Interview with Daniel Barber – Director, Sales Development and Operations at ToutApp

Next up in our interview series we have Daniel Barber, the Director of Sales Development and Operations at ToutApp.

Some of the Topics Covered in the Interview:

  1. ToutApp’s Sales Team
  2. Sales Industry Predictions
  3. The Hiring Pipeline
  4. Story from 1000 Interviews

 

What is Your Role at ToutApp?

Daniel is responsible for a team of 10 people at ToutApp focusing on two areas of the company. One being focused on the pipeline (both inbound and outbound). The other being Sales Operations which includes any technologies, processes, commission plans, territories, etc. for the sales team.

What is the Breakdown of Your Sales Team?

The pipeline team is split into two, with some of the folks being market development reps who are focused on inbound leads (2 people) and the remaining folks being sales development reps who are focused on outbound leads (7 people).

How are You Balancing Your Time and Focus?

ToutApp is a growing team and their goal is to have around 25-30 SDRs by the end of the year, so Daniel is focusing a lot of his time on scalability, by defining process and building a foundation for growth. With that a lot of time is spent recruiting. And the remaining time is spent on the sales operations side.

What is the Big Goal for ToutApp this Year?

To own the inbox. If you look at sales teams today, they’re using around three different technologies. One being the 2015 version of the yellow pages, LinkedIn. Another being your CRM. And the other one is email. The job of the modern salesperson is to communicate with as many people and create meaningful relationships with those people as possible. Around 75% of a salespersons day is in email and that is not changing anytime soon.

What are Your Predictions for the Sales Industry in 2015?

It definitely is the year of the SDR, and pipeline is becoming increasingly more important. Specialization is really the key to success from a predictably standpoint. It goes beyond just the SDR, however. The adoption of technology is going to go up further than just among other technology companies.

What’s the Game Plan to Get 25-30 SDRs by the End of the Year?

Part of recruiting is to own the process. Own it just as you would your demand generation engine. People like Steve Richard and Ralph Barsi own their recruiting process and draw people to their company. Because he treats it like demand generation, he opens up to every recruiter that’s out there. That way ToutApp is in front of as many people as possible.

Explain Your Hiring Pipeline

Think of candidates as either active candidates or passive candidates, or people looking for jobs and those who aren’t looking (because they’re that good). Typically you want the ones who aren’t looking, but the beauty of hiring young MDR or SDR talent is that they just don’t have a job yet. It may be their first job in technology.

Recruiting Channels:

  1. Recruiting Agencies
  2. Online Systems (Gogohire + Hired)
  3. Outbound Prospecting
  4. After College + FirstJob
  5. Glassdoor & LinkedIn

What are the Core Characteristics You Typically Look For?

  • Alternative Industries
  • Artist
  • Analytical / Understands Numbers
  • Traveling Abroad
  • An Internship during School
Craig is the Director of Marketing at Sales Hacker and the Founder of Red Bridge. A marketing agency focused on helping B2B Tech Startups accelerate their growth.

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