When Don Otvos was the VP of Sales Operations at Datahug, he needed to expand his SDR team. Resources were limited, so he had to be scrappy in searching for candidates. I had the pleasure of speaking with him about his experience hiring from AlwaysHired. How did you find AlwaysHired? I kinda stumbled on it. I was at Datahug and was looking for my first SDR. I had team of two SDRs and the headcount to hire one more. We didn’t have the budget to go through recruiters, so I had to be resourceful. I wanted to find someone who was fresh out of college, and wanted a crack at technology sales. My first stop in my search was Indeed and that’s where I found Alex Fung. What was so impressive about him? What made you want to talk with him? First off, he checked off some of the boxes for which I was looking - he was a recent college graduate and was local to the Bay Area. Then I noticed he referenced AlwaysHired. After I took a look at your offering I was immediately impressed. He actually spent money on a class, a sales bootcamp, to get his crack at tech sales. It was like an epiphany for me - he took initiative. I get resumes from people who think becoming an SDR is the “it-job” to take. Their friends are in it, they think they can make a lot of money, but there is no passion for the role. So that told you something about his character, what he might be like as an SDR. Absolutely. He had initiative, drive, effort - everything you want to see when you’re hiring an SDR. It was a no-brainer. AlwaysHired students pay out-of-pocket to differentiate themselves in the market, and that’s impressive. I knew that this is someone who is going to grab the bull by the horns, not be afraid to get on the phone, and improve himself. He had a passion for wanting to do it - to grow, and grow into sales roles in the future. What about the tools and skills that graduates of AlwaysHired bring to the table? Off-the-bat, you’re getting someone who doesn’t need an introduction to Salesforce. They understand what the basics of a cold call are, what account-based marketing and account-based sales are. These aren’t things you learn in college, so they have that much of a leg-up when I’m onboarding them. Safe to say you were hooked on what AlwaysHired has to offer… After I brought on Alex, he took me to an AlwaysHired Alumni Happy Hour, and I was sold even more on what you guys are doing. That’s where I met Gabe, and he gave me a deeper dive into the program, what’s covered. After getting the full rundown and seeing Alex’s performance with us, I decided to send two of my existing SDRs through training. Our CEO saw the value that came with AlwaysHired graduates and wanted to set the precedence that this was the benchmark to which they would be measured. They needed to know best practices, nuances of the tools SDRs use. Do you see a benefit to hiring from a sales bootcamp as a startup? What you provide to startups as a service, having a funnel of SDRs that are armed with the basic knowledge and building blocks of how to be an SDR, is invaluable. Hiring someone is a big risk, and you want to minimize that risk as much as possible. Especially if you’re starting from scratch. That first SDR hire can make or break your company. You want to hire someone who is passionate about the role and is armed with the right information to perform well. There’s a need for what you guys are doing. Startup founders are trying to find their first hires and spending a lot of money going through recruiters. If they get AlwaysHired graduates, they’re cutting their onboarding time, finding passionate and driven individuals.
When Don Otvos was the VP of Sales Operations at Datahug, he needed to expand his SDR team. Resources were limited, so he had to be scrappy in searching for candidates. I had the pleasure of speaking with him about his experience hiring from AlwaysHired.
How did you find AlwaysHired?
I kinda stumbled on it. I was at Datahug and was looking for my first SDR. I had team of two SDRs and the headcount to hire one more. We didn’t have the budget to go through recruiters, so I had to be resourceful. I wanted to find someone who was fresh out of college, and wanted a crack at technology sales. My first stop in my search was Indeed and that’s where I found Alex Fung.
What was so impressive about him? What made you want to talk with him?
First off, he checked off some of the boxes for which I was looking - he was a recent college graduate and was local to the Bay Area. Then I noticed he referenced AlwaysHired. After I took a look at your offering I was immediately impressed. He actually spent money on a class, a sales bootcamp, to get his crack at tech sales. It was like an epiphany for me - he took initiative. I get resumes from people who think becoming an SDR is the “it-job” to take. Their friends are in it, they think they can make a lot of money, but there is no passion for the role.
So that told you something about his character, what he might be like as an SDR.
Absolutely. He had initiative, drive, effort - everything you want to see when you’re hiring an SDR. It was a no-brainer.
AlwaysHired students pay out-of-pocket to differentiate themselves in the market, and that’s impressive. I knew that this is someone who is going to grab the bull by the horns, not be afraid to get on the phone, and improve himself. He had a passion for wanting to do it - to grow, and grow into sales roles in the future.
What about the tools and skills that graduates of AlwaysHired bring to the table?
Off-the-bat, you’re getting someone who doesn’t need an introduction to Salesforce. They understand what the basics of a cold call are, what account-based marketing and account-based sales are. These aren’t things you learn in college, so they have that much of a leg-up when I’m onboarding them.
Safe to say you were hooked on what AlwaysHired has to offer…
After I brought on Alex, he took me to an AlwaysHired Alumni Happy Hour, and I was sold even more on what you guys are doing. That’s where I met Gabe, and he gave me a deeper dive into the program, what’s covered.
After getting the full rundown and seeing Alex’s performance with us, I decided to send two of my existing SDRs through training. Our CEO saw the value that came with AlwaysHired graduates and wanted to set the precedence that this was the benchmark to which they would be measured. They needed to know best practices, nuances of the tools SDRs use.
Do you see a benefit to hiring from a sales bootcamp as a startup?
What you provide to startups as a service, having a funnel of SDRs that are armed with the basic knowledge and building blocks of how to be an SDR, is invaluable. Hiring someone is a big risk, and you want to minimize that risk as much as possible. Especially if you’re starting from scratch. That first SDR hire can make or break your company. You want to hire someone who is passionate about the role and is armed with the right information to perform well.
There’s a need for what you guys are doing. Startup founders are trying to find their first hires and spending a lot of money going through recruiters. If they get AlwaysHired graduates, they’re cutting their onboarding time, finding passionate and driven individuals.
