Sales reps don’t have enough hours in the day. Between prospecting, nurturing leads, keeping existing customers happy, and trying to close new deals, there’s just not enough time (or resources) to be great at any one thing. They are often juggling all of these tasks, which is inefficient and can cost growth opportunities.
The answer to the problem? The BDR. The Business Development Rep.
Business development is defined as a role that actively converts leads (Marketing Qualified Leads) into sales opportunities (Sales Qualified Leads) through heavy prospecting, data intelligence, and qualification metrics. This is where the BDR is critical.
There are several business development tips to be gained from the BDR role. Let’s explore some of these by dissecting the BDR’s role in the overall growth strategy.
First, let’s take a look at why the BDR has become a necessity for a company’s overall growth strategy. The process of converting leads into sales opportunities is a cycle in itself, and sales reps lack the time and resources to both prospect and convert leads. It takes an average of 12 calls to connect with a prospect via a direct number, 6 personalized emails to a verified email address to get a response, and 3 connections to schedule a qualified meeting. All of that adds up to an average of 75 calls and 40 emails to schedule just 1 meeting with a qualified lead. Quota-carrying sales reps cannot focus their efforts to closing leads when they are spending all day prospecting.
This is where the BDR steps in. The BDR is the sales outreach point person, and the bridge between Marketing and Sales efforts. BDR’s do the heavy lifting of sales prospecting, while also helping to convert qualified leads into sales opportunities.
Time wise, it’s clear why a BDR is an asset to the team. But equally important to the time-consuming task of sales prospecting is the time and skill it takes to create sales opportunities. It’s an entirely different skillset than converting those opportunities into customers, and requires a different strategy. Put simply, creating sales opportunities is selling a meeting, while converting sales opportunities into customers is selling a solution. They have different objectives, and therefore require different skills and strategies.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Companies that use BDR’s convert 40% of the leads they create into sales opportunities, compared to companies that pass leads directly to sales reps have only a 5% conversion.
The BDR has never been needed more. In today’s buying world, where prospects are often already over 50% of the way through the buying process before they even talk to a sales rep, it’s more important to spend time prospecting and nurturing leads than ever before. Decision makers have information available to them 24/7, right at their fingertips.
To combat that challenge, a BDR qualifies leads and nurtures them with marketing materials and content that is targeted to their specific needs. Think of the BDR as two things: the efficient prospector and data-driven nurturer. Combining their prospecting skills with their ability to convert qualified leads into sales opportunities, they are the point person for growth efforts. No company should be without this secret growth weapon.
Learn more about BDR’s and how they can compliment your overall growth strategy—discover SmarkLab’s latest offering—BDaaS: Business Development as a Service. Using efficient prospecting processes combined with data-driven lead nurturing activities, this service will help bridge the gap between Sales and Marketing efforts and fuel your overall growth strategy. Download the eBook below to get started!
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