Florin Tatulea

Sales Leader | LinkedIn Top Voice 2023 | GTM Advisor | Focusing on Seed → Series B

I'm a passionate leader that lives and breathes all things sales.

I was lucky enough to be the first sales hire at Loopio and have had the opportunity to be a part of and contribute to the exponential growth that had led us to a sales team of ~50 strong. In my 6.5 years at Loopio we grew revenue by 65x. 

I am now doing it all over again at Common Room

Whether it's been as an SDR, AE, Manager or Director, I'm constantly looking for ways to reinvent myself and my team.

I'm a people-first leader that understands that leading a team is not about me. It's about lifting others up and seeing them succeed. My success is simply a bi-product of my team's success. 

As a sales leader, I'm curious about scaling sales teams, generating pipeline, increasing win rates and lowering ramp times in a remote world.

As an individual, I'm passionate about copywriting, sequence/cadence building, leveraging social selling and the future of sales technology.

Director of Sales

SDRs - Your cold call opener doesn’t really freaking matter. 

Sorry to break it to you. 

I've seen SDRs absolutely kill it using "Hey, how are you?".

I've also seen others kill it using a permission-based opener like: 

"Hey Tom, I know, I'm calling out of the blue. Mind if I take 30 seconds to explain why I'm calling? If it's not interesting from there, feel free to hang up".

Most of the ACTUAL battle is your tone, energy and confidence.

These are all things you can work on with enough practice.

You need to:

1. Deeply understand your persona - read books/blogs, look up what memes/jokes they like, how they talk, what they are measured on, where they hang out, how they think. Obsess over it.

2. Repetition - nobody likes to hear it but you just have to make thousands and thousands of calls. Period.

Get yourself a fantastic data platform like FullEnrich so you actually get shots at bat with real people.

(Their 30-provider enrichment waterfall is NUTS for mobile numbers… we use it).

3. A "just get it done" mentality.

4. Stop trying to be other people - The exact phrases that work for another person WONT work for you! 

Use words you are comfortable using, sense of humour (or lack thereof), natural tone etc. 

It sounds rehearsed and awkward (and probably makes you nervous) to try to force someone else into your calls. 

So…..

Stop analyzing everything all the time. Just make the damn calls and learn from your mistakes.

It's really not rocket science.

#FullEnrichPartner

GTM Leader | LinkedIn Top Voice | Advisor

PSA to all sales reps. 

Nobody is reading your ESSAY of a follow up email after a sales call. 

Why are we still doing this? 

Stop with the links, case studies and generic templates.

Here’s a template that’s short and sweet that I stole from Salman Mohiuddin  Mohiuddin a few years ago: 

——-

Hi , 
Appreciate your time today. 
A few highlights from our call yesterday:

* X
* Y
* X 
Confident {Your Company} can help solve all of these things and excited to continue the conversation. From here:

* XX
* YY
* ZZ

Anything I missed?

——-

That’s it. 

Oh, and maybe don’t just send the same email to everybody on the call. 

Tailor each one to the different people on a call. 

It’s really that simple. 

#sales

An important lesson here that dooms most GTM teams from the start.

Why is it so hard to grasp?

How you target and build your account lists is MORE than half the battle. 

First - let's start at the account layer.

Saying that your ICP is venture-backed "B2B SaaS" companies isn't helpful. 

There are so many differences in how a B2B SaaS company goes to market. 

Let's use their GTM motion as just ONE example:

An org can have a GTM motion based on Product-Led Growth, Sales-Led, Open Source-Led etc... all of these companies go to market COMPLETELY differently. 

The same message likely won't land for these different motions. 

Second - the persona layer. 

Based on the motion a company has, the problems a "Demand Generation Marketer" has are also completely different. 

Even with the best copy in the world, your message has now failed at the account level AND at the person level. 

Your reps were doomed before you even started.

A lesson I've learned the hard way in the past.

h/t to Yurii Veremchuk for the inspo

#sales #outbound

There's a fundamental flaw with how outbound teams approach messaging that I see over and over again.

We've gotten to a place where "signals/triggers" have become a commodity.

The signal should NOT be your message. 

The signal is actually just telling you that it COULD be the right time. 

Let's say I'm a rep at an observability platform that monitors outages for software teams... I happen to get a pricing page web visit from an ICP persona. 

Unfortunately most reps will default to Example 1 which is a massive problem for a few reasons: 

1. There is no additional value that a salesperson brings to this interaction that can't be automated by a simple marketing email.

2. Being on your pricing page MIGHT indicate interest, but you can't assume it. 

As a salesperson, your job is to take a signal and paint a contextual picture as to why this is the perfect time to evaluate/purchase your solution. 

CONTEXT is what is missing in a lot of outbound messaging and sales cycles. 

