Business Development Representative (BDR)

TL;DR

An outbound-focused sales rep who creates pipeline by prospecting target accounts, often used interchangeably with SDR.

BDR is often used interchangeably with SDR, but where a distinction is drawn, BDRs typically focus on outbound-only prospecting against named target accounts, while SDRs handle a mix of inbound qualification and outbound. The naming convention varies by company.

BDR teams typically run multi-channel sequences (email, phone, LinkedIn, video) against an account list curated with the AE. Their measure is meetings booked with decision-makers in target accounts.

Worked example

A BDR team at a Series-B fintech sources 80% of new-logo pipeline via outbound to a target list of 1,500 named accounts. They're measured on accounts engaged, multi-threaded contacts created, and sourced ARR — not on closing deals.

Common pitfalls

• Unclear handoff between BDR-sourced meetings and AE-owned pipeline.
• Confusing BDR (creates pipeline) with AE (closes pipeline) when planning capacity.
• Optimizing for meeting volume instead of meeting quality.

When this shows up in a pitch deck

Sales-led decks usually mention BDR/SDR capacity in the Use of Funds section as part of GTM scaling.

Related terms

• Sales Development Representative — A sales rep responsible for outbound prospecting and inbound qualification, handing qualified opportunities to Account Executives.
• Account Executive — The sales rep who owns the deal cycle from qualified opportunity to signed contract, carrying revenue quota.
• Sales Pipeline — The set of qualified opportunities currently moving through the sales cycle, segmented by stage and weighted by probability.
• Ideal Customer Profile — A precise definition of the buying organization that gets the most value from your product and is the cheapest to acquire.
• Sales Velocity — A composite measure of how quickly a sales team converts pipeline into closed revenue, derived from deals × win rate × ACV ÷ cycle length.

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