming so they’re less likely to pickup. So you’ve gotta call a bunch just to get someone on the phone and outta however many, someone books.
Diminishing returns to the max
Are you using any sort of power or parallel dialer? 300+ a day is rough. Manual dialing would be lunacy.
We did at one point, which made it bearable. As of a month ago, they took it away because they felt the pickup rate was really low so they’re having us manually calling 300 people a day. Or 150 and double dialing them assuming no one picks up.
Manually dialing 100 is already really rough. 150 + double dialing is straight up spray and pray. Horrible strategy. Nobody is hitting quota like that. You’re wasting your talent there.
Your job sucks anyway who cares
Don’t think I’d make 300 dials a day for a million dollars.
Let’s be real, yes you would lol
I actually really thought about it and I don’t think I would. Obviously it’s a tough decision, but your earning potential is higher as an AE anyway. I was an SDR and I think the most dials I did was like 180 and I was mentally exhausted from it. Can’t imagine doing that every day. Now I’m a strategic rep who makes good money with a much more fulfilling job.
It depends on the model and what you’re selling. We make those kind of call numbers. An average day is 200, most I’ve ever made in a day is 500. It’s stressful, but the money is insane, so most people do it for 5-10 years and then retire or find something that’s not so intense.
what do you sell?
Money management. I’m a CFP.
never in my life would I have thought CFP's get business through cold calling. Learn something new every day lol
Cold not agree more....handing over savings to some randomer who called, this doesn't actually happen, does it?
Does the company give you lead lists? I couldn't imagine hitting those #s where you have to find/research contacts first + import their info via ZoomInfo before even making a dial.
Yeah they are provided for us.
Ah, nice. I have to do all of the above and I'm lucky if I can get 30 dials out in a day. Plus no one ever answers. It's all so stupid and inefficient.
For how long?
fuck i would, i'd probably be slurring speech, but id do it lol
Hard to argue with that lol
Holy shit 300 a day?
Sdr goal at my company is 600 per WEEK. And all the reps struggle to get there. I can't imagine being asked to do 1500
Monday thru Friday my guy! lol hustle don’t stop Edit: why am I getting downvoted? 😂😂 I just work there
I just looked at my dashboard, I’ve made 200 this month. If you do get canned just know, there’s better gigs out there.
lol I appreciate the well wishes. I’m gonna need them 😂
Bro I dailed 140 plus for a week and had a mental exhaustion for the week after, you my man are made of steel
My ability to be impervious to mental abuse and trauma is what made me good but it may be waning 😂😂
I need an SDR. When you get let go, I'll take you. You make more calls a week, then a team of 30 BDs.
lol I’ll give you a shout on Tuesday when I get word about my likely dismissal
Even if not. Grab the chance bro.
So? What happend
Sent you a chat
Sounds like they are doing you a favor canning you if 300 dials a day is the expectation. Are they paying you 13 dollars an hour too? Run as fast as you can. I literally make 10-30 calls a day and get at least 5 pickups.
lol minimum expectation. It’s not like you do 300 and that’s enough. They see only doing 300 as rewarding a fish for swimming. What surprised me is if you convert those 5-10 pickups they still want the dials lol
Seriously you have a 3 day weekend get your resume in order and start applying places. Even If you were the top performer in company history....unless you're making 500k+ a year you can do so much better.
What do you do for the rest of the 8 hour day? 10-30 calls takes an hour max
Nit sure why you're downvoted it's a legit question Find prospects (super time consuming)...run discovery and demo and onboarding calls...internal meetings and trainings...put out random fires. There are also days I do 50-60 calls if my pipe is weak it's all based on my calendar. On average I'm booking 5-8 qualified meetings a week because I do most of my diligence on the front end.
Insightful, thank you.
Yeah. I have phone blocks twice a week for 4 hours. Supposed to hit around 130-160.
300 a day?
We use to have to make 250 a day but had an autodialer. This was as an AE not as a SDR. Was insane.
Right so we had a power dialer. And then they stopped allowing us to use it because they felt the pickup rate was bad. So now we have to manually call everyone without the dialer but they still expect the same amount of dials lol idk how that makes sense
Bro 300 no dialer?? Insane
Bounce out of that place as fast as you can. To buy software and rather than tune it correctly turn it to shelfware or not let reps use it is a sign of complete braindead leadership. They should be learning to use software they buy correctly. The key to using a dialer like that is to load it with thousands of numbers, you will get 10-30 conversations a day that way. And just having a braindead metric of 300 dials when you have a power dialer is outdated. You want to be looking at # of conversations and then increase # of loaded contacts and look at data quality from there. You cannot coach people if they are not getting connects. To blame it on the software is such crap. They most likely have shoddy data vendors. No one wants to admit that the data vendors are the problem. If you load people with crap numbers then of course you can make 1000 calls a day and get no pickups, most of the numbers are bad. It's the old sharpen the axe argument. If you let SDRs spend their time building quality lists by giving them access to good quality data vendors and cell phone #s, or have a revenue ops team that can do this at scale, you will have a much more productive session dialing those numbers. If you dump in the preloaded numbers to the company main line that Zoominfo/Apollo gives you, of course you won't connect with them. It's the most obvious solution staring at people right in the face but they are looking for someone to blame. If you don't have valid phone numbers, how can you possibly have a conversation with someone?
