At my first SiriusDecisions Summit, I asked attendees two questions:
- Do you have a BDR team that calls prospects? Nearly all of the 150 attendees raised their hands.
- Do you ever respond to BDR calls? – Maybe 10, possibly 15 raised their hands.
I’ve run similar polls on LinkedIn with the same results. Marketers structure plans around tactics we personally ignore. This is especially true for BDRs.
The golden rule litmus test for BDRs
Ask yourself:
- Would I respond to this BDR tactic?
- Would this approach improve my perception of the brand?
If the answer is no to either, it’s time for a reckoning.
Rethinking BDR outreach
Respect buyer timing
A question marketers should ask themselves: Do I ever materially change my buying process because I got a call or an email?
Buyers engage when they are ready — not when you need meetings. BDR outreach doesn’t change that. Really, it doesn’t (see research here). What it can do is position you to wither win or lose the business when they buyer is ready.
Shift to insightful engagement
Ditch generic cold calls. Equip BDRs with relevant insights based on intent data and buyer behavior.
Follow buying signals
Instead of volume-based calling, focus on leads from accounts that show real interest. Use behavioral signals — multiple leads, anonymous web traffic — to prioritize accounts and to inform outreach. Deliver relevant content and make meetings available, but don’t make a meeting your immediate pitch.
If it seems like you couldn’t possibly do all that while getting to all of your leads… Good! You are paying attention.
Look at your lead conversion rates. What they tell you is that the vast majority of leads are not going to convert even if you do call them. We need to home in on the ones that are more likely to really be in market using the available buying signals, then approach them with a value-first strategy.
Prospecting: Lead with value
When reaching out to accounts where there are no signals that they are in market, it is a mistake to begin by asking for meetings or demos. Instaed, establish trust by providing value from day one. There is nothing wrong with being clear that you intend to win them over as a customer, but also that you intend to earn the right to be considered.
Your goal is to position your brand and solutions for the moment when they do enter the market.
In rare cases, you may encourage the account to enter the market and consider your solution when they were not already planning to. But buyers don’t acquire B2B solutions on a whim. Even when you inspire an account to go into market, that is still likely to result in a long consideration process. When you succeed, however, you will give your brand the inside position.
Measure BDR impact like a brand experience
BDRs are brand ambassadors. Implement NPS surveys to assess their impact on prospect experiences. We did this in my organization and patterns emerged: Some BDRs enhanced brand perception, others hurt it. The high NPS BDRs often did not produce the most meetings, but they nearly always produced the most pipeline and customers.
Use what you learn from high NPS BDRs to refine processes, training, and hiring.
It’s time for change
B2B buyers aren’t an alien species. If we wouldn’t engage with our own outreach, why expect others to? The Golden Rule Reckoning for BDRs starts now.
