Business Development Representatives (BDRs) have many tools at their disposal. But they may not have all the ones they need. And some are probably not using them to maximum
advantage, judging by a new study from 6sense: "In a Brave New AI World, BDR Performance Still Comes Down To The Fundamentals."
Of the BDRs surveyed, 78% say wrong
timing is the main reason prospects say no. Another cause is that some potential buyers are already using a competitor's offering. This is tied to wrong timing.
But technology makes a
difference. Those with account prioritization solutions see a “wrong timing” rate of 65%.
The study also found that multithreading—that is,
contacting multiple stakeholders within an account—is used by 91% of BDRs now contacting multiple stakeholders within an account. But regression modeling shows that reaching two additional
personas is the most effective level.
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The top channels? Email is the best one for generating inbound responses, while outbound BDRs cite phone (40%) and email
(36%) as their most effective channels.
The worst performance for both inbound and outbound is generated by social channels like LinkedIn. Only10% of BDRs say social media is the best
channel for generating responses.
In general, of every 100 prospects contacted, 41 respond in some way (either answering a call or replying to a message). And roughly 33 of those result
in a meaningful conversation, and 23 ultimately schedule—and attend—a meeting.
BDRs apparently are progressing on several fronts. Of those surveyed, 99% have adopted AI, up
from 62% in 2025 and 53% in 2024. And this has not led to eliminating BDR jobs. Indeed, cuts have fallen to their lowest point in five years: 8%.
In addition, 83% of BDRs now receive
guidance on which personas to prioritize within an account: e.g., IT, finance, operations. This leads to 10 additional points of quota attainment beyond the benefit caused by
multithreading.
Quotas have risen to a five-year high, with 53% of organizations claiming an increase, up from 35% in 2024. But raising the bar is not by itself “a
lever for better performance," the study notes.
At the same time, outreach volume has nearly doubled. BDRs now average 34 outreach attempts per contact, versus 17 in 2024
and 21 in 2025.But the study adds that in regression models, “sheer outreach volume is not a reliable predictor of performance.”
To whom do BDRs report? The ratio is now sales
(60%) to marketing (40%). Last year, 80% were reporting to sales, suggesting that companies are “rethinking where in the buying journey the BDR function delivers the most value,” the study
states.
6sense, working with MarketOne International, surveyed 872 BDRs (490 surveys were fully complete, with partial responses included where applicable).
The sample includes BDRs working in software and tech (70%), services (23%), and manufacturing (~7%).