A sales coach told me the other day that being a BDR is the hardest sales job you’ll ever have. He said Sales is the Benjamin Button of careers–meaning it gets easier over time. Being a BDR is tough, no doubt. And it’s pretty common that for people wanting to make a career out of sales, it’s the inevitable starting point. What makes being BDR so hard? It’s the constant rejection you face when you cold-call all day, and, while at first, it is scary, you develop a thicker skin over time. This is not to say that it gets easier, but you adjust to making calls and facing rejection all day. Some times I have my doubts about the position I’m in, and I find my motivation decreasing. I think this is completely normal and part of being human. To succeed in this job, I had to learn some lessons that I’d like to share with you in this article.

Get to the No’s quickly:

The most frustrating thing about cold-calling is when prospects refuse to take your calls. They might have expressed interest at first, but then refuse to take further calls. It can feel like they have completely forgotten about you, and you have to realize that it’s nothing personal–there can be a myriad of reasons why your calls aren’t getting through. It’s just a matter of timing, but to get emotionally invested in leads that ghost you can drain more energy out of you than is really necessary. That’s why receiving a No is a blessing: at least you have clarity, you’re not investing any more energy and you can continue to get to the yesses.

If you messed up a call, and you receive a No, spend no longer than 5 minutes getting angry or sad about it. It is in the past, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Winning the BDR game is all about moving the needle and gaining momentum, so the best you can do when you face rejection is to just analyze what mistakes you make and see where there is room for improvement for future calls. That brings me to my next point.

There’s always room for improvement:

While being a BDR can be painful, involving a lot of discipline and grit, what makes it more enjoyable is that you can see how your investment in your own development has a direct impact on your performance. When I started out, I started reading a lot of sales literature, including the works of David Hoffeld (highly recommend.) As I read and re-read his books, I noticed how my calls got better, which had a direct and real-time on my performance and pay check. This is a very rewarding experience and unique to this profession. Because you work a lot with targets and statistics regarding your performance, you are able to see how your input affects your output, sort of like a professional Basketplayer staying after the game to perfect his jump-shoot. Continuous effort to refine your techniques, your objection handling, and your mindset have measurable impact on how you perform. It is amazing what a 30 day focused effort on upskilling can have on your standing in the company, your confidence, and you’re ability to navigate the complex world of Software Sales. Having a growth mindset and not becoming complacent, even when you have found some success, is crucial to succeeding in this role. It what separates the average from the top performers.

Be attached to the process no the Outcome:

It is no secret that sales is a stressful occupation. Most revenue organisations at startups or scale-ups are under extreme pressure to match the founder’s expectations who in turn want to meet shareholder expectations to keep aggressive growth projections alive. Your job, in Top of the Funnel, is to some extent, what the company’s top-line/over-all valuation depends on. It is not uncommon that the CRO will exert pressure on upper/middle-management to deliver results within a quarter and give them ultimatums. This pressure is then passed downward to the bottom of the hierarchy, unless you have a great manager who can communicate healthily about performance expectations. Either way, the temptation to focus only on targets and where you stand in comparison to other’s is massive. We attract what we pay most attention to so focusing always on your targets and where you stand can get in your way of getting there. For instance, approaching every call trying to schedule meetings may reduce the quality of the conversation with the prospect. It is better to focus on what you can learn in the call as opposed to what you can get out of it. Staying in an abundance mindset, and not coming from a place of need, will translate to better results anyway. Additionally, your targets are going to reset every month, so don’t place too much value in achieving your targets, as you will start from 0 the following month, which will feel like a disappointment if you don’t view with some emotional distance.