What is a BDR?

What does a BDR do?

ZoomInfo describes a BDR as someone who "proactively reaches out to prospects who haven't engaged with your company yet." The work is outbound from start to finish.

• Research. Choosing the accounts that fit and the people worth writing to at each.
• Cold outreach. Emails, calls and LinkedIn messages to people who are not expecting them.
• Follow-up. A short, polite sequence after the first message, stopped at the first reply.
• Booking. A first meeting with an account executive, who takes the deal from there.

How is a BDR different from an SDR?

In ZoomInfo's words: "SDRs qualify inbound demand; BDRs create outbound pipeline." The same article warns that "definitions vary by company and job posting," so read the job description, not the title. SDR vs BDR has the full comparison.

When does a company need a BDR?

When buyers will not come to you on their own: a new market, a new product, or a short list of large accounts that marketing does not reach. ZoomInfo puts it this way: "When inbound volume is low or the growth strategy requires breaking into new logos, BDRs are the motion that fills the gap." That work is outbound sales.

Where does Dylan fit?

Dylan does the email part of a BDR's job, under your approval. You approve the plan and the first emails before anything goes out, and every first email says he is an AI agent and which company he works for. He works by email only, from his own mailboxes, so your domain never sends a cold email.