Maybe you’ve had your fingers-burnt by dodgy telemarketing agencies, think cold calling is dead or you're nervous about trainee grads misrepresenting your brand. Whatever the reason, you should let go of your misconceptions. If you’re losing your shit over a lack of pipeline, it might be time to take a good look at the role of the modern BDR.
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‘Telemarketing’ is a term that has now almost disappeared from today’s business vernacular. But the discipline itself has existed since sales began, particularly when it was the preserve of many large B2B tech businesses. Back then, telemarketing was purely a phone-based method for generating leads, reducing the prospecting burden on more senior sales people.
Unfortunately, telemarketing has often been mistaken for ‘telesales’, so it got itself a bad rep. It was unfairly associated with large call centres, full of snake-oil sales people banging the phones and selling the same ‘leads’ to multiple clients.
In 2011, ‘Predictable Revenue’ written by Aaron Ross redefined the role of telemarketing, and the BDR (Business Development Representative) function was born. Based on the highly successful sales model deployed by Salesforce, the BDR would bridge the often seismic chasm between marketing and sales.
In the book, BDR’s were responsible for following up engagements generated by marketing, while continuing to perform more traditional outbound nurturing - ultimately being measured on scheduling appointments for the sales team.
Today, many mid to large B2B tech businesses have a BDR function. Just like they have a marketing and a sales department. So, it continues to baffle us when we meet a company who’s serious about growth, but there is not a sniff of a BDR.
99 sales and marketing problems
In companies that don’t have a BDR function, the most common complaints you hear from their business leaders are, ‘We don’t have enough qualified opportunities’. Their specific gripes about marketing are mainly that they spend money on generating Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), but they never convert.
To complete the picture, Sales just dismiss the MQLs they get passed, labelling them as ‘shit’. Their rationale is that they are all tyre-kickers and none of them are ready to buy. If your business doesn’t have an effective BDR function, this will probably all sound familiar.
The truth is most MQL’s are not crap. If you’ve engaged a prospect deemed a good fit that can only be a good thing, but it's just the start of a longer process. The real issue is that MQLs are not created equal - they are all at a different stage when they first engage. Some may be too late as they are about to appoint a competitor, some will be too early and have no plans to buy right now. And the rest will be somewhere in between.
Nevertheless, if the sales team thinks marketing is serving up a load of MQLs for them to work through and qualify - that’s just distracting them from working on deals, which is where they need to spend their time.
The big question then is, why are you investing in marketing to generate MQLs that are never going to get followed-up? We’d argue that probably less than 5% of MQLs would convert without a qualifying sales conversion - and of those that do, you’d probably need to engage them between 15-20 times (minimum).
Despite all the current bullshit around brand versus performance and the ‘death of the MQL’, MQLs do actually convert to SQLs, if managed properly. According to Lusha, an average of 13% of MQLs convert when nurtured consistently.
But the BDR role is critical to ensure this nurture and conversion process is done well. It is a full time, dedicated role and not one that can just sit on the side of a sales person’s desk - or be fully automated by a tool in marketing :-)
Putting in place the BDR role
There are a small number of B2B business types that can operate effectively without a BDR function. Those would be organisations that operate through the channel, or rely largely on managing existing accounts or believe their solutions are just too complex to be presented by a more junior sales person.
However, if you depend on new business for growth and go direct to market then the chances are you need a BDR or BDRs. Once you’ve bought into the role, the first step is to decide whether to hire them in-house or through an outsourced arrangement.
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An in-house BDR Function: This option requires a lot more investment of both time and resources to find, train, and develop talent. However, it offers several advantages. It provides greater control and accountability over the process. You will be able to shape them and give them daily access to what they need to learn quickly. It also builds a pipeline of future Sales Executives (SEs'), who are committed to the company, understand your offerings more deeply, and are likely to stay longer.
These BDRs, having worked their way up, tend to be more loyal and effective than externally hired sales representatives. The in-house approach allows for a more strategic development of talent, albeit with a higher initial time/effort investment.
While the BDR function can work well reporting into the marketing or sales department, we’d lean towards it sitting under the sales team. To back this up, 76% of BDR functions report into the sales operation, according to 6Sense. The BDR function’s target-driven nature is more appropriate for a sales environment, it will benefit more from guidance from the sales team and the career path is likely to be more attractive to individual BDRs.
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An outsourced BDR Function: Outsourcing the BDR function offers quicker scalability and ramp-up time. The outsourcing company handles talent identification, hiring, and training, which can be beneficial for companies looking to expand rapidly or test new markets.
Outsourced BDRs often have access to better tools, specifically designed for their role. While this approach may involve less control and potentially a higher outlay, it can be advantageous for companies that need immediate results or lack the resources to build and manage an in-house team.
Outsourcers require less guidance on messaging but this can be a disadvantage over time - especially if targets aren’t being met. But this option can be particularly useful when a company needs to get to market quickly, without the time to build an internal team.
The choice between in-house and outsourced BDR functions ultimately depends on how quickly you need results, the availability of internal management expertise and your commitment to the function longer-term.
A final word…
Even in a hybrid working world with mobile numbers, the GDPR and prospects who ignore unknown calls, the BDR function can still be very effective. So don’t be dissuaded by those heralding its demise.
Technologies are evolving to combat some of these challenges. And good BDRs are increasingly leveraging data analytics, LinkedIn prospecting techniques, and personalised, automated outreach to connect with potential customers more effectively.
When working alongside a strong marketing operation and a successful sales team, the BDR function can become a lead generation powerhouse. Without one, it’s like managing a football team with an attack and defence, but no midfield.
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