Tell an exec something they don't know or help them connect the dots on something they might be thinking about. 

Not enough teams are doing it. 

#outbound #sales

Here are the 10 platforms in our tech stack we ACTUALLY found valuable for our team in 2025: 

1. Common Room - the brain behind our GTM engine. The Jarvis to our Ironman. 

Having one platform where so much valuable GTM data and workflows are unified has helped us and our customers deeply. A lot of people still don’t fully understand how much the platform actually does. Most people at first glance think it’s a contact-level signal & intent platform. Much deeper actually.

Internally in 2025 we used Common Room’s AI agents to “GTM Engineer” and do the following:

TAM/SAM Analysis, List Building, Account Research (i.e. Crawling websites for custom signals, 10K reports etc.), Contact Enrichment (Phone, Email, LinkedIn), Duplicate Detection in CRM, Signal/Intent detection (i.e. CRM data, Gong Transcripts, Web Visits, Negative + Positive Reviews, Product Usage Data, Social + Community Engagement, Job Changes, Tech Stack, Job Listings), Dynamic Lead Scoring, Competitor Analysis...

This info was then summarized by our AI agents, pushed to reps in real time and provided suggested messaging/actions to take. 

2. FullEnrich - contact database and waterfall enrichment across 20 providers. For us, it was especially fantastic for phone numbers across all regions and hard to find contact data for prospects outside of North America. It was so good we built a deep integration directly into Common Room for customers as well.

3. Wiza - As a stand alone contact database and provider, they have some of the best contact info out there right now. 4x connect rates compared to Apollo. Solid workflows from Sales Nav.

4. Nooks - AI-Dialer and Virtual Sales Floor. Doing power hours together, being able to listen in and coach on live calls, all while making it way easier to have more conversations on the phone. We 10x’d the number of conversations we had with prospects per month.

5. Outreach - our Sequencer. Lots of people hate on Outreach, but the backend, workflows and deep integrations into other GTM platforms (especially Salesforce) are still relatively unmatched.

6. Kondo: Superhuman for LinkedIn DMs - LinkedIn inbox management. Made us SO much more efficient at LinkedIn outreach. Can't believe there wasn't something like this sooner. 

7. Gong - Call recording, analysis, deal management & forecasting. Best platform in the market for this IMO.

8. Chili Piper - scheduling and lead routing. Super easy to use and helps us run all inbound.

9. Perplexity - our day-to-day LLM. Deep research, ideation, data analysis, completing tasks that are mundane with ease.

10. LinkedIn Sales Navigator - Still the most up to date database of professionals on the planet. Very helpful for building the best lists. 


Hope this was helpful! Stay tuned for my list of tools I'm bullish for going into 2026 👀 

#sales #gtm #outbound

Most sales tools aren’t actually designed for the nuances and workflows of how sales reps operate. 

I know because I’ve tested hundreds of platforms over the last decade.

It’s usually the small decisions… sometimes even just simple UI/UX designs that determine whether a tool fits in your workflow or fights against it.

One platform with truly thoughtful design is Prospeo.io. 

They just shipped a V2 of the platform and I’ve genuinely enjoyed using it.

3 things stick out for me:

-Triple verified emails and mobiles 
-Weekly data base refreshes (most providers are every month or quarterly)
-Lowest price per mobile number ($0.010 VS. $1 for others)

They actually have the best match rate for verified emails in Clay’s waterfall. 

Sharing a quick video with what changed + why these product designs matter a real SDR workflows.

What’s been your favorite sales tool recently? 

#prospeopartner #sales #outbound

LinkedIn DMs are a MESS.

What that means is, if you’ve been prospecting consistently over the past 6-12 months...

You probably have at least SIX FIGURES in STALE PIPELINE to re-engage.

The problem is that LinkedIn’s DM search and UI make it nearly impossible to navigate and find buried gold. 

Luckily, I stumbled upon the solution a few months ago and I have a prediction: 

Kondo: Superhuman for LinkedIn DMs will be one of the most widely adopted productivity tools in 2026 with massive growth. 

It makes executing on LinkedIn so much easier for reps. 

One of my reps booked 3 meetings right away after installing Kondo.

I almost can’t believe that it took this long to come out with a solution. 

With it you can: 

1. Actually search keywords properly and find profiles 

2. Organize, Label & Tag conversations: I use “Prospect”, “Vendor”, “Customer”, “Side Hustle” tags

3. Set automatic reminders to follow up..

4. See exactly who has accepted my connection request. 

5. Sync convos back to CRM.. much better visibility for coaching reps on how to use LinkedIn

All in a clean UI. 

I’m never going back.

If you want to keep wasting time and navigating an Inbox that hasn't been updated in 20 years, you should ignore this. 

Otherwise, jump on this January promo ending in 2 days...

