The roles of Business Development Representatives (BDRs) and Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) are often debated within organisations, and one common question is: should they be considered more as part of the marketing team, or are they primarily sales-oriented? A closer look at their responsibilities suggests that their job leans more towards marketing, with elements of sales woven into the mix.
The Marketing Side of the Role
At its core, the primary responsibility of a BDR or SDR is to create awareness. They are tasked with reaching out to potential prospects and making them aware of a problem that their company’s product or service can solve. This is very much in line with what marketing teams aim to achieve—generating interest and highlighting pain points.
Consider the outreach process: BDRs and SDRs are engaging with people who may not even realise they have a problem that needs solving. Their role is to educate, inform, and provoke thought. In many ways, they’re planting the seed of curiosity in the prospect’s mind. This is classic marketing.
Marketing is, by definition, about making potential customers aware of a brand or product and showing how it can fulfil a need. When a BDR or SDR sends an initial email or makes that first cold call, they’re doing just that—they’re not yet selling the solution, but rather introducing the problem and sparking interest.
The Sales Component
However, the role does not stop at awareness. Once the prospect identifies with the problem and shows some level of interest, the BDR/SDR must then convince them to take the next step, typically to book a meeting or engage in further conversation. This is where sales comes in.
Convincing someone to take action is distinctly different from merely generating interest. It requires a certain level of persuasion and negotiation, skills traditionally associated with sales. After all, the ultimate goal is to move the prospect further down the sales funnel.
While BDRs and SDRs are not closing deals themselves, they are responsible for creating the conditions under which a sale can happen. They need to be able to qualify prospects, overcome objections, and sell the value of continuing the conversation.
Striking the Right Balance
Given the hybrid nature of the role, it is clear that BDRs and SDRs cannot be classified strictly as either marketing or sales. It’s more accurate to say that their job is 70% marketing and 30% sales. They spend most of their time generating awareness and educating prospects, but there is a crucial sales element when it comes to securing meetings and advancing leads.
Reporting Structure: Marketing or Sales?
So, where should BDRs and SDRs sit within an organisation? Should they report to marketing or sales? The answer isn’t straightforward. Whoever they report to must have a strong understanding of both disciplines.
Leaders who oversee BDRs need to grasp the intricacies of crafting messaging and generating interest (marketing) while also understanding how to handle objections, qualify leads, and move prospects towards a decision (sales). Without this dual understanding, it’s easy for the team to fall short, either by focusing too heavily on creating awareness without driving action, or by trying to sell too early before a prospect has been adequately nurtured.
Conclusion
BDRs and SDRs play a vital, hybrid role in the modern sales process. While their job is primarily focused on creating awareness (which aligns more closely with marketing), the sales element cannot be ignored. Their success hinges on their ability to combine the best of both worlds—educating prospects and convincing them to take the next step. Organisations that understand and support this balance, regardless of which department they report to, will be the ones that see the most success.