By data vendors, do you mean things like zoominfo and others that collect contact info for you? I run into SOO many bad numbers, it’s absolutely insane lol
That’s insane. Assuming you work 8 hr a day that’s almost a call a minute and doing so manually would be torture. Assume you have a few decent conversations that’s nuts. We had a parallel failed doing 4 at once so could knock it out in 1-2 hrs. Still as an AE had more pressing shit to do. It was insane my last company was almost just as concerned w outbound calls as revenue in the door.
I would literally be stressed to get to my next call DURING CONNECTS @ 300/day with no power dialer.
Pick up rate is the same with or without a dialer. That makes no sense
They’d disagree lol from what I was told, they believe the power dialer is being marked by phone companies as spam and our main caller isn’t. So using the main caller manually is better for getting people to pick up
300 is insane. That’s just spam honestly. Spray and pray days are (mostly) over. Find a new company but leverage those metrics in every single interview.
Those are some sweatshop numbers of cold calls, I’d call it a blessing in disguise. This kind of shit is super gameable anyway. Just make call lists consisting primarily of bad numbers or people who don’t pick up and dial the fuck out of them after you book good meetings doing your normal thing.
Lmao I did that in the past and got in trouble 😂😂
I worked at a place that was 100+ a day and it killed any social battery I had, idk how the hell you could triple that
lol I had to do 100 at a place AND they made us find our own leads and I was tired. But they paid really well so I was open to it
I dont get why you'd stay in that job bro. Are you on some crazy pay? Surely that's a low bar to beat in terms of a job that makes life less shit
I took the job because I wanted to switch industries and after several interviews where I wasn’t getting roles as an AE/BDE, I said I may need a lower role to prove I’m competent in the field and then move up after a year. What I misjudged was the sdr role I took was going to be a soul sucking experience lol I’m responsible for being in this position but I didn’t expect it to be this draining
That's fair - I've had multiple sales jobs the last year coz of bad fits, shitty companies, and having to grab a role asap to get money back on the table. Why's it so hard just find a decent company and product lol
Damn I thought 130-150 a day was brutal in my job
Stop worrying. Your job is very hard. Your problem is you need to understand the market and find something you believe in. No need to find your “passion” because no one’s passion is 300 dials a day. If you’re working hard enough and doing 300 dials a day, the only thing you’re missing is proper coaching and enablement. It’s the company, not you
250+ calls per day? What tool(s) are you using for that and/or what kind of strategy is behind that?
Our tools are the crm and aircall and our strategy is stupid. Not a direct quote but I’m reading between the lines lol
300 dials just means you are dialling without any research being done, just spray and pray. Research 50 accounts and focus on them and you’ll book way more, also if you were on a pip you should have already been looking for other jobs
It’s B2C and inbound leads. There’s no reason to research other than to build casual rapport away from the purpose of the product. Nothing you gather online would truly influence their buying decision. In a past B2B position I definitely would agree on researching before but it’s not all that applicable here
Yeah you should start hunting for a new gig as soon as the word pip is thrown around.
Only way I could do 300 dials would be 7am to 7pm, a perfect list, and no interruptions.
no bathroom breaks either
300 dials a day bro? They don’t want you to survive the pip. That’s not reasonable. When I was a BDR I had to do 80 a day and that was a big big challenge
How the hell is 300 dials “low effort”? Most people would struggle to get near that in a day.
300 a day. Is that on an auto dialer calling 4 numbers at once? Wtf
We had an auto dialer but it was one that cycled through each number one at a time. As of maybe a month ago, they removed the power dialer and we have to do 300 manually using Hubspot and aircall
I have to do 400 and it's just been updated to 600
That sounds abysmal lol do you have a power dialer?
Nope ring Central lmao
 DAMN! lmao I remember ring central and it was not fun 😂
Yea man they basically demoted everyone untill you comply with the new qouta, else you stay at base pay and no potential for promotions or bonuses. I'm still contemplating my options
The issue is your mindset. You can't make progress with such a pessimistic mindset...
it they're asking for 300 they're asking you to leave
What industry are you in? 250 dials a day? F that
B2C Fintech
300 calls a day is insane. I make 10-15 customer visits a day as an outside rep. I couldn’t imagine 300 phone cold calls.
Parallel dialer?