2 months at no cost 👉 https://lnkd.in/dsYeYi8v

#kondopartner #sales

Turns out... I still got it.

Cold Email Showdown on 30 Minutes to President's Club.

Had a TON of fun going up against one of the best cold email reps in the game, Evan Greek.

3 Rounds... very different context for each email. 10 minutes to write on the spot and judged by the man himself, Jason Bay. 

Here's the email that gave me the edge early:

(Situation: Selling vegan burger meat to McDonalds)

------

𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭: 𝐑𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬

Saw The New York Times report on Ronald threatening to quit after the market share loss, Jason.

Was looking at both of your menus and noticed a potential opportunity for you all. Have you considered a vegan burger option? 22% of the world is vegetarian, and there is a big opportunity to increase market share that you aren't paying attention to.

Can I send over a couple of patty samples? I promise not to disappoint.

Let's win you back the crown.

------

30 minutes of us walking through our thinking process. 

Give this a watch if you have some time :) 

Full video in the comments

#sales #outbound

Is Juliano Massarelli dominating anybody else’s social media feeds or is it just me? 

🤣🤣🤣

On a mission to help 100,000+ SDRs have great sales careers. 

Here's 3 ways I do that: 

1. The Cold Call OS - A self-paced digital course taking you from fearing cold calls to booking meetings every day

2. SDR-to-AE Bootcamp - 10x hour live cohort designed to teach you the foundations of building a successful career as an Account Executive

3. 8-Week Outbound Training - bespoke training programme designed for SDR  teams at SaaS B2B companies so they can book more meetings and become a profitable part of the commercial org. 

Chris Ritson

💰 High paid SDRs in 2026:

Will not:

1. Work >100 accounts
2. Do 200+ calls per day
3. Blame Marketing leads
4. Grumble about their AE
5. Discard accounts too quickly
6. Think sales is a ''numbers game''
7. Send 1000s of automated emails
8. Believe the latest GPT will change their world
9. Post ''thought leadership'' on LinkedIn and expect loads of inbound meetings...

Will:

1. Work fewer, better accounts
2. Focus on making targeted calls
3. Give Marketing weekly feedback
4. Being great at FUP email post convo
5. Work on mastering the DMs on LinkedIn
6. 2 hours of ''no distraction'' work every-day
7. 15 minutes weekly reviewing performance
8. Learn that conversion matters more than aimless volume

Stop listening to the trends.
Start doing the hard yards.

Do you agree?

♻️ Repost if you think this will be ''the way'' for the rest of 2026.

—-

PS.📍Sharing my 𝗦𝗗𝗥 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮 - a practical FREE resource for SDRs who want to level up properly 🟰 https://lnkd.in/esqxWqKS

Join my new SDR to AE School → Click visit my store 📈

Don't try to hire the smartest SDRs.

Hire the people who:

1) Ask thoughtful questions instead of pretending to know

2) Take notes during meetings or while reading

3) Like being around people who challenge their thinking, not just those who agree with them

4) Read books, listen to podcasts and actively try to be better every day 

5) Watch online courses, push their limits and invest in themselves during downtime

6) Seek out mentors and pay for their own coaches rather than wait for their boss to pay

7) Reflect weekly on what they've learned and what they still don't know

8) Set monthly learning goals the same way they set performance goals

9) Learn from failure instead of making excuses for why it happened

10) Seek out top performers in their field and steal the best tips and tactics from them 


These SDRs are the lifelong learners.

And people who never stop learning can never be stopped. 

They'll be your future leaders, top billers and CSMs. 

Don't hire for credentials or IQ, 

Bet on those who are always trying to improve.

Eventually, they'll be the best. 

Agree?

---

Enjoy this? Repost for your network ♻️.
And follow Chris Ritson for more posts like this.

Thank you!

---

PS. The SDR Leader Bootcamp is open for registration for the 16th Feb cohort. Join 200+ who have already been through the programme: 

- 8x live workshops with me
- Access to me 1:1 throughout 
- 4x guest-speaker workshops 
- Lifetime access to all materials 

Want to stop feeling like your spinning plates? Check it out and see if it's a fit: https://lnkd.in/eiuV85Ev

CRO: ''Put them on a PIP'' 

Me: ''Not this time''. 

A few years ago, my CRO told me to put anyone not performing on a PIP.

1 month missed quota ➞ PIP. 

The CRO was 3 levels away from the SDRs. 

It looked like...

- Him 
- Me 
- SDR Manager
- SDRs

All he saw was the a Salesforce dashboard. 

But ''Salesforce was King'' [apparently]. 

Most leaders just complied and played politics. 

But for me it was about ''right over easy''. 

So I refused to ''PIP 'em''. 

Because he didn't see...

