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In this episode of Bold Calling, host Adam Sockel is joined by Arely Brattin, SDR Manager at Orum, and John Karsant, Founder & CEO of Level Up Leads, to dive deep into the art and science of SDR management. They discuss the most effective strategies for onboarding, training, measuring success, and retaining top SDR talent—plus the evolving role of AI and the shift toward revenue-focused performance metrics.
Key Topics & Takeaways
🚀 Onboarding & Training SDRs- John's Approach: SDRs at Level Up Leads start on internal calls before reaching out to clients, ensuring they ramp up in a controlled environment.
- Arely's Method: Identifying learning styles is key—whether reps prefer shadowing, classroom-style learning, or hands-on coaching. Pairing new SDRs with top performers helps them build confidence quickly.
- Activity vs. Revenue Metrics:
- Quality over quantity—fewer dials, but better targeted outreach.
- No-show rates and objection-handling improvements are now key performance indicators.
- John's Strategy: Reduce friction for reps—handle list building and client conversations so SDRs can focus on dialing and selling.
- Arely's Strategy:
- Recognition and validation go a long way—"The SDR role can be thankless, so just saying 'I appreciate you' matters."
- Compensation matters—competitive pay and incentives keep reps motivated.
- Create a collaborative yet competitive culture where reps push each other to improve.
- How AI is Used:
- AI tools assist with call analysis, coaching, and script refinement.
- Human Touch Still Wins:
- AI helps with efficiency, but real conversations convert at a much higher rate than email or automation.
- "If I know it's AI emailing me, I can ignore it. If a person calls me, I feel bad not answering."
- Groundswell Approach:
- Instead of cold calling a VP of Sales right away, SDRs should start lower in the org (fellow SDRs, team leads) and work their way up.
- Coordinating with AEs to multi-thread an account increases success rates.
- John: The decline of email as an effective channel has led to a resurgence in cold calling as a primary outreach method.
- Arely: Social selling (via LinkedIn and other platforms) is on the rise, but phones remain the best channel for high-converting conversations.
- Biggest Shift: Buyers expect a more personalized experience, so SDRs need to do their homework and build genuine relationships.
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