Overview
You're doing outbound prospecting for a 67-person Oracle and Salesforce consulting firm. Your job is to identify companies that might need implementation help for Oracle Cloud Financials, Oracle HCM, NetSuite, or Salesforce, then cold call/email to book discovery meetings for the sales team. You're selling professional services (implementation projects), not software.
Role Snapshot
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role Type | Outbound BDR |
| Sales Motion | Outbound-heavy (95%+ cold prospecting) |
| Deal Complexity | Enterprise consulting |
| Sales Cycle | 4-9 months (you just book the first meeting) |
| Deal Size | $150K-$1M+ implementation projects |
| Quota (est.) | 8-12 qualified meetings/month |
Company Context
Stage: Bootstrapped/Private (no VC funding info available)
Size: 67 employees
Growth: Actively hiring BDR/SDR - signals they're investing in outbound motion
Market Position: Mid-sized player in crowded Oracle/Salesforce implementation space - competing against hundreds of similar consultancies plus Big 4 firms
GTM Reality
Pipeline Sources:
- 10% Inbound - mostly referrals from existing clients or Oracle/Salesforce partner network
- 85% Outbound - your cold calls and emails to companies that fit their ICP
- 5% Partner channel - Oracle/Salesforce occasionally pass leads
SDR/AE Structure: You're likely the first or second BDR hire. You'll book meetings for a small team of account executives or partners who close the deals.
SE Support: The AEs are the technical experts - many likely came from Oracle/Salesforce consulting backgrounds.
Competitive Landscape
Main Competitors: Hundreds of other Oracle/Salesforce implementation partners (Accenture, Deloitte, PwC on the high end; dozens of 50-200 person shops like Perficient, Simplus, or Madison James), plus in-house implementation teams.
How They Differentiate: Oracle Gold Partner status, "custom and agile" approach, flat org structure. Likely compete on being more nimble and responsive than Big 4, more experienced than small shops.
Common Objections:
- "We already have an implementation partner"
- "We're doing this in-house"
- "We're not planning any new Oracle/Salesforce projects right now"
- "How are you different from [other consulting firm]?"
Win Themes: Expertise across Oracle and Salesforce (not single-platform), mid-sized (responsive but capable), Oracle Gold Partner credibility.
What You'll Actually Do
Time Breakdown
Cold Calling (40%) | Email/LinkedIn (30%) | Research (15%) | Internal Meetings (15%)
Key Activities
- Prospect Research: Identify companies using Oracle or Salesforce who might need implementation help - recent funding, acquisitions, job postings for roles that suggest system changes, companies on old versions.
- Cold Calling: 60-80 calls/day to CFOs, CIOs, IT Directors, Operations VPs. Most voicemails. You're trying to find companies planning Oracle/Salesforce projects or unhappy with current implementation.
- Email Sequences: Send personalized emails referencing their tech stack, growth signals, or pain points you've researched. Response rates are low (1-3%).
- Meeting Qualification: When you get someone on the phone, you need to quickly assess if they have a project coming up, budget, and decision-making authority. Hand off to AE if qualified.
The Honest Reality
What's Hard
- Long sales cycles behind your meeting: Even when you book a good meeting, deals take 6-9 months to close. You won't see commission for a long time.
- Gatekeepers: Getting to the right person at mid-market and enterprise companies is tough. Receptionists, voicemail, LinkedIn filters.
- Crowded market: Prospects have heard from 10 other Oracle/Salesforce consultancies. You need a compelling reason for them to take your call.
- Timing is everything: Most companies only do major implementations every few years. You're often calling at the wrong time.
- Technical credibility: You're selling technical consulting but you're not technical yourself. You'll lean on phrases like "our team specializes in..." without deep understanding.
What Success Looks Like
- 8-12 qualified meetings booked per month that the AE team accepts
- Building a pipeline of "future opportunities" - companies planning projects 6-12 months out
- High connect rate - actually getting decision-makers on the phone (10-15% of dials is solid)
Who You're Selling To
Primary Buyers:
- CFOs or Finance Directors (for Oracle Financials projects)
- CIOs or IT Directors (for broader ERP/CRM projects)
- VP of Operations or HR (for HCM implementations)
- Salesforce/CRM Admins (who escalate to leadership)
What They Care About:
- Project risk: They've seen implementations go wrong. They want a partner with proven track record.
- Timing and budget: Is this project happening this quarter, next quarter, or next year?
- Specific pain: Current system limitations, upcoming contract renewals, M&A integration needs.
- Partner expertise: Do you understand their industry and use case specifically?
Requirements
- 0-2 years of BDR/SDR experience (or this is your first sales role)
- High tolerance for rejection and repetitive work
- Comfortable with cold calling and getting hung up on frequently
- Located in NY or Miami area (sounds like they want in-office presence)
- Ability to learn enough about Oracle/Salesforce/NetSuite to have credible conversations
- Self-motivation - at a 67-person company, there may not be formal BDR training or playbooks built out yet