Inside sales have been attracting attention recently due to the acceleration of online sales due to the corona crisis, and among them, the importance of sales methods such as “BDR” and “SDR” is increasing.
“BDR” and “SDR” have different roles even in the same inside sales method. Although you know the words themselves, there are probably few people who clearly understand their meanings and differences.
In this article, we will explain “BDR”, which is essential for inside sales, in an easy-to-understand manner while clarifying the difference from “SDR”, which is often confused.
What is “BDR”?
We will introduce an overview of “BDR”, which is a new development type inside sales method, its meaning, differences from SDR, and why it is currently being talked about so much.
What is “BDR”
“BDR”, an acronym for “Bussines Development Representative”, refers to an inside sales force that develops new outbound businesses.
It is characterized by setting the size of the target company to be strategically approached by the company and developing from scratch with various methods such as email and telephone. It mainly targets companies classified as enterprises, which refers to medium-sized companies to “large companies and government agencies (for)”.
In addition, unlike the inbound type SDR (described later), “BDR” is an “outbound type” that transmits information from here and approaches customers, and has a high affinity with the company’s products and services through strategic approaches. We aim to negotiate with our customers.
Difference from SDR
“SDR”, which stands for “Sales Development Representative”, is the opposite of the outbound type “BDR” and refers to the inside sales force that develops new inbound types. BDR must approach static targets, while SDR takes action on active targets.
Both “BDR” and “SDR” are inside sales methods, but “SDR” targets small and medium-sized enterprises and is characterized by approaching customer inquiries and leads obtained offline. is.
The “inbound type” SDR targets leads who have taken active actions, so it has the advantage of being highly motivated to introduce and relatively short time to order.
Read Also: What is lead generation?
why is it talked about
The reason why BDR and SDR have become a hot topic is that the introduction of inside sales is becoming increasingly important during the COVID-19 crisis.
Movement is restricted due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, and even now there are many companies that have introduced and continue remote work. As a result, an increasing number of companies have begun to introduce online business negotiations instead of face-to-face communication, which has traditionally focused on face-to-face communication, and the need for non-face-to-face sales is rapidly increasing.
In addition to such a situation, “changes in corporate purchasing behavior” such as web media becoming the main information that triggers product purchases, “labor shortage” and “work style reform” due to the declining birthrate and aging population, In addition, factors such as the “increase in subscription model business”, which is said to be compatible with inside sales, are further increasing the importance of inside sales.
So why is “BDR” so important in inside sales? We will introduce it in detail in the next chapter.
Why BDR Matters
Why is “BDR” important in recent years? Behind this is the increasing importance of enterprise strategy.
Currently, enterprise companies account for half of the value added in the Japanese market. BDR is a very important strategy for building your own profit base, because if you develop enterprise companies with a large number of employees, you can expect sufficient profits even if you have few business partners.
Since enterprise companies have capital strength, it is also an advantage that it is easy to secure a margin even when prices are revised.
Another reason is that there are limits to the development of SMB (Small to Medium Business), which refers to small and medium-sized companies. In addition to the fact that the SMB market in Japan is originally small, if the SaaS business passes the maturity stage and enters a stagnation period, SMBs will not be able to expect further growth.
For these reasons, it is possible to proactively approach enterprise development, and “BDR”, which holds the key to a company’s growth strategy, is now considered extremely important.
Key points of ABM strategy for successful BDR
An ABM strategy is essential for a successful BDR. Let’s take a look at the meaning of the ABM strategy and its points.
What is ABM?
“ABM”, which stands for “Accounts Based Marketing”, refers to a marketing method that defines excellent companies (accounts) that will be customers and makes an optimal approach to each company.
Rather than approaching many companies, it is characterized by narrowing down the target and approaching excellent companies (accounts), that is, enterprises and SMBs that have a high affinity with their products.
In a market where SMBs account for approximately 99%, business growth cannot be expected simply by approaching enterprises, and it can be said to be inefficient. It can be said that “ABM”, which identifies “best companies for your company” from the market including SMB and takes an approach optimized for each company, is an essential strategy for BDR.
There are three points to the ABM strategy that enhances BDR results. We will introduce it in detail below.
Discovery and analysis of customer segments with high LTV
First of all, in order to implement the ABM strategy, it is important to discover and analyze customer segments with high LTV and narrow down the best companies for your company.