- The daily grind 
- The no show meetings
- The personal challenges
- The 7am starts / 7pm finishes
- The rejections Every. Single. Day 

Remember...

Everyone misses quota sometimes. 

Most CROs? They see the numbers. Not the humans.

Every time I've backed ''failing'' SDRs ➞ they've flown 🦅

The best leaders treat failure as an opportunity.

Am I right? 

🚀 This SDR went on to be 3rd top performer in a team of 30+ SDRs.

---

PS. 👉 Sharing the framework I use to help SDR leaders build high-performing teams: https://lnkd.in/eiuV85Ev

SDR is the most misunderstood job.

It's not:

- Smashing KPIs
- Banging out dials
- Doing power hours
- Handling objections 
- Pitching in every DM
- Sending loads of emails
- Booking tonnes of meetings

It's much more than that.

Here's 8 Ways to Develop as an SDR:

1️⃣ Deal With Rejection
Learn to “let go of the no.”
Gong Labs found that top-performing reps recover from rejection 33% faster and make follow-up attempts 50% more often than low performers.

2️⃣ Understand Prospects’ Problems
Know your personas inside-out.
According to Gartner, 83% of B2B buyers prefer sellers who help them understand their own problems, not just pitch a solution.

3️⃣ Be Specific in Your Messaging
Clarity wins. Always.
Gong data shows that emails under 150 words with a single clear CTA get 30%+ higher response rates than longer, vague messages.

4️⃣ Imagine Yourself in the Prospect’s Shoes
Empathy = trust.
LinkedIn’s State of Sales Report found that buyers are 1.8x more likely to engage with sellers who demonstrate empathy and understanding of their day-to-day reality.

5️⃣ Give, Give, Give, Give... Get.
Play the long game.
The best sellers follow the 80:20 rule, giving value four times before asking for anything in return.
Gartner found that this “value-first” approach improves response rates by up to 40%.

6️⃣ Learn From the Errors
Top reps document their mistakes.
Bridge Group data shows that SDRs who self-review calls weekly improve conversion rates by 27% within three months.

7️⃣ Really Listen
Stop talking. Start hearing.
Gong Labs discovered that top reps speak only 43% of the time on discovery calls, while average reps talk over 65%. Listening sells.

8️⃣ Turn Up Daily
Discipline beats motivation.
Gartner reports that consistent daily activity correlates with a 23% higher quota attainment... even more than experience or tenure.

The truth?
The best SDRs don’t rely on luck or leads.
They build habits, data, and discipline... one call, one email, one day at a time.

SDR is a journey, not a destination.

➟ It helps you build trust.
➟ It makes you a better colleague.
➟ It deepens all of your relationships.
➟ It's can be key to success in business [and life].

Turn up and practice daily.
Your life will be better for it.

Enjoy this? Repost for your network ♻️.
And follow me for more posts like this.

Thank you!

👉 I’m Chris, I help SDRs get promoted to AE and start making 6-fig salaries with my SDR to AE School 💰 We launch Jan 26th.

—-

PS. 📌 Sharing the framework I use to help SDRs step into, stay, and thrive in AE roles: https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

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I'd rather be an SDR leader than an AE leader

flexprts

My ex-VP Sales: “Books are bu****it.”
Me: “With respect, you're wrong.”

Everyone’s chasing the next “hack.”
The next AI tool.
The next viral post.

Meanwhile, the best sales lessons were written 30+ years ago...
by people who built empires without automation, inbound leads, or ChatGPT.

Here are 13 “old” books every seller should have read and studied👇

1️⃣ How to Win Friends & Influence People — Dale Carnegie
2️⃣ SPIN Selling — Neil Rackham
3️⃣ The Challenger Sale — Matthew Dixon & Brent Adamson
4️⃣ New Sales. Simplified. — Mike Weinberg
5️⃣ Fanatical Prospecting — Jeb Blount
6️⃣ To Sell Is Human — Daniel Pink
7️⃣ Never Split The Difference — Chris Voss
8️⃣ Influence — Robert Cialdini
9️⃣ Gap Selling — Keenan
🔟 The Psychology of Selling — Brian Tracy
11️⃣ Selling to Big Companies — Jill Konrath
12️⃣ Eat Their Lunch — Anthony Iannarino
13️⃣ Secrets of Closing the Sale — Zig Ziglar

Between them, these authors have 350+ years of sales experience.
Their books are a shortcut to all that knowledge.

Everyone’s reading LinkedIn posts.
But few are reading the people who wrote the principles those posts were built on.

If you can read, exercise it.
Wisdom isn’t accumulated by scrolling.

♻️ Repost for the sellers who’d rather get smarter than louder.

The SDR Leader role is one of the most misunderstood in sales.

