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Permanent BDR · hiring brief

Hire a BDR

Hire a BDR: agree the target accounts, the outreach rules and the point a qualified conversation passes to a closer, and manage the BDR closely.

Brief us on this role →See BDR roles

Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 4 sources linked below

  • 3–5on every shortlist
  • 5stages of vetting
  • IR35set out on every brief
Hire a BDR: leadership meeting in a Covent Garden office (illustration)

On the board · last 90 days

Which roles are on the board now?

Permanent BDR roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.

Roles

See every role on the board →

Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.

In the press

The brief

Hire a BDR: what must the role own?

The list they work.

  • 01AccountsThe list they work.
  • 02RulesMessaging and data rules, including direct marketing law.
  • 03HandoverWhen a meeting passes to an account executive.
  • 04ManagerWho coaches them daily.

Role reference: Institute of Sales Professionals: sales capability framework. The ISP sales capability framework covers prospecting capabilities to assess when you hire a BDR.

BDR or SDR

Hire a BDR or an SDR?

Often the same seat.

Hire a BDR for outbound prospecting; many companies use SDR for the same role or for inbound qualification. Write which in the brief.

Either way, a BDR without a manager rarely works.

The working pattern

What changes when the BDR is permanent?

A BDR (business development representative) prospects outbound into target accounts and books meetings for account executives. An SDR is often the same role, sometimes focused on inbound leads.

The illustrative brief: a sales team with no outbound. Account executives rely on inbound leads that have slowed.

The appointment owns: The company hires two BDRs under a sales manager.

Another owner retains: Account executives own deals; marketing owns messaging.

The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.

From brief to start

How do you hire a BDR, step by step?

Hire a BDR, in practice: the first three steps are ours; the last four are what has to be true before the first day. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date.

  1. Day 0
    01
    The 15-minute call
    What the BDR must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.
    You and us
  2. Week 1
    02
    Scope agreed in writing
    The outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.
    Us
  3. Weeks 1–3
    03
    Search, references, shortlist
    We approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.
    Us
  4. Week 4
    04
    List
    Target accounts.
    You
  5. Before day one · 2
    05
    Tools
    CRM and outreach tools.
    You
  6. Before day one · 3
    06
    Manager
    Daily coaching slot.
    You
  7. Before day one · 4
    07
    Measures
    Meetings and quality.
    You

Assessment

How should you assess each candidate?

Hire a BDR on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.

  1. Comparable work
    Ask for outreach they ran and results.
  2. Authority
    Test a request to email a list without a lawful basis.
  3. Team
    Ask how they took coaching.
  4. Handover
    Ask how they recorded activity.

Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.

Vetting

What happens before anyone reaches your shortlist?

Five stages before a candidate reaches a shortlist of three to five.

  1. Pedigree screen
    Tenure
    We verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
  2. Mandate fit
    Fit
    Fit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
  3. Reference deep-dive
    Verify
    We take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
  4. Shortlist
    Shortlist
    Three to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
  5. Kick-off
    Start
    Scope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.

The full process is on how we vet.

The right pattern

Does this hiring pattern fit the work?

Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.

Questions

Hire a BDR: questions, answered

A brief to hire a BDR begins with accounts: The list they work. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.

Read next

Related hiring and role pages

Sources

Where does every reference on this page come from?

  • the-isp.org
  • HMRC
  • legislation.gov.uk
  1. 1
    Institute of Sales Professionals: sales capability framework the-isp.org
  2. 2
    Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRC
    Status depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
  3. 3
    Check employment status for tax (CEST) HMRC
    HMRC’s own status check for each engagement.
  4. 4
    Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.uk
    The law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.

For hiring managers

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  1. A shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position
  2. Fractional, interim, part-time, temporary or permanent — and non-executive directors
  3. Every candidate through our five-stage vetting
  4. Your briefs and their candidates, in one room