SDR vs BDR: What's the Difference?

An SDR (Sales Development Representative) typically works inbound leads - following up on marketing-generated interest such as demo requests, content downloads, or trial signups, qualifying them, and booking meetings for Account Executives. The prospect made first contact.

A BDR (Business Development Representative) typically works outbound - proactively prospecting into target accounts that haven't shown any inbound interest yet, through cold email, cold calls, or direct outreach, to generate net-new pipeline rather than respond to existing demand. The rep makes first contact.

Many companies use the two titles interchangeably or blend both motions into one role, but the split matters organisationally: inbound and outbound require different skills - fast response and qualification for inbound, research and personalisation through a much higher volume of rejection for outbound - and usually different comp structures and quotas. Collapsing both under a single title often means the harder-to-measure motion, usually outbound, quietly gets less attention than it needs.