Recently, Operatix celebrated its tenth year – a momentous achievement that was certainly worthy of celebrating. Sales development has come a long way during this time, quickly becoming an increasingly vital component to any successful business.

Though it’s something many businesses can’t live without, the function is often neglected by leaders who fail to invest in it or the experience for the employees charged with making a success.

That’s why we invited David Dulany, Founder and CEO of Tenbound, onto our B2B Revenue Acceleration Podcast. He brings a wealth of experience in sales development and knows first-hand how to get the most out of your sales development team.

In this episode, we reflect on how sales development has changed drastically in the last decade, why AI won’t be taking over the SDR position any time soon, and why companies need to invest more into the role and improving the experience for their hires.

The Evolution of Sales Development

It’s no secret that sales development has changed rapidly over the last ten years. Sales Development has evolved from being a very tactical role, something that is task driven, to something incredibly strategic.

Where it was once very narrow in scope, it’s now incredibly vision driven.

There are a lot of factors driving the evolution of sales development, but we still have a long way to go. If you boil sales development down to its most basic level, there’s people, process, and technology. 

You want the right people in the job, because it takes drive and enthusiasm to be successful in this role. Your processes have to be dialed in and mapped toward the market you’re going after. And you need the right technology to support your strategy, without overspending or overcomplicating your tech landscape.

AI Won’t be Replacing the SDR Position Any Time Soon

These days, AI is everywhere. From your car to your coffee maker, it seems like more and more things are being driven by artificial intelligence. Which begs the question, with all of the advancements in AI, do we need to be concerned about its role in the SDR position? Will it replace the SDR?

David isn’t worried about it. 

The demand for AI is going to remain strong, to be certain. Automating the mundane tasks is necessary. We could all use more efficiency in our lives and jobs.

But unless somebody can demonstrate how you can get rid of all SDRs and replicate those relationships without hiring anybody, David doesn’t think the SDR role is going anywhere. In fact, he sees it as one of the more in-demand roles out there.

Because at the end of the day, you can’t automate relationships. You can automate busy work and tasks, but the human relationship aspect of the SDR role can’t be replicated by AI. At least not yet. 

Investing More in the SDR Role

As we look to the future, five to ten years down the road, the need for continued investment into the SDR role is clear. There will be a gradual process of automating the repetitive, boring, frustrating aspects of the job.

But ultimately, there needs to be better management, better training, more executive support, more coaching, and better setting of expectations early on in the process of people getting into the role. 

There are so many jobs available, there are scores of people coming out of college, and they don’t have any skills or experience. They become an SDR with no support or investment into the role, don’t like it, and go flip NFTs for a living.

When some simple investment into the role, and a greater understanding of the actual needs of the role could set them up for success, allowing companies to retain top talent.

To hear this interview and many more like it, subscribe to The B2B Revenue Acceleration Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

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