In volleyball there's a position called the "setter." Their job is to take the ball that comes into our side of the court and set it up so the spiker can hit it cleanly.
There's even a saying that "volleyball is the setter's game," which tells you it's a key position that decides whether the team wins or loses.
Watching Haikyu!! recently got me thinking again about the role of a good marketer/SDR.
"Make the spiker think they've gotten better."
This line from my favorite character hit me, an egoist, deep in the heart.
What's the role of a B2B marketer or SDR?
Simply increasing the "number of balls" (leads) coming in is just the start.
The real skill is in growing deal sizes and speeding up the pipeline, creating the perfect trajectory for sales to sharpen their finishing power.
What does it take to make them feel "the ball's really connecting today"?
• Going beyond persuading the champion, to building materials so complete that they can copy and paste them straight into their internal report.
• Fast follow-up and accurate information, sending the ball to the point of attack before the customer's buying temperature cools.
• Going directly after the final decision-maker (C-level) to cut out unnecessary passes.
When these precise sets come together, the perfect spike happens.
And then, sales will come to believe they're a genius.
But the real one is me.