It’s not about:

- Keeping the CRO happy
- Scheduling “power hours”
- Forcing reps to smash KPIs
- Managing underperformance
- Running morning hype sessions
- Jumping on call blocks to book meetings
- Watching your best people get promoted to AE

It’s way more than that.

9 ways to grow as an SDR Leader 👇

1. Master the art of hiring.
Everything starts here. Great results follow great people.

2. Understand your reps deeply.
Learn what makes each person tick — their challenges, motivations, and roadblocks.

3. Be specific in your guidance.
Don’t lecture. Coach. Clarity and precision always win.

4. Step into their world.
Walk a mile in their shoes. Do what they do. Feel their day-to-day reality.

5. Give more than you take.
Use the 80:20 give:get rule. Give 4x more — support, time, knowledge — before you ask for anything.

6. Own your mistakes.
Document them. Reflect on them. Growth comes from your own learning curve.

7. Listen — really listen — in 1:1s.
Put the phone down. Close the laptop. Be fully present.

8. Show up every day.
Rely on systems, not motivation. Consistency beats intensity.

9. Stand by your team.
When reps fall short, have their back. That’s when real leadership shows up.

SDR Leadership isn’t a title — it’s a journey.

➟ It builds trust.
➟ It makes you a stronger leader.
➟ It deepens your relationships.
➟ And it’s a key to success — in business and in life.

Show up. Practice. Repeat.
Your team — and your future self — will thank you.

💡 Enjoyed this? Repost to share with your network ♻️
And follow me for more SDR Leader insights like this.

PS. The SDR Leader Bootcamp is open for registration for the 16th Feb cohort. Join 200+ who have already been through the programme: 

- 8x live workshops with me
- Access to me 1:1 throughout 
- 4x guest-speaker workshops 
- Lifetime access to all materials 

Want to stop feeling like your spinning plates? Check it out and see if it's a fit: https://lnkd.in/eiuV85Ev

SDR Manager: 
 
- ''Do more calls'' 
- ''Send more emails'' 
- ''Add more prospects'' 
- ''Work on more accounts'' 
 
SDR Leader: 
 
- ''Who I can call?'' 
- ''Let's do more training'' 
- ''Let's send emails together'' 
- ''Pick me 5 accounts, I'll reach out'' 
 
Most teams miss quota because their leader is 'managing' too much. 
 
What if they started leading instead? 
 
Actions > Orders. 

Do you agree? ♻️ Repost if you do!

👉 The next SDR Leader Bootcamp starts early Feb. 20 seats max and 4x brand new guest workshops CONFIRMED! 🔥

---

PS.📍Dropping details for the Bootcamp - see SDR leaders who’ve used it to build high-performing teams: https://lnkd.in/eiuV85Ev

I met an SDR team this week and something felt “off”.

Not because the sales floor was quiet.
Not because nobody on the team was ripping dials. 
Because nobody was moaning about phone numbers. Nobody was blaming contact data. 
At all.

No:

“The data is rubbish.”
“Ops needs to clean this up.”
“I can’t find the right contacts.”
“Just called the prospect’s uncle.”

Instead, they said:

''I reckon I’ll have 6+ convos today.”
''I get 30% pick-up to mobiles most days''
“These verified phone numbers are insane''
“I'm actually excited to smash this list of direct dials.”
“If the CEO doesn’t pick up, I’ve got the CRO’s number too.”

And surprise, surprise...

Their results?

✅ 165% of meetings quota
✅ 72% convert to pipeline
✅ 84% show rates

Total revenue sourced by this 7-person SDR team last year: $3.8M ARR. 

And it wasn’t because they had a better script than everyone else. 
Or smashed out 1000 dials a day until they burned out. 

It was because...
They were actually having conversations on the phone. 

Because when SDRs stop fighting their data, they can fight harder for results.

Here’s what stood out:

They had insanely strong direct phone number data.

Not generic switchboards.
Not “maybe this number works.”
Not “hopefully I'll get 2% pick-up today.”

Actual direct dials.
And prospects who answer. 

And once you give SDRs real numbers…

📞 pick-up rates go up
💬 conversations go up
📅 meetings go up
💰 revenue goes up

Then confidence soars and momentum goes wild. 

That’s why for direct phone number data + higher pick-up rates, I recommend Prospeo.

Their database of contacts is huge at 300 million and it refreshes every 7 days. 

Plus Prospeo verifies contact data so you always dial REAL numbers and email REAL emails.

Every SDR says they want better results.

Very few realise it’s not about the perfect script…

It’s about talking to the right people, at the right time.

You can have the best words in the world…
If you can’t ever speak to the decision-maker?

Nothing happens.

Good Data > Good Scripts.

If you want to check out Prospeo.io, it’s worth a look: prospeo.io/cr

♻️ And thanks if you repost this story!

