Business development managers could be called the unsung heroes of the sales world. Being directly responsible for generating revenue, BDMs are tasked with finding new opportunities, researching leads and establishing crucial relationships.
This is something Erik Schuller knows well. As an inside sales manager at social recognition and continuous performance management solutions provider Workhuman, Schuller plays a pivotal role in helping his team engage prospects and increase pipeline and revenue development.
While Schuller employs various tactics in his day-to-day work, there is one specific skill that he considers fundamental to success as a BDM: empathy for sales representatives.
“Inside sales is challenging, and it takes a lot of ‘no’ responses to get to that ‘yes’ that ultimately unlocks a new customer,” Schuller said. “That’s why it’s a top priority to understand their challenges, keep them motivated and give them support.”
As Schuller continues to grow in his career, he said he’s putting greater focus on strengthening his own skills and helping others do the same. Built In Boston caught up with him to learn about what drives his sales journey, career goals and motivation to help others break into the space.
What are your overall goals, and how do you measure success in your role?
My goal is to help my team increase volumes of pipeline and revenue development on a quarterly basis. I offer them the coaching they need to be successful and the freedom to be creative in their outreach. My team has come up with some unique ways to engage prospects, including customized gifts and unique account-based marketing strategies, which have contributed to lasting relationships.
To measure success, I break down weekly and quarterly goals according to each individual sales representative and territory. We believe that we win as a team. Our leaders have built an organizational culture where employees can support each other by sharing best practices and crowdsourcing their challenges. On the business development team, this kind of partnership allows us to celebrate successes and become stronger together so we can not only meet our goals, but exceed them.
What skills do you need to develop in order to be successful in your role?
Having a coaching mindset and providing helpful feedback are critical skills. Our learning and development team enables people managers to unlock the full potential of their employees through coaching and feedback. It’s all about steering them in the right direction without micromanaging while offering positive and constructive feedback along the way.
It’s also important to keep up with industry trends. The field is always evolving. During the past six years I've been with the company, so many new technologies have been developed that help us streamline efficiencies and work smarter. Being aware of these opportunities and understanding how to apply them will help everyone work more efficiently and produce positive results.
Having a coaching mindset and providing helpful feedback are critical skills.”
What are your career goals, and what are you most proud of in your career to date?
My entire journey at Workhuman has been incredibly rewarding. I started as a business development representative and grew into my current role as inside sales manager. I would love to eventually become the head of business development.
I’m especially proud of our new business development associate program, which I helped launch last year. As we grew our team, we recognized the need to create more growth and development opportunities for early-career professionals, so they can move successfully into our business development representative roles. Since we initially proposed and launched the program, we’ve had several hires make that move in as little as six months.
Seeing how this new program has helped young professionals hone their skills and experience their own career growth with us has been incredibly rewarding. As a manager, all you want is to see your team thrive and be successful, and launching this program was a great example of that.
