SDR Series: Meet our North America team

In this SDR Series, we get to know an SDR and an SDR manager in each of our three core regions: EMEA, North America, and APJ. In North America, we have SDR teams based in Boston and Denver. In this blog post, Joe MacInnis and Ally Sirois share what it’s like to be a part of our SDR team in North America!

Ally Sirois

Senior Sales Development Representative, Boston, US

A few years before joining Snyk, I graduated from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island where I studied Marketing and Finance. During senior year of college there’s always this constant pressure to get a job before graduating, so I told myself I’d end the semester with good grades and then head back home to serve at a local restaurant until I found the job that was right for me. The approach was stress-free and within a few months, I accepted my first job at a construction software company as a Marketing Coordinator. I joined a small marketing team of 5, which meant there were endless projects to be done.

Over the next few years, I spent every day in Salesforce building campaigns, generating leads, finding new accounts, and  running the events and tradeshows for the sales team. As I ran events, my relationship with the sales team became stronger. Seeing the success they had from the work I did made me want to work that much harder. That’s when I knew I needed to switch gears and apply all my countless late nights to a position in sales that paid off for all the additional hours I put in.

When I began applying, I had no sales experience, which resulted in lots of interviews and rejections — but then I found Snyk. I joined Snyk because of the incredible people who interviewed me. During my interview process, the team really wanted to get to know me, as opposed to quizzing me on how much research I did about the company. They didn’t try to scare me into thinking my experience wasn't enough — they wanted to know what motivated me and why. What mattered to the team was my ambition, willingness to learn, and the understanding of one of Snyk’s core company values, being a part of One Team. Not only did Snyk see this in me, I could see it in them, and that's when I knew Snyk was where I had to be.

The role of an SDR is usually portrayed as an entry-level grind that’ll burn you out and get you nowhere, but at Snyk, an SDR is quite the opposite. We’re the first human interaction prospects have with Snyk, which ultimately forms their very first impression of who we are as a company. It’s an incredible feeling as an SDR when you build a meaningful relationship with a prospect.

SDRs at Snyk are given the resources needed to be strategic in their day-to-day so they don’t have to pester companies with the classic cold calling technique. Not to say we don’t cold call, but we take a much more personal approach in our outreach by researching and understanding a company to ensure we illustrate how Snyk may be of value to them.

SDRs at Snyk are a huge part of the sales team and the company's overall success. Your immediate SDR team and manager are there to ensure your success, but you can count on the whole sales org to be there for you — including the executive team, who constantly recognize the work of our SDR team.

Hard work does not go unnoticed at Snyk. We have dedicated Slack channels to share new ideas and collaborate on what is working for us. One of the Sales Directors on my team took the time to recognize the work I shared with the team and wrote, “Ally Sirois is always leading from the front and setting the bar high!!! Already showing how an SDR shows up as an AE everyday. SDR team, you have an opportunity to be a copilot or a passenger… be the copilot with your rep!” If this doesn’t make you want to get up every morning and work hard for your team, then I don’t know what will!

In terms of career growth opportunities, since I first joined Snyk in July 2021, career growth expectations have been top of mind for the SDR management team. As SDRs, we know every available career option and exactly what we need to do to achieve our goals. Our sales enablement team takes it a step further and hosts live presentations with fellow Snykers on their experience and why they may have moved to expansion, customer success, renewals, marketing, etc. Not to mention, each SDR team has their own SDR Manager, who dedicates themselves to the success of the team and are always there to coach you in your daily tasks or even life outside Snyk!

I love working at Snyk because we truly are One Team. We succeed because we’re continuously learning from each other and appreciate our peers’ hard work. We all have the same mission, which unites us. As an employee, you really feel this when your CEO, VP of Sales, and SDR Director book a desk in the office the same way you do. I actually walked into the office the other day and found myself working right next to our CEO. These are the moments that make you want to work that much harder every day. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of countless colleagues at Snyk.

Joe MacInnis

Sales Development Manager, Boston, US

I’ve been in sales for about the past five years, starting with door-to-door cold calling, and entered the software industry in 2019. As an Associate Manager of our North America SDR team at Snyk, my role includes helping SDRs ramp up and understand how to be an effective SDR. There are a lot of SDRs that come in with no sales experience, and it’s my job to ensure they start seeing success early in their role.

Our team is super collaborative. Depending on the day, we’ll either have one-on-one meetings, larger team meetings, or small group meetings. One-on-one meetings are great to talk about an SDR’s career, their goals, and what they’re struggling with. Larger meetings are great for team camaraderie, and the small group meetings are used for collaboration and knowledge sharing. Outside of my team meetings, my time is filled with meetings with my fellow SDR managers, marketing, sales managers, and more, to make sure we’re providing everything we can to help our SDRs succeed.

The SDR program here at Snyk drives a ton of pipeline for the company. In many situations, we are the first point-of-contact and first introduction to Snyk for our prospects. Having SDRs be able to drive pipeline takes the burden off account executives so they can focus more of their time on running and closing deals. We essentially help the organization scale at a faster rate. My impact as an SDR manager is developing our SDRs to be able to drive in pipeline at a rapid rate.

Our overall team culture is very fun! SDRs across Snyk have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the role. I try to drive that same energy for my specific team. We can still have a ton of fun even through Zoom calls, and you can see that energy come through. We also really strive for a great “One Team” culture, which is one of Snyk’s core company values. As a team, we are always asking ourselves, what can I do to help the team hit their goals? Can I surpass my number to pick up slack? Can I lend a helping hand to someone on the team who may be struggling? We focus on this team mentality to help us all succeed.

My favorite thing about my role is seeing the growth and success of others. I used to be an SDR myself, and it is more rewarding for me to see someone on my team succeed, than it ever was when I used to hit my individual number. I’ve learned what true leadership is from many different mentors here at Snyk. Having the title of manager does not mean you’re a leader, it’s an ever growing process that I’m always getting better at. I’ve also learned how to dig into the numbers and extract meaningful information, such as the story the numbers tell, and how to use that story as a coaching point to help our SDRs. The most challenging part of my role is making sure I am teaching the right things in the right ways to my people. Everyone learns differently, and I have to make sure to accommodate where I need to. The most rewarding part is seeing that all pay off by having my SDRs really figure out how to succeed in the role.

I always had an interest in sales leadership, but knew I had to find the right company for it. Once I knew Snyk was the right place for me, I was very open with my manager that I wanted to move into a leadership role at some point. We put together a plan, and 9 months later, I was able to step into a team lead role where I was managing a small cohort that was part of a larger team. Once 2022 began, I took over my own team in a new segment. Growth opportunities for the SDRs on my team are endless. We have been running enablement sessions that are exposing them to careers as account executives, account managers, renewals reps, customer success managers, sales leadership, and so much more. Not every SDR needs to go down the path of a closing role, and we want to present those options to them early on.

The culture within the SDR program at Snyk is incredible. We move faster than any company out there so you learn a lot and develop your skills quickly here. I love what I do here because I feel like I am making a true impact every day. Snyk gives me the opportunities to help an amazing company continue this amazing growth, and make my mark on the people around me, and our customers.

Interested in building a career at Snyk? Check out our open roles and learn more about what life at Snyk is like.