BDR: what is the function of this sales role?

A Business Development Representative (BDR) is an expert in charge of selling products or services to other companies. This person is responsible for creating new leads and making sure current customers continue to spend with an organization. In this sense, the BDR team is in charge of identifying and retaining new potential customers, as well as maintaining and optimizing relationships with already loyal customers.

Once the prospects have been identified, the BDR will contact them by phone or email to start a business relationship, which is intended to result in business opportunities.

BDRs fulfill the role of generating qualified sales prospects through:

• Cold emails;
• Cold callings;
• Qualified call;
• Networking.

The BDR is the vehicle by which a sales team can approach potential customers by establishing qualified sales plans that are looking to turn into deals.

Main functions of a BDR.

The BDRs must fulfill a series of functions to guarantee the effectiveness of the commercial team. Among the most outstanding, we can mention the following:

1. Research new businesses.

As BDRs are business strategists who must be attentive to the movements of the competition, they must be predisposed to investigate new markets, identify business opportunities, analyze different buyer personas and target audiences, and interact with potential suppliers and strategic partners.

2. Cold calling or cold communication.

Cold communication consists of sending cold calls and messages to prospects with the aim of getting a qualified contact who is, primarily, a decision maker such as a manager or CEO who has a problem.

Emails are a key component to develop a cold communication that leads to a commercial relationship, since they do not take time if they are also automated and can be sent to many people at the same time, so the possibilities of generating interest in the recipient are greater.

3. Qualified call.

A qualified call is made to business owners, CEOs, managers and potential customers. Its importance lies in the fact that it allows determining if the company's value proposition is adapted to the consumer's needs. This call is a qualified call if the potential customer shows interest or that if their problems can be solved by a product or service of the company that is contacting them; this is how a qualified lead is obtained.

To find out if a lead is qualified or not, the BDR must investigate their main concerns and identify if the product or service can benefit them and why.

4. Networking.

Getting to the next stage of lead qualification that generates sales opportunities will require the BDR to have high communication or networking skills and abilities. For this, the professional must demonstrate security, empathy and transmit confidence, since in this way, people open their feelings more towards those who care about their needs.

Importance of BDR in commercial results.

BDRs ensure that all marketing channels are optimized to make the most of the arrival of potential customers. It should be noted that BDRs are generators of qualified leads, but they do not convert them into customers, since this is the responsibility of the sales team.

Likewise, although they are not in charge of closing deals, BDRs look for opportunities on which to expand their markets. They are the ones who initiate or break the ice with potential customers, contacting them, qualifying them and referring them to the commercial team that will be in charge of taking the initial contact to build a long-lasting commercial relationship.

In other words, a BDR is on the border between marketing actions and sales team actions, moderating between both areas. If, on the one hand, you can continue the process that marketing left behind by attracting potential customers, by contacting them, you can take care of nurturing them, an activity that usually does marketing indirectly, and then redirect the SQL to the sales team that will be in charge of guiding them through the sales funnel.

Conclusion. 

A BDR is a key piece in the consultative selling scenario, since it favors interaction with potential customers from a more direct place than through a digital marketing channel. However, it is less direct than the treatment established by the sales representatives, who are the ones who end up turning a potential customer into a real customer. In this way, this role is situated in the middle between marketing and sales to join forces and multiply commercial results, achieving more satisfied customers.