From SDR to Director (all 5 steps)

How to earn your next promotion

From SDR to Director (all 5 steps)

How to earn your next promotion

Read Time = 4 minutes

Last week, I was talking to a struggling 27 year old SDR who said felt like they were falling behind on career progression.

My advice was counterintuitive:

  1. Help your manager with documentation

  2. Ask to shadow forecast calls and deal reviews

  3. Build a qualification framework for the team

  4. Go deeper into discovery than your peers

(assuming performance is at expectations)

LinkedIn profiles are career highlight reels. You see "SDR → VP Sales" but get zero context on how someone actually made those jumps.

So here's what really happened during my 8-year journey:

The Framework For Career Growth

Looking back at every career jump, one thing stands out:

Doing the job will help you get the job.

Marketing Coordinator → Marketing Manager: Build your own personal brand or someone else. Learn to write and create/analyze campaigns etc.

Customer Success Rep → CS Manager: Take ownership of escalated accounts and improve health scores. Mentoring new hires, documenting best practices etc.

Software Engineer → Engineering Lead: Review other developers' code. Lead technical architecture discussions. Help with sprint planning etc.

Here's how this played out at each step of my journey:

Doing the job will help you get the job

Step 1: Hired as SDR

What I did: Instead of sending generic applications — I targeted high growth tech companies, prospected hiring managers and researched. Eventually, I got a convo with a Manager at the #7 fastest growing start-up. We both played D1 sports as walk-ons, that helped me get my foot in the door.

Your action: Stop sending generic applications. Research every hiring manager, find talking points, and position yourself based on what they actually value.

Step 2: SDR → Sr. SDR

What I did: While hitting my numbers, I started creating processes that helped the entire SDR team. I documented what was working and shared it during team meetings. Eventually, I was tasked with helping interview and onboard new hires.

Your action: Go beyond individual performance. Create something that benefits the team - templates, processes, or training materials to showcase your leadership potential.

Step 3: Sr. SDR → Account Exec. (New Company)

What I did: My former manager moved to a new company and needed AEs. Before starting the AE role, I spent 3 months building inbound processes, learning about their buyer, how to run discovery, and building inbound processes.

Your action: Maintain relationships with former managers and colleagues. If needed, take on lesser responsibilities to start with commitment to a promotion upon X completion (get this in writing).

Step 4: AE → BDR Manager → Director

What I did: Sales was struggling to build pipeline. I ran trainings showing the team my outbound approach. I knew I eventually wanted to get into leadership and when the BDR Manager opening came up, I was the obvious choice. Then I focused on scaling and strategy as our company grew to become Director.

Your action: Identify problems your team faces and create solutions. Start mentoring others and building processes. Think strategically about team metrics, not just individual numbers.

Step 5: BDR Director → Head of Partnerships

What I did: I saw the company needed better partnership development and I was ready for a new challenge. During the evenings, I started building relationships with potential partners, created partnership processes, and demonstrated the revenue impact before the role existed.

Your action: Make your intentions known. Look for gaps in your company's growth strategy. Once you have a reputation for “figuring things out” leadership will start to give you more opportunities

The Bottom Line

My 7 year journey from SDR to Head of Partnerships wasn't smooth. It was messy, full of mistakes and required some luck.

The one thing that consistently accelerated my career:

When you start doing the job before you get the job, things happen:

  1. You build the skills you actually need rather than guessing what they might be

  2. You prove to leadership that you can handle the responsibility before they take the risk

  3. You become the obvious choice when the opportunity opens up

That's the difference between people who get promoted and people who stay stuck. One group waits for the title. The other group earns it first.

Your turn.

Until next Thursday,

TSG

P.S. I reply to all emails.