No alternative text description for this image

Met an SDR who sends 50+ emails a day 
And hits >140% of their quota each month

(they have to get 7 qualified opps)

Here's the 5 tips they gave me on emails: 

1. Don't send more than 50 a day 
- Focus on quality of writing, not quantity. 

2. Use a template for every email 
- They use my ''The One Framework'' email structure for all 1st touch emails 

3. Stop automating your emails 
- Every email counts. Make sure they all give you a chance to build trust and book a meeting. 

4. 2nd & 3rd emails are underrated 
- Most people stop writing good emails after Email 1. Treat every email as a 1st touch. 

5. Repeat great observations 
- Reuse the SAME observation in emails 1, 2, 3 etc. Don't be scared to repeat your message. Repetitions wins. 

They left me with this quote...

Cold Emailing isn't about ''out-working people'' It's about ''out-thinking people''. 

What do you think? 

♻️ Reshare for other SDRs in your network.

SDR success isn't about talent.

It's about discipline.

While your colleagues chase: 

- The latest trend.
- The hottest tool.
- The newest hack.

Successful SDRs do the basics [everyday]

They dial.
They email.
They DM.
They train.

Day after day.
Week after week.
Month after month.

No fancy hacks. 
Or magic tricks. 
Just relentless execution.

And that's the secret:

''Boring is profitable''. 

Because...

Boring leads to mastery. 
Mastery leads to success.

♻️ Repost if you agree, consistency is the real sales superpower.

👉 I’m Chris, I help SDRs get into AE roles with the skills they need to make 6-figs! Check out my SDR to AE School here; https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

Prospecting C-Suite is brutal.

But it doesn't have to be that tough.

Here's 8 C-Suite roles that control your fate.

Understanding them can transform your results today.

Why does this matter to YOU?

If you're an SDR? 
→ Speak their language
→ Position yourself like a pro
→ Know who cares about what 
→ Avoid looking like an amateur

Here's what each really cares about:

CEO - Vision Keeper
↳ Obsesses over: Long-term survival
↳ Show them: How you impact the big picture

COO - Execution Machine
↳ Lives for: Turning chaos into clockwork
↳ Get promoted: Bring solutions, not problems

CFO - Reality Check
↳ Thinks in: ROI, runway, and risk
↳ Impress them: Talk numbers, not feelings

CMO - Story Architect
↳ Mission: Make people care before they buy
↳ Stand out: Connect insights to revenue

CTO - Future Builder
↳ Balances: Innovation vs. stability
↳ Win them over: Show how tech enables business

CHRO - Culture Guardian
↳ Real job: Prevent talent from leaving
↳ Get noticed: Build others up

CIO - Data Whisperer
↳ Goal: Information at decision speed
↳ Career hack: Show how data drives decisions

CPO - Customer Champion
↳ Success metric: Retention over acquisition
↳ Advancement tip: Bring real customer voices

The truth nobody tells you:

Each C-level speaks a different language.
Learn their language. Understand their pressure.
That's how you become indispensable in SDR. 

🎯 Save this for your next C-Suite convo! 

Today you're learning their language.
Tomorrow? You'll be booking big meetings with big execs. 

P.S. What would you add? Did I miss any roles? 

♻️ Repost to help someone in your network.
And follow @chrisritson for more SDR content.

👉 My SDR to AE School (the bootcamp has evolved) is now LIVE! We kick off January 26th 🚀

—-

P.P.S. 📌 Sharing the framework I use to help SDRs step into and stay in AE roles: https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

SDRs at the start of January: 

Confidence is high.
Target feels lighter.
Calendar looks packed. 

You think: 
“Fresh start.”
“This is my year.”
“Everything’s lining up.”

Then... January actually starts.

Prospects ghost.
Replies slow down.
Dials go unanswered.
Sequences that “should work” don’t.

Pipeline looks thin fast.
Pressure ramps faster.

By the end of January you're questioning everything: 
“What if I’m not good at this?”
''Am I even cut out for a sales job?''
“Does everyone else have it figured out?”

Here’s the truth most SDRs don’t hear:

January is hard by design.

Budgets aren’t approved.
Prospects are overwhelmed.
Everyone’s “circling back next month.”

The job doesn’t get easier because the calendar reset.

This is the part where:

Motivation turns into discipline
Confidence turns into consistency
“I’m excited” turns into “I’ll do the work anyway”

Great SDRs aren’t made in the hype of new year, new me:

They’re made in:

Quiet inboxes
Rejection-heavy days
Weeks where effort doesn’t equal results
And dark cold Januarys where they grind it out

If this month was harder than expected, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

It means you’ve reached the real work of being an SDR. 

Stay in it.
Keep swinging.
Momentum always comes after persistence.

Your year isn’t decided in January. 

It’s decided by who’s still standing when it gets uncomfortable.

