Business Development Managers (BDMs) thrive on what the Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) do. Many of them will at one point have been SDRs themselves and this in itself can aid their in-office relationship. It means that the BDM understands the pressure the SDR is under, knows the sort of roadblocks that can come up and, with their experience, can help steer the SDR back onto the right path. The two roles have specific and different functions but when done right, they act in harmony to perform like a well oiled machine.
To understand this fully though, we need to know what each of them do. For the SDR, their role is crucial to the sales process. It’s a common misconception that all they do is outreach as in fact, their list of responsibilities is enormous. Ultimately, they are of course responsible for qualifying leads at the initial stages in the sales funnel but to be able to do this effectively there are other responsibilities that they need to take care of first. It’s a fairly long list but to keep it short they have to reach out to prospects, build relationships with potential customers and be excellent communicators. And, it’s these last two parts that will be of most value to the BDM as this means that the customers will be fully warmed up before being invited to meet the BDM.
Everyone in Aexus is an excellent communicator. It is actually part of the reason they are selected and the in-house training only helps to enhance it further. Where it is unbelievably effective though is when SDRs are communicating with prospects. You see, not only does the SDR have to know their product inside out, but they also need to know how to talk to a wide range of people across various mediums and also have the ability to build a bond that leads to a relationship.
As for the BDM, their role has one overarching aim and that is to improve a company’s profits. There’s a lot to do before that’s achievable of course, but that is the ultimate goal. For a start, even though the prospect already has a relationship with your company, they also need to have a relationship with the Business Development Manager. Some trust has already been built which is what got the prospect this far down the funnel in the first place, but the BDM needs to keep that relationship going. This is a really important step in gaining the confidence of the customer. Don’t forget, the BDM will still have to lead the prospect to the end of the funnel, negotiate the price and close the deal.
It would be naive to think that every time an SDR sets up a meeting for a BDM it results in a deal. Life just doesn’t work like that but when you give yourself the best chance for success, you’ll find the odds are stacked in your favour and the wins will come. And this is why the harmonious relationship works. It’s a trite cliché to say that teamwork makes the dream work but then, a cliché only become a cliché because it’s true.
If you’d like to know more about our approach to teamwork, get in touch. We’re always happy to jump on a call.