Our ears have been buzzing. We heard recently that the job of a Sales Development Representative (SDR) is a bit of an enigma from the outside looking in. So, we brought together two Snowflakes from across the globe to shed some light on the SDR world. These are the frontline representatives that set the tone for the sales process, and they demonstrate that a dynamic combination of strong mentorship, the right tools for skills development, and a growth mindset is a recipe for success.

Today, you’ll hear from Olivia Meger, based in Denver, and Lucas Heinen, based in Amsterdam, who will give you an inside look into the perspective of an SDR at Snowflake from both Amsterdam and North America.

What is your role at Snowflake?

Olivia Meger: I’m an SDR based in Denver, but my territory is New York City. My team is made up of nine SDRs and we affectionately named ourselves “Cake is for Closers.” My primary responsibilities include sourcing opportunities, setting up meetings with strategic accounts, and working with account executives on message development including persona targets and talk tracks.

Lucas Heinen: I’m an SDR based in Amsterdam focused on sourcing leads for the German market. There are five SDRs on my team, including myself, and we’re growing quickly! We cover the DACH region which consists of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. My main responsibility is reaching out to prospects who are interested in Snowflake and giving them an initial introduction to our product and the company as a whole.

What attracted you to Snowflake?

Lucas Heinen: At first, I was intrigued by the incredible story of our two founders, who are probably the most likable people in the entire tech universe. Maintaining momentum after drawing worldwide attention with a record-breaking software IPO is not an easy task, but people here have both feet on the ground and their eyes on the horizon. Snowflake manages to continuously improve the product, make strategic acquisitions and expand its customer base successfully, and I know that this is just the beginning.

What started you down this career path?

Olivia Meger: I graduated with a degree in finance, but always had a hunch I might be good at sales. I decided to trust my gut and go for a sales internship at another company. After six months with an amazing team and realizing how much I loved the competitive environment, I knew this was the career path for me. That’s when I decided to pursue a full-time job in sales and I found the perfect opportunity at Snowflake.

Lucas Heinen: I have always been a networker and like promoting products I really stand behind, so going into sales was a logical decision. I wanted to join a company that is young, vibrant and stirring up the market as we know it. Snowflake hits the sweet spot: it feels like a startup but operates as a global player, and it's just epic to be part of the journey.

What is a typical day like for you?

Lucas Heinen: I start my day by responding to messages, and then jump on the phone with prospects from enterprise and major accounts in Germany. We have plenty of tools that help us with doing our job: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Salesforce, and Outreach. I spend a lot of time utilizing these tools to connect with interesting people on a daily basis, like VPs, CIOs, and CDOs from large companies. It’s motivating to be around people with such impressive backgrounds; I feel like I’m continuously learning from every potential client I speak with.

Around noon, the office meets in the canteen for lunch (free, courtesy of Snowflake!) which is a great chance to connect with colleagues from different departments. Every week we have meetings with our entire sales team, where we discuss our current goals and what support is needed. Learning from each other is really important since we all take different approaches to our job, and everybody shares ideas and creative ways to help one another perform better. After work, I usually hit the gym and relax in the sauna.

What excites you about your role?

Olivia Meger: My favorite part of the job is talking to people on the phone! Snowflake’s product is the clear leader in the market, and I love sharing this with prospective accounts. I also love the strategy work that SDRs get to do with our account executives - this gets me excited about my future at Snowflake, and how my career might evolve. It’s rare for a company to directly assign you account executives, but Snowflake does and this alone makes your life as an SDR more strategic, and a lot more fun. They not only act as mentors in helping you up-level your work to prepare you for your next role at Snowflake but celebrate your wins and help you do a job that can be quite isolating to do alone.

What Snowflake values do you see show up in your everyday work

Olivia Meger: Own It. If you make a mistake, own it and keep moving forward. Know that *almost* nothing can be undone. Being an SDR can be messy at times, but if you embrace the variability that comes with it you’ll learn so much. It's part of what makes the job so fascinating!

Lucas Heinen: Make Each Other the Best. You can learn so much from your colleagues because everybody has a distinct style of work, a different approach to problems, and unique methods to get to their goals. At Snowflake, there is no gatekeeping. We are collectively focused on teaching each other, to make sure we can grow not only as individuals but collectively, too.

What are some must-have qualities for an SDR in your opinion?

Olivia Meger: Grit, tireless determination, and excellent collaboration skills - mix these qualities with “fire in the belly” and you will be unstoppable. Although you can learn a lot from others, you need to achieve your goals yourself, by showing up - always. You have to love talking to other people, as making dials is a huge and very important part of the job.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to join the SDR team at Snowflake?

Olivia Meger: This job is anything but typical. You need to be ready to get creative and work with your teammates every day. Be willing to learn and know that it doesn’t matter what your background is, what matters is the effort you are willing to put in to learn about Snowflake once you get the job.

Lucas Heinen: Speak to someone from Snowflake to hear what it’s like first-hand. Feel free to contact me on LinkedIn, if you don't know anyone yet.

Whether you already have some experience or want to kick off your sales career, learn more about our Sales Development Academy and join our talent community to be the first to hear about new roles.