If you’re an SDR reading this feeling behind already...
you're not a failure or a flop. 

You’re just early in the grind 💪 Keep going, February will be better! 

♻️ Repost if this hits home today!

👇 SDRs think being an AE is...

✅ Closing big deals
✅ Respect + big status
✅ Freedom and flexibility
✅ Running exciting demos
✅ Bigger commission cheques
✅ Being “the face” of the business

👇 Reality of being an AE is...

❌ Rejection — constantly — even when you did everything right
❌ Chasing procurement for weeks (sometimes months)
❌ Deals slipping for reasons outside your control
❌ 10+ stakeholders who all want different things
❌ Hearing “budget got frozen” at the finish line
❌ Getting ghosted after the demo went well
❌ Forecast pressure every single week
❌ Living in the grey area of uncertainty

SDRs see the highlight reel.
AEs live the behind-the-scenes.

It’s not just “closing”.

It’s:

- managing risk
- building trust fast
- handling rejection (ALOT)
- navigating internal politics
- staying optimistic while your pipeline collapses
- and doing it alllll again tomorrow

If you’re an SDR aiming for AE... keep pushing.
But remember: 

AE isn’t the easier job.
It’s a different kind of hard.

And the people who succeed aren’t the flashiest.

They’re the ones who can take the hits, keep showing up, and stay consistent when it’s not sexy. 

♻️ AEs - this one is for you! Thanks if you repost! 

💥 Did you underestimate the AE role before you started? I did! 

—-

PS.📍My SDR to AE School launches Monday. Only a few January spots left now. DM for details, or check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

SDR is the hardest job in sales.

You’re expected to:

- Build relationships with people who have no desire to talk to you. 

- Bring the same enthusiasm to every outreach knowing you'll get rejected in 90% of conversations. 

- Keep dailling, emailing and DM'ing when your chances of a response are maybe 3-4% [if you're good]. 

- Show-up to meetings you've booked to ''take notes'' for your AE and say nothing. 

And somehow....

Keep hitting your quota when it increases every quarter. 

Yes, the hard skills in AE are more technical and advanced blah blah blah. 

But the mindset skills you get in SDR are unrivalled. 

And sure, it's not for the faint of heart. 

But if you can stick with it, you'll be handsomely rewarded. 

Not just with money but with something much more valuable.

An unbeatable mindset that stays with you forever. 

If you used to be an SDR, I bet you'd agree its hard but 100% worth it. 

If you're an SDR today - keep grinding. You won't regret it. 

Do you agree? SDR is the hardest? 

Thanks if you repost ♻️ this! Appreciate ya!

👉 I’m Chris, I help SDRs get promoted to AE and start making 6-fig salaries with my SDR to AE School 💰 We launch Jan 26th.

—-

PS. 📌 Sharing the framework I use to help SDRs step into and stay in AE roles: https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

Head of Sales: ''We're letting John go today''. 

Me: ''Why''?

Head of Sales: ''Great guy but he's not performing in AE''. 
 
Here's the story:
 
✅ Top performer for 11 months straight 
✅ Went to Presidents club 
✅ Broke every record. 
 
John BADLY wanted to be an AE. 
 
So, I promoted him. 
 
3 months in - £0 and 0 deals. 
6 months in - £8k and 1 deal closed. 
8 months in - Fired. 
 
It sucked. And it wasn't Johns fault...

1. Had I trained him to be an AE before I promoted him? No! 
2. Had the head of sales trained him when he was an AE? Not really! 
 
From then on, I promised myself I'd never promote an SDR again unless they had AE skills. 
 
7 years later I'm running an SDR to AE School to give SDRs a fair shot at getting promoted and then smashing their AE role. 
 
So far I've helped >320 SDRs build skills in: 
 
→ Sales Process 
→ Deeper Discovery 
→ Running Demos 
→ Multithreading 
→ Business Cases 
→ Negotiation 
→ Closing Deals 
 
My mission for this programme → help as many SDRs build the skills they need to make it to AE and ramp-up fast without getting fired! 
 
After all, getting to AE is the easy bit. 

Closing deals and hitting quota when you get there? That's hard! 
 
♻️ Thanks if you repost! 

👉 My SDR to AE School launches next week (26th). 🔥

PS. You can check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

My ''overnight success'' story: 
 
In 2008, I cleaned toilets 
In 2009, I served behind a bar 
In 2011, my first business failed 
In 2013, I made 200+ calls per day 
In 2016, I took my first leadership role 
In 2018, I struggled with c-level politics 
In 2021, I was an SDR Director, paid 180k 
In 2022, I quit to pursue my own business 
In 2023, Started my SDR to AE Bootcamp 
In 2024, Launched my SDR Leader Bootcamp 
In 2026, Only got 9 spots left for Feb 16th cohort
 
Overnight success isn't a thing. 
 
