Every business lives and breathes competition. It's a fundamental part of the world we live in and dominates leadership priorities. “How can we provide a better product, a more engaging experience, or offer clearer value than our competitors?” These are the questions that keep many of us up at night.

Introducing 2 key roles into your sales strategy can make a significant difference: business development representatives (BDRs) and sales development representatives (SDRs). These roles are designed to focus on specific stages of the buyer's journey, ensuring that your sales reps are free to concentrate on what they do best. BDRs specialise in identifying new business opportunities, while SDRs are adept at nurturing these leads, setting the stage for successful appointments.

In this article, we'll highlight the distinct functions of BDRs and SDRs, demonstrating how each contributes to a streamlined sales process. We'll also examine how each position can help your organisation reach its goals, and explore how to set up these teams while following best practices.

Differences between BDRs and SDRs during the sales process

Both BDRs and SDRs play integral roles in lead generation and top-of-funnel sales. While the 2 roles can sometimes look similar, some key differences can help create a well-rounded sales team.

Business development representatives

BDRs, like any sales representative, are focused on acquiring new customers. However, this specific type of sales rep generally focuses exclusively on outbound lead generation. They'll likely make cold calls and send emails and direct messages to foster relationships with new prospects.

Because BDRs interact with prospects unfamiliar with the organisation, BDRs move slowly and strategically to keep their leads interested. BDRs collaborate with sales teams to create an effective outbound strategy that nurtures leads down the appointment-setting funnel.

What BDRs do at Balkans

As highlighted above, SDRs have a different role at Belkins than is often the case. Rather than just managing inbound prospects, SDRs manage lead generation and appointment-setting for all our clients. They're a critical part of our client delivery team.

SDRs for Belkins are in charge of email outreach and appointment-setting, but they also support account managers with project management and client communication. They're integral to client-focused projects, driving action and facilitating team communication.

Key differences between BDRs and SDRs

While each organisation functions a bit differently, the 3 most common differences between BDRs and SDRs are:

1. Focus: BDRs are focused on outbound lead generation, while SDRs are focused on inbound lead generation. BDR appointment-setting is for leads with less company awareness, while SDR appointment-setting is for prospects more ready to close the deal.
2. Nurturing: BDRs move slower and more strategically because they nurture leads with less company awareness. SDRs, on the other hand, have leads that are further down the funnel and, therefore, need to do less nurturing.
3. Collaboration: BDRs most often collaborate with sales teams, fostering leads from cold calls and other outbound strategies. Conversely, SDRs are more collaborative with marketing teams that create content and other inbound tactics.