When narrowing down, consider the “LTV (Life Time Value)” of how much profit you can earn from the start of the transaction with the customer to the end. Also, it would be a good idea to use the company data you have obtained and the connection between MA tools and SFA tools to prioritize your customers.
Since the selection criteria differ from company to company, we recommend that you start by considering what your company considers to be important indicators. Let’s analyze from various points of view such as “suitable departments and industries / number of employees / profit margin / degree of influence in the market / business model / possibility of becoming repeat customers” and decide customer segments.
Obtaining organizational structure and key person information
Once you’ve narrowed down the best companies, get information about your client’s organizational structure and key people in the organization (decision makers, influencers, etc.).
Understanding the organizational structure is especially important. The flow of decision-making and the key personnel differ depending on the company, such as companies that make decisions for each business division and companies that adopt a central marketing system that operates across departments. Remember, most enterprise companies are complex organizational structures.
The manager of the responsible department does not always have the decision-making power, and it is quite possible that the key person and the source of the budget will change, so it is important to understand the organizational structure so that there are no mistakes.
Also, in the case of companies that have had business negotiations, there may be cases where the company has sales representatives who have built up good relationships, or cases where customers have connections with key people in the target company. Get the organizational structure and key person information in the shortest route so that you can build an efficient strategy.
One to One campaign tailored to target customers
A one-to-one campaign tailored to each target customer is critical to an effective ABM strategy. Provide the best information at the right time for the issues and needs of your target customers.
In order to increase the results of the One to One campaign, it is necessary to collect information on the target company’s business, strategy, human resources, advertising investment, etc. In addition, when implementing outbound measures, we refer to data such as corporate IR information, financial results, and corporate forecasts to provide information that better matches needs.
If you can provide useful information to target companies through one-to-one campaigns and improve customer loyalty, you can expect long-term contracts. A more efficient ABM strategy can be expected as a result.
Role of BDR and specific approaches
Now that we know about the ABM strategy, what role does BDR play in it? We will also explain specific approaches.
Understand the approval flow and organization chart
At BDR, building relationships with key people is the most important process. To that end, first of all, we should grasp information such as the target company’s approval flow, organization chart, and key personnel as soon as possible, and understand “for whom the information should be useful. ”
As I mentioned earlier, enterprise companies tend to have very complex approval flows and organizational charts, and long approval steps. If you do not understand important information such as the approval flow, even if you can raise the target company to a prospective customer, field sales proposals will not be conveyed or the lead period from negotiations will be prolonged.
If the existing business partner is in a group company or affiliated company, it will be easier to proceed smoothly if you contact the person in charge in advance and understand the organization chart of the group or other departments.
Sending direct mail to new enterprise customers and creating business negotiations
It is important to match the key persons of the target company and the attributes of the industry in creating business negotiations by sending DMs and letters to new enterprise customers.
In enterprise companies, there are often cases in which the approval of the general manager or the executive level is required in the decision-making flow, and sending direct mails and letters is the most effective means of doing so. Even enterprise companies, where it’s difficult to get an email address or make a sales call, can increase the chances of their letter being opened by sending it as a personal letter.
DMs with strong advertising elements may be thrown away during sorting, but there is little concern about mailings addressed to department managers and executives. In the letter, it is also important to clearly state the reason for sending the letter and the benefits of the business negotiation. Let’s aim to create business negotiations by conveying useful information for companies.
Other products with existing customers, business negotiations with non-contracted departments
It is no exaggeration to say that there are opportunities when target companies include group companies or affiliates of companies that are already customers.
Enterprise companies have many employees and multiple departments. If you are a company that offers multiple horizontal SaaS, you can ask the person in charge who has already built a relationship to introduce you to a person in charge in another department, or cross-sell and approach the person in charge again. Good.
It can be said that the role of BDR is to increase the sales of the same company and related companies. Find hidden footholds in your existing customers and proactively reach out to them.
summary
In this article, we explained in detail the difference between “BDR” and “SDR”, the reason why it is becoming more important, and the ABM strategy.
“BDR” is completely different from “SDR”. Its role is to stabilize the business, and it is no exaggeration to say that the strength of BDR will greatly lead to business growth. In addition, implementation and continuation of specific methods are important to effectively implement BDR.
BDR is considered to be a difficult measure to implement, but it can be said that the degree of contribution to improving the company’s profit is very high. If you are considering it, why not take a step forward?