How G&A Partners use Orum to Drive Pipeline and Build a Sales Development Culture

Recently, Orum sat down with Haden Roberts, VP of Sales at G&A Partners to discuss their decision to use Orum for their outbound sales efforts. What follows are his thoughts on:

🏆 Why Orum was their vendor of choice

🏇 How Orum is helping ramp reps faster

🧘 Why they focus on positive outcomes and not just meetings booked

🤝 Haden’s experience as a new sales leader and his tips for others joining the leadership ranks

When I first got into sales almost a decade ago, cold calling was the lifeblood of my day. Even as I moved into closing roles and started getting more referrals, I never let go of that habit. It’s part of my DNA. I’m wired to pick up the phone, make dials, and create opportunities.

Fast forward to last year, and I found myself staring at a national territory and a call list so long it made my head spin. I couldn’t physically keep up using just a standard single-line dialer. I needed a way to make more calls efficiently without sacrificing my other responsibilities as a full-cycle rep.

That’s when we started looking at AI dialers.

Why We Chose Orum

I made the mistake of posting about it on LinkedIn, and… let’s just say my inbox exploded. After sorting through the noise, we narrowed it down to five vendors, demoed three, and ultimately it came down to Orum and one other.

Here’s why Orum won:

• Seamless integration with Outreach. Some competitors couldn’t even check this box.
• Powerful filtering and analytics. The ability to disposition numbers (green, yellow, red) and dig into call data made Orum stand out.
• Higher connection rates. I tested both platforms personally. With Orum, I saw a 10–15% connection rate and booked multiple meetings. With the other vendor, I could barely get a human on the phone.

The results spoke for themselves.

We signed with Orum in August. Originally, it was just for a handful of us ICs. Then in January, when I moved into sales leadership and built our first true SDR team from scratch, Orum was the very first tool I insisted we invest in.

How Orum Helps Our SDRs Ramp Fast

Our SDR team today comprises a mix of backgrounds, with some members having experience and others being new to sales development. The biggest challenge when ramping new reps? You can roleplay and script all you want, but nothing replaces real call experience.

With Orum, they’re able to:

• Get real reps quickly. Nothing trains better than live calls.
• Hear each other win and fail. A sales floor atmosphere—laughing when someone gets hung up on, celebrating when someone books a meeting—makes a huge difference.
• Focus on tonality. We often discuss "sounding like a peer," rather than coming across as an overeager cold caller. That takes time, and real call exposure accelerates it.

Orum lets us simulate "years of cold calls" worth of experience in months, not years.

Building Positive Outcomes, Not Just Meetings

We coach our SDRs that the goal of every call isn’t just setting a meeting. It’s about positive outcomes:

• Did you learn their renewal date?
• Did you confirm who handles payroll?
• Did you gather any intel that will make future outreach sharper?

We’re constantly planting seeds — seeds that might not bear fruit for 90 days, six months, or even a year. Tracking "profiling activities' (updating Salesforce fields with competitor information, insurance dates, etc.) helps our SDRs see their progress and stay motivated during the long sales cycles.

Tips for Cold Calling Success

If I could boil down my cold calling strategy into a few things I’ve learned the hard way over the years, it would be this:

• Walk the tone tightrope. You don’t want to sound robotic, but you also don't want to sound like you’re reading morning announcements at church. Be conversational, grounded, and natural.
• Talk like a peer. When calling C-level executives, treat them like regular people. They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like you do.
• Be willing to "rip dials." Preparation is important, but don't overcomplicate it. Focus on making calls, gathering information, and building momentum.

Where Sales Development is Headed

Outbound is making a huge comeback. Reps who can lean into the hard, uncomfortable work of outbound—and get good at it—will set themselves apart from the crowd. The phone is the best way to drive market penetration and cut through the noise

Technology like Orum doesn’t replace the hard work; it multiplies it.

Lessons on Leading a Sales Development Team

I’m new to leadership, but the biggest thing I’ve learned so far?

Your team doesn’t just want a manager. They want a leader worth following.

Data, KPIs, and dashboards matter. But people follow leaders who inspire them, believe in them, and are willing to fight for them. Every Friday, I have one-on-ones where we mostly discuss life, not just the pipeline. I want my team to know I’ve got their back—and that I expect them to go into battle with me.

Choosing Orum was one of the best decisions we’ve made, not just because it helps us drive more pipeline, but because it’s helping us build a true culture of cold calling excellence.

If you're thinking about making more dials, better dials, and building a team that wants to pick up the phone every day? Take it from me — you need the right mindset and the right tools.

Orum’s part of our DNA now. And it’s helping us build something special.