The role of the BDR in PLG/PLS

Tips for seamlessly integrating sales into a product-led strategy

DEAR STAGE 2: What is the ideal role of a BDR in a product-led org? Who should they report to? And how should you measure success? ~DEAR BDR MANAGER IN A PLG WORLD

DEAR BDR MANAGER IN A PLG WORLD: Leaning into the product-led approach, but haven’t cracked the code on how to seamlessly blend it with sales? You’re not the first to ask this question!

A year ago, I wrote a post about Building your first BDR team and my friend, Ben Williams (aka The Product-Led Geek) commented, “Liz, how do you feel about a BDR team within the product organization in a mature PLG company?” Fast forward to today, and I've been inundated with variations of this question, all essentially asking the same thing: Where do BDRs belong in a product-led setup?

I asked Ben to weigh in on this with me and we’re bringing you our collective experience on how to approach this team.

Regardless of the title (be it BDR, SDR, XDR, Customer Advocate, or any other) these individuals play a pivotal role in identifying interest and initiating engagement with buyers at the onset of their awareness and consideration journey. Whether they're labeled as a BDR, AE, CSM, Product Specialist, or Customer Advocate within your organization, someone is doing this work… and it’s crucial! This function touches prospective customers more than any other function. They are a vital source of input for product, marketing and sales!

Before we explore further, let’s level set on the status quo:

• Very few PLG companies are 100% inbound, fully self-serve. These are the exception, not the rule.

• Many companies have a free trial or freemium motion, but treat these sign ups as traditional demand gen leads. Please stop doing this. 

• Product-led is not mutually exclusive with having a sales team. In fact, Ben would say, “Combining is a 2+2=5 equation. Self-serve monetization allows downmarket efficiency, and product-led sales allows increased efficiency in sales motion.”

Let’s also align on the most common mistakes we see. These are especially common in traditionally sales-led companies looking to introduce a BDR role as part of a broader product-led sales implementation. Treat this as a checklist to test the health of your current BDR motion. If you find yourself nodding along and saying, “Yes, that’s us,” we’ve got some work to do!:

• Immediately emailing free trial users or free plan sign ups before they have had time to get into the product

• Focusing on selling or “going for the close” v. learning and educating. Ben notes, “This is often one of the most overlooked benefits of (and mandates for) the BDR role - to increase the orgs ability to learn how to better serve our ICP. Monetization will come. Follow the users path to value, and revenue will follow!”

• Ignoring the user in favor of the economic buyer 

• Confusing Product Qualified Leads/PQLs (person/individual) and Product Qualified Accounts/PQAs (company in your ICP)

So, how can we do better?

Acknowledging that this can change dramatically based on your ICP (check out Ben’s deep dive on ICPs in PLG), along with factors like how you add value in single-player v. multi-player mode, ideal customer buying journey, potential ACV and so much more, we tried to lay out some best practices we have seen for organizing these teams.

For SMB:

• Define PQL/A Criteria: Begin by clearly defining Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) and Accounts (PQAs). You can dive deep with Ben here, but the TL;DR is to define specific, quantifiable actions or engagement of your individual users AND the ICP criteria for the account they belong to.

• Lead with a User-Centric Approach: The BDR motion in SMB settings should primarily be geared towards supporting the user. Focus on helping users find value in the product to drive activation and adoption, gradually expanding to support team-level adoption.

• Experiment!: Experimentation is key to discovering what works best in converting free users to paid users and eventually to team rollouts so that you can point BDRs towards the highest impact plays within your PQL/As. Ben recommends finding a play that works and shows proven repeatable success before automating to scale. This will allow you to move faster in the experimentation phase and layer in efficiency over time. 

For Enterprise:

Unlike with SMB, there are 2 distinct functions Enterprise BDRs can serve: 1) support of PLG and 2) traditional outbound.

Support of PLG or “Bottom Up”:

• Focus on the PQAs: Similar to the SMB motion, but the orientation really shifts to the PQA and understanding the broader context of account-level engagement/activity within your ICP. When you are selling to larger, more complex businesses, and potential deal size is much larger, you will often see multiple users signing up. In turn, you’ll need an aggregate view of an account because the various users might not be coordinated.

• Support and Educate: The goal is still to support the user first and drive them towards the activation moment through education. Sample plays might include inviting peers as a nudge in product, or asking about use cases in chat or email. Ask a question to drive engagement or help, NOT to ask for a meeting at this stage!

• Prospect at the right time: In enterprise, you can layer in additional prospecting by using usage signals as an indicator of a “project” happening at the company to approach additional users and future buyers *at the right time*. 10 users active within an org? This could be a sign that it’s time to engage with decision makers at the organization. 

Traditional outbound or “Top Down”:

• Target accounts: In an enterprise motion, you can (and should!) have a target list of a small number of accounts where you believe there is a very strong fit for your solution. You can take a multi-channel approach, but with a twist — you have a clear call to action with your product and can drive users into your existing product flow. Your call-to-action is stronger because you aren’t just asking for a meeting. 

Organization Structure: Marketing, Sales, Product, or Growth?

Considerations for the organizational structure of BDR teams revolve around identifying unique leaders and teams suited to the task. Questions to consider include:

• Who has the capacity to coach the team effectively?

• Who is accountable for increasing conversion rates?

• Is this talent pool groomed for specific promotional paths within the organization?

Ultimately, the structure should be tailored to your organization's environment and is dependent on your leadership teams’ strengths and willingness/ability to collaborate cross-functionally. 

Some final thoughts…

As you embark on implementing these practices, Ben offers up several key considerations to keep in mind:

• Understand your goals: Whether they're centered around new customer acquisition or expanding revenue from existing customers, being clear on this will help you tailor your approach effectively. 

• Define activation metrics: If you’re leaning into new customer acquisition plays, activation metrics will predict long-term usage retention and increased propensity to buy. Implement a solid scoring mechanism for engagement prioritization, but keep it simple as you get going.

• Start small: A cross-functional tiger team focused on selected scenarios or playbooks can help concentrate efforts where they'll have the most impact. 

• Focus exclusively on your ICP: These accounts will maximize learning and improvement within your target audience. Any focus outside this group will dilute and prolong your learnings.

• Prioritize feedback: Establish frequent feedback loops through weekly meetings to ensure continuous refinement of your BDR processes.

By following these guidelines and adapting them to your organization's unique needs, you can optimize your sales efforts and unlock the full potential of your product-led growth strategy. Good luck!