Business Development Representative (BDR)

Overview

You cold call and email businesses to find people interested in talking about Salesforce CRM. When someone agrees to a meeting, you hand them off to an Account Executive. You don't sell the product or negotiate deals—you're purely focused on filling your AE's calendar with qualified prospects.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Public (NYSE: CRM)

Size: ~88,000 employees globally

Growth: Mature company with stable growth, extensive BDR program

Market Position: Market leader in CRM software

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 30-40% Inbound - marketing-generated leads (webinar attendees, content downloads, website forms). Quality varies—some are actual decision-makers, many are students or tire-kickers
• 50-60% Outbound - cold calling into target accounts, LinkedIn outreach, email sequences to lists you build
• 10% Referrals/events - following up on conference attendees or partner leads

SDR/AE Structure: You're a dedicated BDR supporting 2-3 AEs. You book meetings, they close deals.

SE Support: N/A for your role - SEs work with AEs on demos and technical discussions

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: Microsoft Dynamics 365, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Oracle, SAP

How They Differentiate: Most feature-rich platform, largest AppExchange ecosystem, brand recognition

Common Objections: "Too expensive," "Too complex for our needs," "Already using [competitor]," "Not the right time"

Win Themes: Scalability, customization, integration ecosystem, market leader status

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Cold Calling (40%) | Email/LinkedIn (30%) | Lead Research (15%) | Internal Meetings (15%)

Key Activities

• Cold Calling: 50-70 dials per day to businesses in your territory. You're reading from a script initially, trying to get past gatekeepers to reach VPs of Sales or Operations. Most calls go to voicemail or get rejected. You're looking for someone willing to take a 15-minute discovery call with an AE.
• Email Sequences: Send 80-100 personalized emails daily using Outreach or SalesLoft. You're following up on calls, nurturing people who said "maybe later," and working through automated cadences. Open rates are typically 20-25%, response rates under 5%.
• Inbound Lead Follow-Up: Call and email marketing-generated leads within 5 minutes of them filling out a form. Many don't pick up or were just browsing. You're qualifying whether they're a real prospect or wasting AE time.
• CRM Hygiene: Log every call, email, and outcome in Salesforce. Update lead status, add notes, schedule follow-ups. This is mandatory and time-consuming—your manager reviews activity metrics daily.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• You hear "no" or get hung up on 40-50 times per day. Rejection is constant and you need thick skin.
• Gatekeepers are trained to block you. Getting to actual decision-makers takes persistence and creativity.
• Many inbound leads are low-quality—students doing research, competitors snooping, or people who don't have budget.
• Your quota is measured weekly. If you're behind by Wednesday, you're grinding to catch up.
• The job is repetitive—same script, same objections, same process daily.
• Internal pressure is real. Your metrics are visible to the whole team. Salesforce has a high-performance culture.

What Success Looks Like

• Hit 10-15 qualified meetings per month consistently (some teams require 12-20)
• 50+ meaningful conversations per week (not just dials, but actual discussions)
• 30%+ of your meetings convert to opportunities for your AE (if they don't, you'll hear about qualification)
• Promotion to AE within 12-18 months if you perform well

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

• VP of Sales or Sales Operations (SMB and mid-market)
• CROs or Revenue Operations leaders (larger accounts)
• Business owners (small business segment)

What They Care About:

• Can they actually track their sales pipeline and forecast accurately?
• Will their reps use it or fight the adoption?
• Integration with their existing tools (email, marketing automation, accounting)
• ROI and time-to-value—they've seen CRM implementations fail before

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree (or equivalent experience)
• Must be based in NYC—this is an in-office role
• Ability to handle high-volume outbound calling and rejection
• Coachable and willing to follow a structured process
• Strong work ethic—this role requires grinding through activity metrics
• Professional communication skills for executive-level conversations
• No prior sales experience required, but you need to be comfortable on the phone