Do you have both of these roles? Do you need both?
If you don't know, it helps to first understand what they are, how to set them up for success, and hold them accountable. Learn about hiring, training, role description, the playbook, OKRs, and KPIs for SDR and BDR roles in sales and marketing.
SDR Meaning
SDR stands for Sales Development Representative. This is an entry-level sales role that focuses on qualifying inbound leads generated from marketing efforts. The goal of an SDR is not to close deals but to move leads further down the pipeline by identifying whether the lead is a good fit for the business.
In the context of SDR marketing, these reps work closely with marketing teams, often sitting within the marketing department, to act on Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs). Their success relies heavily on demand generation campaigns, SEO, paid media, and email automation flows crafted by marketing.
BDR Meaning
BDR stands for Business Development Representative. This is a sales role that focuses on prospecting and lead nurturing new business opportunities. The goal of an BDR is not to close deals but to move leads further down the pipeline for Account Executives by identifying whether the lead is a good fit for the business.
Sales Team Titles: the difference between SDR vs. BDR
The term Business Development Representative, or BDR, and Sales Development Representative, or SDR, are used in different ways, and sometimes with conflicting definitions. Usually, both BDR and SDR mean sales roles, but that's about the only consistency. The SDR often reports to Marketing, and not Sales.
So let’s get the definitions straight first… Here's how the top search results in Google define the two roles:
Source
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Inbound Follow Up
|
Outbound Prospecting
|
SalesForce
|
SDR
|
BDR
|
LeadFuze
|
SDR
|
BDR
|
Sales Talent Agency
|
BDR
|
SDR
|
|
SDR
|
BDR
|
Vendasta
|
SDR
|
BDR
|
G2
|
SDR
|
BDR
|
Treeline
|
BDR
|
SDR
|
Factor 8
|
SDR
|
BDR
|
The final score?
Sales Development Rep/Inbound, Business Development Rep/Outbound: 6
Business Development Rep/Inbound, Sales Development Rep/Outbound: 2
SDR and BDR Definitions
While the opinions are all over the place, and there is no one official definition, we will stick with the roles that Salesforce originally defined:
- SDR = Inbound
SDRs qualify inbound marketing leads.
- BDR = Outbound
BDRs focus on prospecting outbound leads and are tied to sales.
Neither one is responsible for closing the business. Instead, their aim is to move qualified leads through the pipeline to those who have more experience closing business.
While the name SDR, includes “Sales”, in most SaaS companies they are not really selling. The name is used mostly for Inbound Lead Qualification roles.
For most B2B SaaS companies that are not above $50M in ARR, these roles will be the same. SDR/BDR will be the same for them.
B2B SaaS Sales Roles
You have three sources of leads and new business in your marketing funnel:
- Your existing sales executives and Account Managers find new business with existing customers and existing relations who sometimes switch employers, or provide a referral.
- Get “hand-raisers” from your Content funnel and Brand Awareness (i.e. your website)
- Prospecting (knocking on doors) of people who have never heard about your brand.
All three, when done correctly, can lead to the type of growth that scales startups and breaks the plateaus of established organizations.
More SaaS Sales Team Titles
Here are examples of different titles being used across the sales funnel:
Inbound
- SDR – Sales Development Rep
- ISR – Inbound Sales Rep
- LDR – Lead Development Rep
- LRR – Lead Response Rep
- MQR – Marketing Qualification Rep
- MDR - Marketing Development Rep
- MRR – Market Response Rep
- LDE - Lead Development Executive
Outbound
- BDR – Business Development Rep
- ADR – Account Development Rep
Closing
- AE – Account Executive
- EAM - Enterprise Account Manager
- SE – Sales Executive
- ISR – Inside Sales Rep
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