Building a career in sales often carries a misplaced stigma – that it requires being overly aggressive or sacrificing everything to hit targets.
However, B2B sales excellence comes from a much more strategic approach. It’s about targeting the right audience, at the right time, with a message that addresses genuine customer needs. By focusing on value-driven interactions, sales professionals can achieve remarkable results without resorting to outdated, high-pressure tactics. So, how do you cultivate these skills and build a career that leads to sustained success in sales?
What is a modern sales career?
The stereotype of B2B sales as cold-calling or pushing products is long outdated. With the rise of technology and the broader-than-ever range of outreach channels, the face of sales careers in the modern age has shifted dramatically. Those looking to thrive in a modern sales career need to use a combination of personalised approaches, data-driven insights, and the right digital tools to engage business clients effectively.
Training: the cornerstone of success
At durhamlane, we’re proud to implement training and progression strategies that redefine how we approach hiring and development, supporting our sales development representatives (SDRs) throughout their careers.
Our award-winning four-week onboarding programme focuses on equipping SDRs with the skills they need to excel and is led by Becky Falla, our learning and development manager. Through our “Selling at a Higher Level” methodology, we provide a solid foundation that prepares SDRs to represent our clients with confidence and expertise.
The programme was developed with the mindset of ‘our people are our software’. We’re a big believer in support at every step of the way, which is why we chose to invest in a dedicated in-house onboarding team targeted to those with no prior selling experience, which trains up team members such as Tia Stannard, who has been at durhamlane two years and is now in the role of our senior sales development representative.
Two years ago, Tia says “I was fresh into sales and had no experience working in an office environment. The training presented me with everything I needed to succeed – if I hadn’t had the support from Becky, I don’t feel I’d be where I am in the company.”
By following the course, which became accredited by an external education partner this year, our trainees have everything in their toolkit to sell confidently and rise through the company. Because let’s be honest: effective sales require more than just charisma and charm. Continuous learning is at the heart of success in sales—investing in your team’s training from the start is what will create industry leading experts. Instilling confidence and skill in your team will help them engage with clients and customers more effectively, and build meaningful relationships.
A new approach to career growth
An area that businesses often fall down on is focusing on the now rather than the future. How quickly can they bring in new talent? How soon can they be integrated into the team? What results are they bringing in now, now, now?
The secret lies in always planning ahead, and seeing a brighter future. Training up your SDRs thoroughly rather than quickly sets them up for a career of growth and constant upskilling. Yes, of course, this means some members of your team will outgrow their stations and move on to more ambitious things—but you should want that! It’s a sign your employees are thriving, and that you are nurturing the best of the best in your team.
Becky points out that: “42% of our SDRs work at a senior SDR level, who also help and support our new starters. Whether it takes three, six or twelve months, we commit to supporting our SDRs to grow at their own pace.”
The onboarding process at durhamlane is designed not just to teach skills, but to instil a mindset of growth. We recognise that transitioning into sales can be daunting, especially for those with little experience. “That’s why our programme is hands-on and tailored, without sticking to a rigid timeframe, ensuring that new hires gain real-world experience from the start, placing them straight into the action alongside current SDRs.”
You might think that it’s unorthodox to nurture SDRs to the point that they are ready to move into in-house roles with clients. Why are we happy to help them springboard out of the business and into another? Because it’s the best testament to our success—and a sign we can keep doing it, making our teams as strong as possible.
Cultivating long-term relationships
The key mindset to facilitate this sort of career growth is to have a genuine commitment to long-term relationships.
“Our SDRs are often immersed into an industry very quickly in order to learn fast and well about the client’s target audience, with different scenarios and knowledge to hand,” Becky says of our training. “This can result in some of SDRs being promoted to work directly with our customers full time, thanks to the competency framework they’ve grown into over their time at durhamlane, preparing them for the leap into working directly and self-sufficiently for a client.”
We believe in staying connected with our former employees, following their careers as they develop into successful sales professionals. As many of them eventually return to us as clients, the effectiveness of our training and our culture of support is clearly effective.
When building your sales team, the ultimate goal is to create high-performing salespeople who can take their skills into any organisation. You should want to see them thrive, whether within your team or elsewhere, and always encourage them to be on a learning journey—you never ‘finish’ learning when building a career in sales, as there are always new industries, new tips and tricks, new channels and new skills to learn.
This commitment to employee growth not only enhances individual careers but also contributes to raising the overall profile of the sales profession. By equipping salespeople with the right skills and supporting their development, we want to transform the perception of sales and elevate it to the level of other respected professions.
Redefining sales as a career
At the end of the day, sales should be a career to be proud of. The skills learned in sales will serve you well throughout your life – whether continuing in sales, or carrying them into other industries – so don’t shy away from any opportunity to develop them, and become the best at what you do!
Richard Lane, CCO and co-founder of durhamlane, is a seasoned Sales 2.0 practitioner and consultant with over 16 years of experience in solution selling, global sales, and sales leadership, specializing in accelerating revenue generation. He developed the 'Selling at a Higher Level' methodology, aiding numerous global businesses in boosting their sales. Lane possesses expertise in omnichannel marketing and performance culture, having collaborated with notable brands like Siemens Healthineers, ABB, and Nasdaq. A regular speaker and podcast co-host, he is dedicated to developing sales professionals and also serves as an Associate Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University.
