A Business Development Representative (BDR) is the outbound-focused sales rep responsible for cold-prospecting target accounts and booking qualified meetings for Account Executives to close. BDRs generate pipeline from scratch through cold email, cold calls, and LinkedIn outreach. The BDR role is distinct from the SDR (who typically works inbound marketing-qualified leads), although the terms are sometimes used interchangeably depending on the company. BDRs are essential when inbound lead flow is insufficient to feed the AE team, when targeting specific accounts (account-based marketing), or when entering new markets.
The BDR role specifics:
Owns: outbound prospecting, cold outreach, qualified meeti...