In today’s issue, I’m going to share the 3 timeless traits of successful SDRs.

I wrote a similar guide back in end of 2022 and while I was rereading it, I noticed that the traits of successful SDRs hadn’t changed at all.

When I started working in sales, being an SDR was just an entry-level job, and the ambition of most of them was to become an AE. Nowadays, being an SDR is an opportunity to create skills that can be used for a lifetime, document them, and open a sea of opportunities for financial, and personal development.

Here are 3 timeless traits of successful SDRs:

Trait #1: They protect their time

Being a successful SDR is 80% activity, and 20% creativity. Which means most of your time should be spent prospecting. Unfortunately, in most sales organizations, a big part of your day is wasted in meetings, chatters with colleagues, or breaks.

Successful SDRs know they won’t reach their targets if they don’t create a system to protect their time.

A good way to do so is creating time blocks. You can do it by identifying when you’re the most productive, and add a blocker into your calendar. I recommend adding 1 to 3 blocks of 60 minutes minimum per day. Ideally, your blocks should be at the same time every day, so your colleagues can predict when you’re available and when you’re not.

Here’s an example of a time-blocked schedule:

Trait #2: They prospect every day

Prospecting isn’t super glamorous. It’s a lot of repetitive tasks, yet it’s the lifeblood of every sales organization. If you can’t create enough activities, you won’t book meetings, and you’ll lose motivation.

Filling your time blocks with a constant flow of prospecting activities is how you avoid that problem. I recommend dividing your monthly goals into daily activity to get more control over your outcomes.

For example, if you’ve identified that you need to create 600 touchpoints (calls, emails, LinkedIn messages, etc.) per month, you need to divide it by the number of working days (in general 20 per month). In our example, you’ll need to create 30 (600/20) activities per day.

It’s a lot simpler to deliver 30 touchpoints per day every day than skipping days and having to play catch up.

Trait #3: They focus on the basics

There are a few basics when it comes to prospecting; knowing your Ideal Customer Profile, understanding their problems, and using them in your messaging.

A lot of SDRs I meet have no clue who their ICP are, what problems they are trying to solve, and how to communicate them properly. They end up pitching about their solutions, focusing on features, and getting no responses.

I recommend SDRs to build and ICP matrix (the type of company, and the job title), list problems and symptoms for each type of prospect, and use them heavily in their messaging.

Open your prospecting sequences and check if there’s any mention of what your solution does. If it’s the case, you’re most likely focusing on features, and killing your reply rates as a result.

And these are the 3 traits of successful SDRs in 2023 and beyond.

TL;DR:

1. They protect their time
2. They prospect every day
3. They focus on the basics

Hope this helps.

Hi there, it’s Thibaut.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to tell you more about why I love working with remote parents. I became a dad a bit more than 3 years ago and I now have 2 little boys that fill my days with joy (and a lot of noise, mess, and sometimes stress).

Before being a parent, I never understood what it meant to have kids running around your house. It’s especially complicated when you work from home, because sometimes kids are around but they don’t really understand why they shouldn’t disturb you.

But these constraints also give parents skills that I really appreciate. Here are 3 of them:

Reason 1: They focus on outcomes

When you have a family and you work from home, being in your home office from morning to night without having to take care of your kids at some point of the day is impossible. They typically wake up early, run around filled with energy, and come back to haunt you after school.

This means you only have a few hours to get your work done (when they are at daycare or at school). This helps parents prioritize activities that move deals over useless gossiping, virtual happy hours, or meetings that could have been an email.

I’m currently working with 3 people and they are all dads who know how to take responsibility and do what needs to be done.

Reason 2: Their work isn’t their top priority

I absolutely despise the hustle culture. People who make their work their whole identity typically end up burnt out and they hurt people around them. I found that most parents don’t have that luxury. They have kids to take care of, school obligations, and most of them try to be as present as they can for their kids.

This creates a great culture where people focus on being the most productive they can when working, so they can be 100% present for their families when the home fills in with laughters and priorities shift.

Reason 3: They know how to deal with stressful situations

If you have kids, you get stressed every single day. Not because you’re in a dangerous situation, but because kids sometimes create enormous amounts of resistance, which can be quite annoying. Do that a few dozens of times per day and you end up dysregulated and stressed.

Parents with experience learn how to stop this negative cycle and find solutions to stop kids from driving them crazy (google Slow, Low, and Listen if you still need help with that).

These skills are extremely useful in the world of sales. Prospects throw curveballs at us every day, and the pressure to perform can be immense. Having kids teaches you how to put all of this in perspective.

