BDRs: Sales or Marketing?

The question of where BDRs sit functionally can be a contentious one.  In some organisations they sit under sales, others under marketing, and sometimes as a stand-alone unit.

In this article we look at all the scenarios and the need to carefully evaluate the role of BDRs in full-funnel activation, and what they actually mean for your business.

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BDRs as a marketing function: Demand generation & lead qualification

Companies that align BDRs with marketing see them as an extension of the lead nurturing process. Their role is to qualify and warm up leads before passing them to sales, ensuring that sales teams focus only on high-intent prospects.

Advantages of BDRs sitting in marketing:

• Stronger alignment with lead generation campaigns – BDRs can follow up on MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) in real-time.
• Better engagement with marketing data – BDRs work closely with marketing teams to understand lead behaviour, intent signals, and content engagement.
• Higher conversion rates on marketing-driven leads – Ensuring that inbound leads are properly nurtured before they hit sales.

Challenges of BDRs in marketing:

• Risk of being too focused on lead volume – BDRs might be pressured to pass on leads that meet MQL criteria but aren’t ready to buy.
• Weaker connection to revenue metrics – Their success may be measured on meetings booked rather than closed deals.
• When does this approach work best? When your company has strong, demonstrable intent-led demand and needs a structured way to convert leads into pipeline.

BDRs as a sales function: Pipeline growth & closing readiness

Companies that place BDRs under sales view them as the first step in the sales process. Their job isn’t just to qualify leads—it’s to create opportunities and move deals forward.

Advantages of BDRs sitting in sales:

• Stronger focus on revenue – BDRs are aligned with quota-carrying sales reps, making sure their efforts translate directly into the pipeline.
• Tighter feedback loops – BDRs can work closely with AEs (Account Executives) to refine messaging, targeting, and prospecting strategies.
• More outbound prospecting – BDRs are incentivized to create demand rather than just qualifying inbound leads.

Challenges of BDRs in sales:

• Risk of misalignment with marketing efforts – If BDRs focus only on outbound, marketing-generated leads may get ignored.
• More friction in lead qualification – Sales-driven BDRs may be too aggressive in pushing leads forward before they’re truly ready.
• When does this approach work best? When your company relies heavily on outbound sales and needs BDRs to generate new opportunities.

So, where should BDRs sit? The hybrid approach

The reality is, BDRs need to be aligned with both marketing and sales. They sit at the intersection of demand generation and pipeline growth, making a hybrid model the most effective:

• Marketing & BDR alignment: Ensures inbound leads are properly nurtured, reducing wasted sales time.
• Sales & BDR alignment: Keeps BDRs accountable for pipeline growth, not just meetings booked.

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What does this look like in practice?

BDRs report to sales but work closely with marketing on lead prioritisation, messaging, and data insights.

• KPIs are tied to pipeline and revenue, not just activity metrics.
• A structured feedback loop exists between marketing, BDRs, and sales, ensuring all efforts support and drive conversion.

For businesses struggling with low lead conversion rates or pipeline inconsistency, evaluating where BDRs sit, and how they are aligned, can be the key to unlocking better results.

Where do BDRs report in your organisation? Is it effective? Let us know in the comments below!