From SDR to BDA in Chicago: Building a career and a territory

Building a market from scratch isn’t easy, but it’s far more rewarding when you’re equipped with the right support and the freedom to forge genuine client relationships.

We sat down with Josiah from our Field Sales team in the US to discuss what made him choose the challenge of launching a new market, how team collaboration accelerated his growth, and why building authentic friendships with clients has become the most rewarding part of his role.

Q: Josiah, huge congrats on your recent promotion to a Business Development Associate. That’s a huge success! Can you tell me a bit about your overall story? When did you join Ideals?

I joined Ideals on the very last day of April in 2024 as the first SDR in the Chicago market. My previous Business Development Manager and I spearheaded the Chicago efforts together.

Q: It took you under 1.5 years to get a promotion – I think that’s a great result. What made this growth possible for you?

First and foremost, it’s my team that made it possible for me to succeed. Anytime I need anything, still to this day, even in an elevated role, I ping my teammates – Jack, Brooke – for any questions or tips. I remember when I had to build my first contract, I had to hop on a call with Jack, and he was very helpful. Just good to get tips on how to proceed in any situation that’s unfamiliar to me.

Deven has been a great mentor as well. I know that I can ping him whenever I need anything, and he’ll be right there. I’ve been lucky enough to also work with him firsthand despite being in different cities, which I feel is great.

Furthermore, Sales Enablement has also been great with providing me with all the resources I need to succeed, and doing a lot of training videos. Ayushi is constantly testing us on our Q&A feature demos and so on.

I guess overarching all of this is just the day-to-day. It’s such a unique job that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. So I cherish that and just enjoy every opportunity I have to meet with people.

Q: You’re now working alongside Tess, who just recently joined as an SDR in Chicago. How does your previous experience shape the way you partner together?

I know that my relationship with my BDM was very effective in teaching me the ropes and getting me prepared for this elevated role of BDA. Now I have a reference point to work with when I’m with Tess. I can make sure that I provide her with that same type of support and leadership that will allow her to eventually be in the same position that I’m lucky enough to be in now.

Q: I personally resonate with that approach we have at Ideals of growing BDAs from SDRs because their relatively recent experience of being hands-on with those early stages of sales cycles is definitely a big advantage and gives better market understanding. 

You mentioned that you were actually the first SDR in Chicago, right? What made you say yes to being a pioneer in a new market?

For me, it was all about building something from the ground up. I had a handful of other compelling opportunities because I was actively looking for a new job. But there’s something that I found especially exciting about spearheading the Chicago market.

I knew that if we were to accomplish what we planned to, it would be almost entirely because of our efforts.

Success feels a lot more rewarding at Ideals just because of that. And over a year and a half later, I have to say that I definitely made the right decision. 

Q: Talking about connections, I know that your role is very much about networking, about building relationships with finance, M&A, and investment banking folks. So, how does this usually happen?

The nature of the role itself is really what’s kept me here and brought me here in the first place – getting to go out and build your network with some of the brightest young people in the corporate world.

You build almost like a business school-level network! And not only that, but some of these clients have become legitimate friends of mine, people whom I hang out with outside of work, relationships that I truly cherish.

So I think that’s just another awesome aspect of the job that I’m lucky to be doing.

Q: Let’s imagine that you’re at a happy hour in D.C. or Boston, where we’re currently quite actively hiring, hanging out with finance and M&A professionals, and they ask you, “What do you love most about working at Ideals?” What would be your 30-second pitch to them?

I think there’s no other job in the world where you can go out and become like a professional friend to some degree. At the end of the day, it’s the high-touch support and that personal touch and that relationship building that really is going to get you to the finish line and help you succeed, which I feel like is very unique.

A lot of times in tech, it’s all about solution-selling, which is great. But I think as people, we naturally like to make friends with people and build those strong connections.

Not to mention you get to do pretty cool stuff. I’m going to attend a Chicago Bears vs. Giants game on Sunday with some of my clients, who are also friends now.

I think it’s just unparalleled that you get to build these types of relationships and get paid for it at the same time.

Watch a video recording of our conversation with Josiah.