And these are 3 main reasons I love working with parents. The experience of raising good people (or at least trying) is a constant challenge, and it forces you to focus on moving deals so you can provide for your family and be there for them.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris

Hi there, it’s Thibaut.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to share 3 lessons I learned from closing $146,418 in 2 months. I have accidentally started a Sales Creator agency since September 2025, and the results are way better than I expected.

If you know me, you know I love trying new business ideas all the time. I’ve been a sales consultant, a trainer, a coach, a creator, and I even launched a car wash. All these businesses were doing OK, but the Sales Creator Agency is the first business that is taking off way faster than I expected.

For the first time in my career, I’m overwhelmed by the opportunities that came my way (I’m so used to fighting for business, this feels weird). Here are 3 big lessons I got from these 2 months:

Lesson 1: Big problems = big money

I knew about this one for so long. When you uncover and solve (a part of) a big problem for your prospects, they typically pay you more. I’ve been training salespeople on this concept for years, but the products I was selling were always solving vague, unclear problems.

Working with sales creators and brands is way different. This space is so new that everyone is learning as they go. Creators struggle to find brand deals, manage the back-and-forth with brands, or getting paid fairly. Brands struggle to find creators or sometimes have a hard time dealing with big egos.

But one thing is certain, the ROI of working with influencers is massive. I’m regularly seeing 600% ROI for brands, and every B2B brand is now trying to work with creators.

Lesson 2: In a gold rush, sell shovels

In my opinion, we’ve entered the Golden Age of B2B influence. And in a gold rush, sell shovels. As a creator myself, I could go on and try to maximize how much I get paid per sponsored posts, but the leverage I get by selling a tool (the bridge between creators and brands) is way bigger.

It’s also a good way to reduce the risk of being a creator. If I get kicked out of LinkedIn tomorrow, I can still close deals for my creators. Just like in the gold rush in the West, the people who will make the most money aren’t the creators (they will still make a lot), but the people selling the tools and solutions that drive the creator economy.

Lesson 3: Information is everything

Finally, being an agent has put me in a situation where I’m getting to work with all the actors of the sales creator economy. I deal daily with creators, brand managers, CEOs, agencies, etc.

These daily interactions give me a ton of insights on the market. How much brands are spending, how they are working with agencies, how much creators expect to get paid.

All this information shapes an understanding of the market that helps me identify what is a good opportunity and what is a bad opportunity. It’s a true luxury to be in that position because I get to have a massive impact on the market and the prices.

And that’s it. These are 3 key lessons I got from closing $146,418 in 2 months (mostly in sponsored content). It’s all about solving a big problem, selling the services to solve this problem, and being at the middle of every transactions.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris

Hi there, it’s Thibaut.

In today’s newsletter, I’m going to tell you more about why I need a break from working remotely. If you’re like me, you’re spending a good part of your day making deals happen from your home office (mine is in my son’s bedroom).

As amazing as working from home can be, it’s also really tiring. When I was working from an office, I would take regular breaks, but working now I’m locked in from the moment my kids are at school to the moment I pick them up.

Here’s why I think working remotely is the best, but why it should come with breaks (in the form of business trips):

Reason 1: I am an extrovert

I’m a social person by nature. Being around people gives me a ton of energy and motivation. However, I can also turn into The Grinch when I don’t want to be around people. This means working from home gives me total control over my environment.

If I want to be focused, I can close my door and I’m in the zone. This works great 95% of the time. But sometimes, I need stimulation from other people, and running online calls doesn’t cut it.

That’s why having regular breaks in the form of business trips is something I’m excited for. As I work for myself, I don’t need to report to a boss, and I can organize my trip as I want it.

Reason 2: Real-life connections generate opportunities

Business trips has a massive impact on the opportunities I can generate. If you’ve been following me on LinkedIn recently, you know I recently became a sales creator agent. I would have never thought of this if I hadn’t met creators in real life during my Sales Creator Content Party in Berlin.

I’m traveling to Montreal and Toronto in two weeks, and announcing it has already booked me meetings with customers, prospects, and creators. Meeting people in real life is a great way to solidify relationships and add some human touch to doing business.

Reason 3: Making deals happen remotely is tiring

Finally, my deal flow has been accelerating these past 2 months. I have closed 35 deals since the beginning of September, and it can get pretty tiring to deal with the negotiation and back and forth while working alone.

It’s also really hard to switch off when there’s no physical separation between your work and your home. I get to do what I want, when I want, but I’m also constantly on (even on weekends).

I can’t wait to travel so I can be consistently on, but in another space.

And that’s it. I wouldn’t trade working from home for anything else, but I’m happy to travel for business once a quarter so I can meet the people I see every day online, and turn a virtual relationship into something more human.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Thibaut Souyris