Should I Start as an SDR Before Transitioning to GTM Roles? | Clay

Should I Start as an SDR Before Transitioning to GTM Roles?

Hey, for people successful in the GTM space, do you think it's better to do an SDR role for a year and then get into GTM? For those who got directly into GTM, please share a bit about your journey. Need some guidance 🙏 The reason I'm asking is I'm coming from a CRM/automation background (worked with GHL, Zapier, some Clay experience) but I'm worried about lacking the deep tool expertise (Clay, Smartlead, etc.) that GTM roles seem to expect. Don't want to get hired and struggle because I'm not proficient enough with the core stack

11 comments

Amber S.
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The "core" stack changes rapidly and I'd focus more on your ability to understand systems and data and how that can be applied generally, in a tool agnostic way. Depending on what area of GTM you're interested in short and long-term, your experience can be applicable to any role as long as you know how to sell it well.
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Hatim M.
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I have an understanding of CRMs and tools like Clay and their power. Can you give me some suggestions on where to start? A bit of background is that I built an "Agency" got the landing page, vsl etc ready. I used clay and instantly to do lead gen for my own businesses, got some results but I still lack the confidence to give quality service delivery and it seems a bit unethical to try to sell your service when you're not 100% confident in what you are giving. I want to commit to this space but need some sort of structure.
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Harshil B.
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Hey Hatim M. there is nothing like proficient you are always learning
Harshil B.
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don't worry about not being techncial but think like it will be a great chance to upskill
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Keegan M.
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I think it depends man. A founding SDR lots of autonomy and a great situation . Idk I think understanding outbound . Your style of selling helping in the GTM world. I would agree with ^^^.
Piotr M.
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It depends on what kind of GTM Engineer you want to be. If you want to run outbound campaigns mostly, I would suggest getting hired by a good outbound agency. If your goal is to help people automate sales, I would lean towards a role where there are a lot of sales meetings. I think that it’s easier to pursue a business role than a technical one, but both skills are needed in the final GTM hero. However, you can easily learn technical skills by yourself, if you’re curious enough.
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Christian O.
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I’ve been an SDR in big tech. Grinded it out like everyone else. Hated a lot of it, but learned an insane amount. A bunch of psychology, business knowledge and communicative skills you acquire are insane! What’s more insane? Taking it into GTM. ;)
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Piotr M.
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Yep, in some companies, buying an Apollo account is a challenge. LOL.
Christian O.
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Most places (even those fancy companies all to-be SDRs dream of) have the most horrible tech stack. Back to the 00’s. But I would recommend to anyone who ever wants to work in business. You literally learn to pull magic out of your ass. Pardon my French 😅 But my success in GTM has mostly been because I’ve been able to drag in learnings from my SDR days. I don’t think I could deliver what I do without.
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Piotr M.
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When I was running my first outbound campaigns, I was buying all the software myself from my paycheck, without asking for permission 😂
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Christian O.
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I love that Piotr M. - me too haha. But it was worth it!