When comparing Business Development Representatives (BDRs) earning £120K with those stuck at £70K, the difference may not be what you expect. It’s not superior cold-calling scripts, polished email templates, or cutting-edge sales technology. The disparity lies in how they allocate their time—specifically the first two hours of their day.
Here’s what sets high-earning BDRs apart:
1. Prioritising Warm Leads
Top-performing BDRs don’t dive straight into cold outreach. They focus on leads that are already exhibiting interest or intent, maximising their chances of conversion.
Key activities in this phase include:
- Monitoring LinkedIn engagement: Spotting prospects who are interacting with posts or company updates.
- Tracking website visits: Identifying users engaging with key pages or content.
- Reviewing email engagement: Focusing on those who open or click through emails.
- Checking webinar attendance: Reaching out to participants already familiar with the brand.
This strategy capitalises on existing interest, creating a higher likelihood of meaningful conversations.
2. Following Intent Signals
High-performing BDRs stay attuned to external triggers that indicate a potential opportunity. By leveraging these insights, they engage at the right time with the right context.
Intent signals to watch for:
- Job changes: A newly promoted decision-maker may need to prove their impact, creating potential buying opportunities.
- Company funding rounds: New budgets often lead to investments in solutions that align with growth goals.
- Leadership changes: A fresh perspective at the top can signal openness to new strategies or tools.
- Tech stack updates: Identifying gaps or additions in a prospect’s technology can guide tailored outreach.
This approach turns seemingly cold prospects into warm opportunities by aligning outreach with timely, relevant changes.
3. Strategic Cold Outreach
Cold outreach isn’t entirely off the table, but £120K BDRs approach it differently. When it’s time to contact colder prospects, they are fully prepared.
Their process involves:
- Thorough research: Understanding the prospect’s industry, company pain points, and role responsibilities.
- Contextualisation: Crafting messaging that addresses specific challenges or goals.
- Personalisation: Customising outreach to resonate with the individual’s needs.
- Timing with trigger events: Reaching out when prospects are more likely to be receptive.
This method transforms cold outreach from a numbers game into a calculated effort with measurable results.
The Pitfall of Low-Earning BDRs
In contrast, £70K BDRs tend to spend the bulk of their time on activities with low conversion rates, such as cold calling random lists. While cold outreach has its place, neglecting warmer opportunities means missing out on higher conversion rates and faster wins.
Consider the numbers:
- Warm leads convert at 30-40%.
- Intent-driven leads convert at 15-20%.
- Cold leads convert at a mere 2-5%.
Despite this, many BDRs dedicate 80% of their time to activities yielding only 5% conversion rates. This misalignment with data is a major reason they fail to break through income ceilings.
The Secret to Smashing £100K
The takeaway is clear: success isn’t about working harder but about working smarter. By prioritising warm and intent-driven leads, high-performing BDRs leverage their time more effectively, producing better results with less effort.
Sales is a numbers game, but those numbers start to look a lot better when you focus on what’s already warm. By shifting the first two hours of the day to align with these strategies, any BDR can start building their path to six figures.
