What does a Marketing Development Representatives (MDR)?
You have probably heard already about marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads (SQLs). But how can you align sales and marketing goals and convert more good-fit customers and qualified leads? This is where the Marketing Development Representative (MDR) comes in the picture. An MDR for a B2B lead generation company is responsible for increasing profit and volume. In this article, more information about the job of an MDR will be given.
Get support with your salesWhat is an MDR
First, a definition of marketing development representatives (MDRs) is given: “MDRs are specialized sales people who bridge the gap between marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads (SQLs)” (source). They are often the missing link in the marketing to sales process with the end goal to accelerate lead generation, increase qualified opportunities and drive revenue for the company. By analyzing an incoming MQL, they will distinguish the prospects that can be a good-fit customer and the ones that are not.
Key responsibilities
Some responsibilities
To begin, the responsibilities of MDRs are discussed. These are some key responsibilities that are often found in job descriptions:
- Outbound prospecting through phone, email, LinkedIn…
- Develop and nurture inbound leads.
- Research prospects and maintain a target account list in collaboration with the account executive.
- Social selling.
So what do MDRs do?
In addition, the job of an MDR is briefly discussed. Overall, MDRs need to take ownership of all generated marketing leads and they need to keep an eye out for possible leads on social media, by calling and mailing. Thereby, they need to ask a lot of questions about the prospects’ processes to get a better picture about whether they’re a good-fit customer or not. With their analysis that gives insight in the business and its internal workflow, they can do the proper follow up. The purpose of this is booking a meeting with the Business Development Manager (BDM) who needs to close the business generated.
Skills of an MDR
As for al jobs there are some skills needed that are non negotiable. Firstly, an important skill to have as a MDR is the ability to collaborate with others. As they are the bridge between the MQLs and SQLs, they obviously are in contact with marketing and sales, but also with the BDMs and account executives. Secondly, their communication skills need to be strong as they have a lot of different tasks. For example, BDRs are expected to be in contact with potential customers, to give presentations about their offerings, to follow up existing customers… Moreover, they need to be able to ask the right questions to prospects to be able to understand the business. Finally, their human touch in the lead generation process and follow-up makes their job so impactful. Most importantly, it helps them realize sales enablement by qualifying leads.
Key takeaways
In conclusion, MDRs can have a positive impact on your business because they help :
- Aligning marketing and sales.
- Elevating the role that marketing plays in the revenue engine.
- The B2B sales teams to focus on high quality leads and to increase the chance of conversion.
About the author
Silke is an enthusiastic marketeer, currently working as a Marketing Consultant at 4P square. She has a master in Communication and Business Economics. Silke has a passion for and knowledge of digital marketing and branding. Thereby, she is analytical, result-driven and with her can-do attitude she is not afraid to take on new challenges.
Want to know more about Silke? Feel free to start a conversation with her on LinkedIn.
