SDR Recruitment

IQTalent, led by Recruiter/Engagement Leader Alison Raeside, partnered with the client to develop and execute a unique SDR hiring strategy that has delivered exceptional results over a three-year engagement.

Innovative Group Interview Format

Rather than relying solely on traditional one-on-one interviews, IQTalent created a distinctive group interview process:

• Three-hour virtual events with 20-40 candidates participating simultaneously
• Breakout room challenges including cold call exercises to assess sales potential
• Q&A sessions with current SDRs to provide authentic insights into the role and culture
• Efficient use of hiring managers’ time by pre-screening candidates based on soft skills

Focus on Attitude Over Experience

The IQTalent team recognized that the traditional markers of “sales potential” weren’t always the best predictors of SDR success.

“One of the biggest misconceptions in SDR hiring is that there’s one ideal background or resume that will be successful,” Raeside notes. “The reality is that it’s about disposition, attitude, and personality – not specific experience.”

In fact, Raeside found that previous sales experience could sometimes be a hindrance: “There can be bad habits in there. And there’s potentially a reason why they didn’t progress from their other sales position, especially if someone has two SDR positions previously.”

Clear Value Proposition for Candidates

To attract top talent, IQTalent helped the client articulate a compelling value proposition centered around three key elements:

1. Robust training opportunities with comprehensive onboarding and ongoing support
2. Clear career progression paths with real examples of SDRs who had been promoted
3. Supportive culture with accessible mentorship and collaborative team environment

“What makes this program so great – what would make any SDR program great – is training opportunities, support, and career progression opportunities, with real examples of that,” says Raeside. “I could give you a list of 20 SDRs and show you on their LinkedIn where they are within the company now.”

Continuous Calibration and Feedback

The success of the partnership has been built on consistent communication and feedback between IQTalent and the hiring team.

“A big positive that comes with a long-term client is that I’ve seen candidates get promoted through the ranks, and I’ve also seen which candidates aren’t a fit and let go. So I’m armed with a ton of knowledge of what works and what doesn’t going into these hires.”

This continuous learning process has resulted in more accurate candidate assessment over time: “We used to have a lot of misses at the beginning. Now we don’t have many hard nos.”