Meet Our Sales Development Representatives

A day-in-the-life of an SDR

About the Role

What does a day-in-the-life look like for a Sales Development Representative (SDR) at Sentinel Group? We connected with our SDRs to find out!


Meet Greg Pezza

Where are you from?
Proudly born and raised in Rhode Island.


Where did you go to college? What did you study?
Connecticut College graduate. Majored in American Studies with an Economics and English double minor.

Sales is the foundation of any business and the path I wanted. Strong company culture, learning, development and mentoring programs were also important to me. Sentinel excels in all of these areas. The rotation immerses SDRs in industry specifics. Sales-wise, we have a dedicated sales coach and senior colleagues who are always willing to mentor and support us.

Morning:

  • Get organized for the day
  • Call top prospects 
  • Dials and prospecting
  • Meetings, emails or account research


Lunch:

  • Eat lunch with co-workers, workout, etc.


Afternoon:

  • Meetings, emails, research
  • Emails, dials or research  
  • Call remaining top prospects
  • Remaining emails, industry news

Truthfully, the hybrid model is perfect. It’s great being in office Tuesday-Thursday to see co-workers and work together on certain projects. Working remote Monday and Friday are awesome productivity days.

SDRs have the opportunity to visit clients for specific employee education days. We also attend certain in-person client and sales meetings with colleagues. Whether or not you are involved in the sales process, there are in-person shadowing opportunities that the team makes available to us.

BenefitsPRO, Plan Sponsor and LinkedIn are all great. Sentinel has awesome events and content that I follow closely as well.

In order to help HR teams, you need to have a deep level of understanding and knowledge about the benefits industry. I’m most proud of the knowledge I’ve gained and that it is used to help others. This is a testament to the awesome people we have here and the mentoring, learning and development programs Sentinel has in place.

Meet Samuna KC

Where are you from?
I live in Malden, Massachusetts.

Where did you go to college? What did you study?
Southeast Missouri State University. I studied theatre and performing arts.

I am motivated by the challenge of meeting sales targets, building client relationships and working as part of a team. At Sentinel, I am interested in helping people find the right benefits to protect themselves and their families.

I identify and qualify potential new clients through various prospecting techniques. I also schedule appointments for the sales team and nurture leads until they are ready to make a purchase.

This is a unique opportunity to gain valuable skills, build relationships with potential customers and develop the grit and determination needed for a sucessful sales career. 

Don't be afraid to take risks and try new things. Sales is a dynamic and challenging field, but it's also highly rewarding with a wealth of opportunities. Embrace the unknown and trust in your abilities to learn, grow and succeed. 

Morning:

  • Coffee and set up my day
  • Make cold calls
  • Send personalized emails


Lunch

Afternoon:

  • Research industry leads and craft new messaging
  • Internal meetings
  • Afternoon prospecting
  • Make remaining cold calls for the day
  • Reply to any last emails or messages

Hybrid gives me the best of both worlds. I have the structure and community of the office along with the independence and focus of WFH. Less commute is always good.

Communication, time management and resiliency.

Industry podcasts, SHRM's online platform, Employee Benefit News (EBN) and LinkedIn groups.

I am learning and innovating every day. Developing and implementing successful sales strategies can be challenging, but it has also been a huge accomplishment of mine over the past few years.

Meet Anthony Mancini

Where are you from?
Middleton, Massachusetts.

Where did you go to college? What did you study?
Connecticut College. I majored in Economics and minored in Finance. I participated in the investment club as well as multiple sports, which were important to me.

I developed initial interest in becoming a Financial Planner but learned about the fulfillment of institutional sales. Education on retirement plans and benefits was invaluable in addition to elite Sales training.

Failure is essential to success. We were all beginners in something, and there's a learning opportunity in everything. That and building a solid reputation is so important in Sales.

I research companies and schedule appointments with their management to learn about their benefits and retirement programs. I support senior sales associates with their accounts in hopes to acquire long-term clients.

The rotation across multiple business units and opportunities for professional development are unique. I recommend recent college grads and students interested in an internship to connect with me and learn more.

Need an espresso. Commute to the office. Something unique perhaps is visualization techniques. Five minutes of silence and mental preparation is huge in helping me get ready for the day.

Morning:

  • General planning, calendar updates, emails, commute
  • Research and prospect outreach, sales calls
  • Internal meetings

Lunch

Afternoon:

  • Internal meetings and other assignments
  • LinkedIn and social media updates
  • Research and prospect outreach continued
  • Fitness center

In the office for enhanced relationships and building discipline. It’s a 15 minute commute for me. I take advantage of the fitness center downstairs sometimes.

Time management, personal finance education, communication.

  • Plan reviews with retirement plan advisors
  • Bruins and Celtics games in the Sentinel Suite
  • Open-enrollment and vendor fairs
  • College campus recruiting

Successful completion of the rotational program and building actual revenue in the pipeline. Sales is an incredible metaphor for success and income opportunities are unlimited. I’m looking forward to more business opportunities.

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