• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 24, 2023

B2B sales team morale has plummeted in the past year.  

Business development representatives (BDRs) feel less supported by their firms, and email teams must wonder if they are adding to this by failing to supply leads in sufficient quantity.

BDRs are the people responsible for generating and distributing leads to salespeople. When asked for their wish list, 71% say that better contact data would be their first or second choice to improve productivity  — while 70% pointed to a need for improved intent data, according to 2023 State of the BDR Survey, a study by 6sense.  

Why are they not getting these things? “In some cases, it may be that their organizations have cut back on their spend in this area, hoping BDRs could get by with less,” the study says. “In others, it is probably the case that the contact and intent data were never great, but good enough when the market was going full steam.”

Most BDRs are making their numbers — 80% say they are. But 41% find it harder to meet their sales targets. And 46% report that getting meetings with potential clients is getting more difficult.

Yet 62% say their sales targets have remained unchanged, while 30% claim they have increased. 

Last year, BDRs who feel supported rated their quota attainment as a 4 on a scale of 1-5 — in effect, an 80% rate. This year, that score has fallen to 3.7.

Yet the grade for those without support has gone from 2.7 to 3.1.

Of the BDRs polled, 64% feel supported — down from 76% last year.  

"We are encouraged to see that BDRs are still achieving their targets, despite facing tougher conditions," says Kerry Cunningham, Head of Research and Thought Leadership at 6sense. "However, our survey results indicate that BDRs are feeling the pressure of the current economic climate, and the tools they relied on in the past are no longer sufficient.

6sense surveyed 500 Business Development Representatives across North America, EMEA, APAC, and Latin America early in 2023.