👉 Life is weird. Back yourself. Take that leap of faith. Trust the process.

—-

📌PS. Check out and see if my SDR Leader Bootcamp is a fit: https://lnkd.in/eiuV85Ev

SDR is the #1 career choice. 

But here's the reality: 

⏰ You'll spend more time getting rejected than accepted. 

 📞 You'll spend lots of time talking to an answerphone than a real human. 

😡 The people you do speak to mostly don't want to speak to you. 

📈 You'll get your KPIs and targets raised most quarters to accounts for a ''bad market''

💻 The meetings you do book will often not show up and ghost you forever more after that. 

✏️ The meetings that do show up you won't be able to run because that's not part of your job. 

❌ And you'll go back to getting rejected whilst the AE has all the fun running the deal cycle. 

📆 When you ask for training to be an AE you're told you need to do SDR for another year even though you've hit quota for 18 months.

🖥️ Technology [automation, AI, whatever] is permanently coming for your job. Adapt or die. 

If you can get through that, you'll have a great career and could be earning £100k+ OTE inside 24 months. 

No pain, no gain. 

Am I right?

♻️ Repost if you agree. 

---- 

📌 PS. Want to be an AE in 2026? My SDR to AE School launches Jan 26th! Check it out here if you like; https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

SDR: ''Are you free next week for a call''? 
Prospect: ''No, let's do next month instead''.

SDR: ''Okay, Tuesday 14th at 3pm? 
Prospect: ''Sounds good, speak then''. 

- Phone goes down
- SDR sends the invite 
- Doesn't get accepted 
- Meeting is a no-show

99% of SDRs get annoyed that prospects no-show. 

But the problem isn't the prospect, it's what you said on the call...

Here's how to close 10x better and make sure no-shows stop happening: 

𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸-𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸: 

''Okay, based on what you said around [insert problem], I recommend we have a follow-up call to work out if we can help you with that. I'm free [insert 3 times for tomorrow]. Which one works best? 

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁...

1. Recommendations based on things your prospect actually said are highly logical and VERY powerful in convincing your prospect to take the next step. 

2. Outlining what they'll do on the next step is shows your prospect they need to show up or they won't figure it out. 

3. ''Time kills all deals [and meetings]''. By offering 3 times but controlling the timeframe gives your prospect options and control but not over the day you're guiding them towards. This helps the call happen fast whilst they still remember you.

Try this approach, let me know how you get on. 

How do you ''close the call''? 

♻️ Reshare for other SDRs if this is useful! 

---

PS. 📌 My SDR to AE School launches Monday. Only a few January spots left now. DM for details, or check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eyqtz4zq

Getting rid of outbound SDR teams is the new trend.

It happened in 2020 (Covid).
It happened again in 2023 (market crash).
And now it’s happening again - this time because founders think AI can replace them.

Every time... they come back.

On a spreadsheet, cutting SDRs looks smart.
In reality, when revenue’s on the line - not so much.

Yes, outbound teams are hard to build.
Hard to scale.
Hard to lead.

But name one unicorn SaaS company that’s “inbound only.”

You can’t.

Because you don’t build a top business without outbound.
And you don’t build outbound without top SDRs.

💬 Who agrees? ♻️ Repost if you do! 
🔈 Follow me for more SDR insights and content.

---

👉 My next SDR Leader Bootcamp starts Feb 17th.

''The camp helped me level my team up and finally hit quota after 6 months'' - Joe, SDR Leader.

—-

PS.📍If you want to learn more about it you can here: https://lnkd.in/eiuV85Ev

37 months as a Solo-Founder.
And I’m close to crossing $2million in revenue (with no employees).

- It hasn’t been linear.
- It hasn’t been calm.
- But it’s been worth it.

Here are 12 lessons I’ve learned the hard way:

1. Two hours of outbound a day keeps the anxiety away.

2. No one knows who the f*ck you are... promote yourself unapologetically.

3. Network like a maniac. Posting alone isn’t enough.

4. Your diary is your operating system. Ignore it and chaos wins.

5. Play the long game. The mission is never “done.”

6. Careers are rollercoasters...don’t beat yourself up on the dips.

7. It’s about the feeling you leave behind that people remember most.

8. Don’t get precious about your product. It’s always a work in progress.

9. You should always think like an SDR. Always.

10. Your job title means nothing... you gave it to yourself.

11. It’s emotional. Commit for at least 12 months or don’t start.

12. You’re usually closer to a breakthrough than you think. Keep going.

Bonus truth:

I'm so glad I started as an SDR. Without those skills this business wouldn't exist! 

That’s all for now.

PS: On to month 38 🚀 

PPS: Picture is from Riga (lovely spot for a weekend)!

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