SalesLoft put on an amazing event these past two days as part of their Rainmaker 2015 conference. With over 200 sales professionals attending, it’s clear that sales development is a major growth area. Two of my favorite sales speakers, Derek Grant and Allen Nance, headlined the early afternoon session. Modern sales development was popularized by Aaron Ross in his book Predictable Revenue. The core idea — a team dedicated to setting appointments for other sales reps — isn’t new. What is new is the formal methodology Aaron introduced in his book that includes a process with email and phone outreach to set demos with key people.
Here are a few ideas regarding the rise of sales development:
- Metrics and expectations for sales reps are clear and manageable, aligning the sales reps and sales management
- Inside sales is growing faster than field sales, resulting in more emphasis on appointment setting and a lighter-touch sales process
- Buyers have much more extensive information available online, resulting in more product understanding before even engaging a sales rep, helping reduce the need for in-person sales meetings
- Tools like SalesLoft Cadence (for emailing and process management) make the sales development process incredibly effective (Disclosure: I’m an investor in SalesLoft)
Sales development is incredibly effective for the right type of product and sale. Look for more conferences like Rainmaker 2015 in the future and more awareness of the Predictable Revenue methodology.
What else? What are some more thoughts on the rise of sales development?
David Cummings on Startups 
What I have seen over the course of my sales career is that the sales process has become very compartmentalized. This is great because it allows you to set up training and metrics for each different area. If implemented properly, great time to be a sales professional!