By Jason Zintak, 6sense CEO
As we kick off BDR Appreciation Week, I’m thinking about all the energetic, driven BDRs who form the backbone of every revenue team. They show up day after day, work their tails off, and learn at light-speed to drive success for their organizations. They don’t often get the kudos they deserve, so I love that we have this week set aside to show them just how much we appreciate them.
I also find myself reflecting on how much the job has changed since my early days as a BDR.
When I started as a young twentysomething, information about our prospects and customers was scarce. The entirety of the info we had was in our cold lists, which we picked up and called from all day, every day.
The challenge today is almost the opposite of what I faced as a BDR. Instead of staring down a dearth of information, BDRs are now inundated with it. What they need today isn’t more information, it’s intelligence and insights distilled from that information that will make their jobs easier.
As a former BDR, I know how intimidating a cold list can be. And I know how much more confidently you can approach your job if your list isn’t cold — if you’re calling people who are actually interested in what you have to say.
That’s one reason I’m so excited about the new platform enhancement we recently announced. 6sense Revenue AI™ for Sales is designed to make BDRs more successful than ever.
With 6sense Revenue AI™ for Sales, BDRs now have data and intelligence that reveals who’s in-market for what they’re selling. It’s intelligence that lets today’s BDRs prioritize their days so they’re only reaching out to accounts who are likely to not just accept the call, but to be happy to receive it.
It’s a Tough Job, but We Can Make It Easier
The BDR role is still a difficult one, but it’s light-years ahead of where it was when I started, in terms of both what you can do and how meaningful an impact you can have.
Still, BDRs say their jobs are harder than ever — especially in these past few quarters.
In a recent survey of BDRs, we found:
- 46% say it’s harder to get meetings
- 41% say hitting their targets is harder now than last year
And yet, 92% say their targets have stayed the same or increased since last year.
Meanwhile, the number of BDRs who believe they have the tools, training, and equipment necessary to do what’s expected of them has gone down by 7% from last year.
That’s frustrating to hear, because while it’s still a tough job, resources exist to make BDRs’ jobs easier than ever. With the data, intelligence, insights, and tools available today, we can empower BDRs to do their jobs efficiently and effectively — and with far less stress and uncertainty than was required in decades past.
With that technology in place, BDRs’ jobs inevitably become both easier and more rewarding, because they have what they need to educate prospects and customers and engage them with stories they actually care to hear. BDRs become consultants rather than peddlers, so to speak.
It’s a much more positive experience for everyone involved, because BDRs have the confidence that they’re getting accurate information and prospects or customers feel like they’re getting a fair exchange of knowledge.
What We’re Doing to Make the Job Easier
For BDRs, time is their only asset. They want to be spending the bulk of their time having conversations with customers and building interest in their products or services. But we all know that there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes information-gathering that comes before they ever pick up the phone or send an email.
The availability of information is certainly an upgrade from the days when all we knew about our prospects came from that call list (or, if we were being ambitious, Hoovers and whatever public filings we could get our hands on).
But with the exponential growth of available data, I see a lot of BDRs struggle with information overload. As I said, BDRs today need intelligence and insights — not more information.
That’s what 6sense Revenue AI™ for Sales delivers. It allows BDRs and sellers to fast-forward through the groundwork of sifting through mountains of information — this website, that app, this other company review site, that database.
Instead of spending half the day researching and gathering information from dozens of different apps and sources, 6sense Revenue AI™ for Sales combs through the data and serves up the insights, intelligence, and contact data BDRs need to start connecting — all in one place.
I’m excited about 6sense Revenue AI™ for Sales because it makes it so much easier for BDRs to do what only they can: connect through meaningful, helpful, and mutually educational conversations with prospects and customers.
We have a saying at 6sense: Know Everything. Do Anything. With 6sense Revenue AI™ for Sales, you know what you need to know so you can do what you want to do.
BDRs, I See You.
BDRs, we appreciate you every week of the year. Your job is hard, and you’re the lifeblood of every successful revenue organization.
But this week in particular, I want to let you know that I see you, and know what you’re going through. This time in your career presents daily challenges, yes. But it’s also a huge opportunity to build a solid foundation from which to grow. You’ll learn more in a year as a BDR than you could in years of business school.
Embrace this moment. Take advantage of every tool at your disposal. And know that we’ve got your back.
