Stefano Tacconi

Business Development Representative (BDR)

Spoki

BDROutbound HeavyConsultativeHybrid📍 Italy, Spain, Southern Europe
Posted by Stefano Tacconi

Overview

You're cold calling and emailing B2C companies (e-commerce, retail, services) across Italy, Spain, and Southern Europe to get them interested in using WhatsApp as a sales and marketing channel. You qualify prospects, book meetings, and hand them to AEs. You're measured on qualified meetings booked, not deals closed.


Role Snapshot

AspectDetails
Role TypeOutbound BDR
Sales MotionOutbound-heavy (100% self-sourced)
Deal ComplexityQualification-focused
Sales CycleN/A (you book, don't close)
Deal SizeN/A (AEs handle pricing)
Quota (est.)15-25 qualified meetings/month

Company Context

Stage: Likely Series A/B (founded 2021, 60+ employees, fast growth mentioned)

Size: 60+ employees

Growth: Expanding across Southern Europe, hiring multiple roles simultaneously

Market Position: WhatsApp Business API is a competitive space with platforms like Twilio, MessageBird, 360dialog. Spoki positions as AI-native with documented ROI.


GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

  • 100% Outbound - you're building lists, making calls, sending emails, messaging on LinkedIn
  • No inbound leads mentioned - the post explicitly says "no warm leads"

SDR/AE Structure: BDRs book meetings, AEs run full-cycle from there

SE Support: Unknown, likely minimal given the mid-market B2C focus


Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: Twilio (WhatsApp Business API), MessageBird, 360dialog, other WhatsApp BSP providers

How They Differentiate: AI built into platform (not bolt-on), European focus, B2C specialization with documented ROI

Common Objections: "We're already using WhatsApp manually", "Too expensive compared to free WhatsApp Business app", "We don't have resources to manage another channel"

Win Themes: Automation of repetitive customer conversations, integration with existing e-commerce/CRM tools, proven ROI for B2C engagement


What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Prospecting (60%) | Qualifying Calls (25%) | Admin/CRM (15%)

Key Activities

  • List Building: Scraping e-commerce sites, retail chains, service businesses in Italy/Spain. Researching who handles marketing/customer service. Building target account lists in your CRM.
  • Cold Calling: 50-70 calls per day to businesses. Most don't pick up. You're leaving voicemails in Italian or Spanish. When you get through, you have 30 seconds to explain why WhatsApp could help their customer engagement before they hang up.
  • Email/LinkedIn Outreach: Sending sequences to prospects who don't answer. Testing different messages about abandoned cart recovery, customer support automation, marketing campaigns via WhatsApp.
  • Qualification Calls: 15-minute calls with interested prospects. You're asking about their current customer communication setup, volume of customer interactions, pain points with email/SMS. Qualifying budget authority, timeline. Booking demos for AEs if they fit.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

  • You'll get rejected constantly. Most calls go to voicemail. Most emails get ignored. You need to make 50+ touches to book one meeting.
  • WhatsApp Business API isn't a household concept for many B2C businesses - you're educating before you can even qualify interest.
  • You're working across multiple languages and markets (Italy, Spain). If you're not fluent in Italian and Spanish, you're limiting your addressable market.
  • It's repetitive. Same pitch, same objections, same "send me info" brush-offs. Day after day.
  • The "find me yourself" hiring process tells you this is a culture that expects hustle and self-sufficiency. Don't expect hand-holding.

What Success Looks Like

  • Booking 15-25 qualified meetings per month that show up and advance to next stage
  • 20-30% of your booked meetings turning into pipeline for AEs
  • Consistent daily activity: 50+ calls, 100+ emails, pipeline of conversations moving forward

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

  • Marketing Managers at e-commerce/retail companies (500-5000 employees)
  • Customer Service Directors at high-volume B2C businesses
  • COOs/Operations leads at growing service businesses

What They Care About:

  • Customer response time and support efficiency
  • Marketing channel ROI and conversion rates
  • Reducing manual work in customer communications
  • Integration with their existing tech stack (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.)

Requirements

  • Previous B2B SaaS outbound experience (they explicitly want this, not just sales in general)
  • Fluency in Italian and/or Spanish (you're prospecting Southern Europe)
  • Comfortable with rejection and high-volume activity
  • Self-starter who doesn't need constant direction
  • Understanding of or interest in AI tools (they emphasize AI-driven operations)
  • Willingness to prove yourself through the application process (no easy apply button)