Brag Books: The Secret Weapon for SDRs in Job Interviews

As a salesperson, you have a unique set of skills and experiences that set you apart from other job applicants. However, in a crowded job market, it can be difficult to showcase these qualities effectively in a traditional job interview. That's where a "brag book" comes in.

A brag book is a digital portfolio highlighting examples of your best work and providing a place to share what makes you different from other candidates. Think of it as your own personal bragging rights, all in one place.

We highly recommend you use a tool like PitchFolio to create this. Their tool gives you solid insights on how to structure it, what to include, and an easy place to build/host your portfolio.

Looking for a few ideas of what to include? Here are a few ideas of what you can include in this:

• Examples of cold emails that you’ve sent.

• Recordings of successful cold calls (if you have these available)

• Cold call scripts that you’ve developed

• How you approach subject lines (provide examples)

• Objection handling frameworks

• Resources that you consume to continue improving

• List of people you follow on LinkedIn

There isn’t a right or wrong way to approach this. The most important part is to help hiring managers better understand what you can bring to the table. One of the big challenges for hiring managers is figuring out who is a talker, and who is a doer. The easiest way to differentiate yourself is to show instead of tell.

Here’s an example of what this might look like.

Introduction: My name is [Your Name]! In this document, I’d like to show you my approach to sales development and how I approach the SDR role. Scroll down below where you’ll find recordings of my achievements, cold call scripts, recordings, email examples, and other resources.

Achievements:

• Increased qualified opportunities by [X]% within the first year of joining [Company Name]

• Won the [Award Name] for outstanding performance in [Year]

• Successfully booked high-value meetings with decision makers at companies like[Client Names]

Cold Call Script Example:

Opener - “Hi (prospect), it’s Jimmy from The SDR Newsletter. I was hoping you could help me out with something.”

Hook - “many other (titles) I speak with say they struggle with XYZ. How are you handling this situation today?”

[objection handling] - More on this below

Close “We just helped another company solve this exact problem. Would you be open to see exactly how we did it on a call later this week?”

Cold Call Recordings:

• Link to recording

• Link to recording

• Link to recording

Cold Email Examples:

• [Client Name]: Insert Example

• [Client Name]: Insert Example

Objection Handling Examples:

Here’s how I work through each one of these objections

• “Can you send me an email”

  • (insert how you handle this)

• “We have no budget”

  • (insert how you handle this)

Sales Resources I follow:

• Podcast Name

• Newsletter Name

• Books I’ve read

This is just one example of a brag book, and the contents will vary based on the individual salesperson's achievements, skills, and personal story. The key is to make sure the book is well-organized, highly tactical, and highlighting your strengths in a way that will make a lasting impression on the interviewer.

When should you send this to the interviewer?

Getting this in front of the hiring manager as soon as possible is the best approach. Don’t wait until you are deep into the interview process to share this. Here’s what we recommend: As soon as you get the invite for the first call. Send over a confirmation email with a link to the book. It could sound like this:

“Hi (hiring manager) - Looking forward to our conversation on Wednesday at 2pm EST!

To help with the process, I’ve included my portfolio here. In this document, you’ll find examples of cold emails I’ve sent, my cold call scripts, objection handling frameworks, and more information on how I approach the SDR role. Talk soon!”

You’ve already set yourself apart from the rest of the candidates and you haven’t even had an interview yet!

Best of luck! For more sales jobseeking tips check out the PitchFolio blog!

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