Prior to their start date, new ServiceTitan sales development representatives are introduced to a veteran on the team. Throughout onboarding and the ramp-up process that follows, Senior Manager Melissa Lui said the colleagues get together to role-play, share strategies and go through coaching feedback on SalesLoft’s Live Call Studio software.
The buddy system is just one component of the home and commercial services management software platform’s recent departmental transformation. After reflecting on the effectiveness of the current model, leadership decided to restructure the team to allow sales representatives to utilize additional channels to generate higher-quality meetings. In addition to career pathing, Lui has been hard at work piloting territory models and adjusting sales scripts in an effort to develop a comprehensive playbook for their outbound organization.
“We’re restructuring to be more efficient, scalable and successful long-term,” she said.
According to Lui, an incremental-steps approach has proven key to that strategy. For example, the SDR team first tested out their redefined, strategic messaging with three representatives. Once it proved successful, they applied it more broadly — rolling it out to the rest of the organization in August.
So far, Lui said it’s working.
Below, Lui explains how their growth mindset has led to a record-breaking month.
Tell me a little about your background. What brought you to ServiceTitan?
I started my career in the financial services industry and became a licensed broker. I then decided I wanted to throw it all away and pivot into tech sales. I’ve been on this path ever since, never once looking back.
What drew me to ServiceTitan was definitely the people. That’s how I always prioritize opportunities. You are the sum of the five people you surround yourself with. ServiceTitan has some of the smartest, most ambitious, hardworking people I’ve ever worked with. The other aspect that pulled me to the organization was the opportunity. I was excited about the challenge.
What they do
I hear the sales org has gone through a significant transformation in the last year. What has that looked like and what has your role been throughout the process?
We have. In the last few months, I’ve juggled leading a team of six individual reps with expanded responsibilities. I was recently asked to oversee the entire corporate outbound function of our sales development team, which included 23 reps and two outbound managers at the time. I helped launch our team into a territory outbound model, introduced a playbook with a career pathing program and revamped our interview and hiring process in two months.
During that time, I’ve been identifying what priorities would have the greatest material impact on our team and our customers. We’ve had to adjust our scripting due to COVID-19 and additional growth, which we first tested with three reps. We each assigned ourselves a territory and different outreach strategies. We wanted to provide the team with as many channels as possible for them to book meetings. It led to a record-breaking month.
I’m most excited about the ability to move reps into a role that allows them to collaborate with different partners and become more involved in the sale. We are also being more conscious of the benefit of frequent touch points as we hire a remote workforce. In short, we’re restructuring the organization to be more efficient, scalable and successful long-term.
How has the team stayed connected despite the recent emphasis on remote hiring?
In the last eight months, we expanded our candidate base nationally. We’ve tried to stay even more connected virtually than we were in person through an increase in meeting frequency and access to leadership. Reaching this goal has involved leveraging tools like Slack, Zoom and Google Hangouts to make sure everyone has the resources they need to succeed.
We proactively encourage connectivity with our daily team video standups and SDR-led office hours. During weekly “war rooms,” a subject matter expert from various departments runs through new initiatives and trainings with our sales reps.
What professional challenges has such a transformation posed to you specifically and how have you faced and overcome them?
Time management has been a challenge. Working on the new playbook has made it necessary for me to figure out where my time could be best spent for maximum team impact. I’ve also come to realize the benefit of fully understanding the bigger picture before running to execute. It’s required shifting my mindset from that of a front-line manager into a more strategic perspective. For example, should I be conducting a one-on-one or putting finishing touches on our departmental playbook? Often, the answer is the latter.
I’ve also discovered the benefit of working cross-functionally. Having solid business relationships leads to better communication and more effective execution. It’s not about simply demanding things from those outside of or across the office. It’s what you do after, like appropriately thanking colleagues and partners, that will lead to continued success.
I’ve steered away from the idea that every candidate needs tech SaaS SDR experience.’’
How has your view of the traditional hiring process evolved since your time at ServiceTitan?
I’ve steered away from the idea that every candidate needs tech SaaS SDR experience. That experience doesn’t always translate to a short ramp-up time.
I’ve also steered away from relying on question-and-answer type interviews. Instead, we’ve implemented exercises and simulations that give candidates a real-life dose of what to expect in the role. This makes the interview more engaging, dynamic and fun.
How do you see the SDR team evolving even further in the next 12 months?
We plan to continue to grow the team, break into new industries and verticals and offer new roles within our organization. On a large sales development team, there’s always going to be movement due to promotional tracks within the organization. I’m excited to follow the SDRs who will be promoted as they embark on their new role.
I also look forward to collaborating with additional cross-functional partners as the company continues to scale and expand into new verticals. We first need to make sure the department is adaptable and efficient, as growth comes with additional hires.
