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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Market Development Representative

💰 $45,000 - $70,000

SalesBusiness DevelopmentMarketingLead Generation

🎯 Role Definition

A Market Development Representative (MDR) is an early-stage revenue generator responsible for discovering, engaging, and qualifying new business opportunities within defined markets or verticals. The MDR converts cold and inbound interest into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) by conducting targeted market research, personalized outreach, and disciplined pipeline management. This role requires strong communication, resilience, and a data-driven approach to consistently meet activity and conversion KPIs and to feed a predictable pipeline for Account Executives and revenue teams.

Key focus areas:

  • Outbound lead generation (cold calls, cold email, LinkedIn outreach)
  • Inbound lead qualification and prioritization
  • Territory and market mapping to uncover new segments and target accounts
  • Creating and optimizing messaging and outreach cadences
  • Accurate CRM management and reporting to support predictable forecasting

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Sales Development Representative / Business Development Representative (SDR/BDR)
  • Inside Sales Representative or Sales Intern
  • Customer Success Associate with cross-sell/up-sell exposure

Advancement To:

  • Account Executive (AE)
  • Senior MDR / Team Lead (MDR Lead)
  • Market Development Manager / Sales Manager
  • Sales Enablement / Revenue Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Product Marketing Specialist (go-to-market)
  • Channel/Partnership Development Representative
  • Customer Success / Account Management

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Prospect, research, and map new target accounts within assigned territories and verticals to build a high-quality pipeline; maintain detailed account and contact records in the CRM to enable scalable follow-up and territory coverage.
  • Execute high-volume, multi-channel outreach (cold calls, personalized cold emails, LinkedIn messages, and social selling) to generate initial interest and book discovery conversations for Account Executives.
  • Qualify inbound leads rapidly and consistently according to established frameworks (e.g., BANT, MEDDIC-lite, CHAMP) to convert Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) and ensure accurate lead routing.
  • Achieve and exceed weekly and monthly activity and conversion KPIs (dials, emails, meetings booked, SQLs created, pipeline value) to support predictable revenue goals.
  • Build and refine outreach cadences and messaging in partnership with marketing and sales enablement; A/B test subject lines, email copy, call scripts, and call-to-action to improve response rates and conversion.
  • Conduct discovery calls and early qualification conversations to uncover business pain points, buying timelines, stakeholders, and budget constraints, and summarize findings in the CRM for Account Executives to close.
  • Maintain active, up-to-date pipeline forecasts and activity logs; escalate deals that require urgent attention and flag potential churn risks or competitive threats observed during prospect conversations.
  • Collaborate with Account Executives to create account-based outreach strategies, coordinate handoffs, and join key meetings to ensure continuity from qualification to close.
  • Leverage Sales Intelligence and engagement platforms (LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Apollo) to identify decision-makers, disambiguate account structures, and prioritize outreach efforts.
  • Manage and track outreach performance using sales engagement tools (Outreach, Salesloft) and CRM dashboards; pull and present weekly reports showing conversion metrics and funnel health.
  • Develop industry, competitor, and buyer persona knowledge through ongoing market research to tailor outreach and to inform product and marketing teams about market gaps and opportunities.
  • Nurture long-tail and mid-funnel opportunities through multi-touch follow-up sequences until a handoff decision is made or the opportunity is disqualified; update lead status and next steps clearly on each interaction.
  • Collaborate with marketing to qualify and route event leads and webinar attendees; follow up promptly with post-event outreach that converts attendees into qualified meetings.
  • Participate in regular pipeline reviews, standups, and coaching sessions with sales leadership to refine qualification criteria and improve conversion outcomes.
  • Provide timely feedback to product and marketing teams about recurring buyer objections, feature requests, pricing concerns, and messaging efficacy to shape go-to-market strategy.
  • Prepare and deliver tailored value propositions and 15–20 minute demo-intro summaries (in collaboration with AEs or product specialists) to pique prospects’ interest in deeper product demos.
  • Coordinate pilot programs and proofs-of-concept logistics with cross-functional teams, ensuring prospects receive timely resources and that success criteria are captured for handoff.
  • Keep abreast of industry trends, regulatory changes, and emerging competitors to recommend new target lists and refine ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) definitions.
  • Track and analyze conversion funnels (lead → MQL → SQL → demo → opportunity) to identify bottlenecks and recommend process or messaging improvements.
  • Use a disciplined follow-up cadence to recover and re-engage previously disqualified or cold leads where new events or product updates create fresh opportunities.
  • Attend and represent the company at trade shows, industry meetups, and community events to network, source inbound opportunities, and capture new contacts for outreach.
  • Maintain data hygiene in the CRM — deduplicate contacts, update contact roles and titles, and ensure compliance with data privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA) during outreach and enrichment activities.
  • Support quarterly planning by helping define territory segmentation, quota-setting inputs, and ramp plans for new hires based on historical outreach and conversion metrics.

Secondary Functions

  • Support creation of outbound playbooks, email templates, and call scripts for new product launches and vertical campaigns.
  • Assist in ad-hoc market research requests that help prioritize verticals, geographies, or buyer personas for go-to-market initiatives.
  • Contribute to internal enablement materials such as FAQ docs, objection-handling guides, and competitive battlecards.
  • Participate in cross-functional sprint planning and feedback loops with marketing, product, and sales ops to align outreach priorities and data requirements.
  • Help maintain clean lead data and participate in CRM migration or optimization projects as required.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • CRM proficiency (Salesforce preferred; HubSpot acceptable) — accurate record keeping, pipeline management, activity logging, and reporting.
  • Sales engagement platforms experience (Outreach, Salesloft, Apollo) to design cadences and automate personalized sequences.
  • Prospecting tool familiarity (LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo, Clearbit) for account identification and contact enrichment.
  • Cold outreach and phone prospecting — proven ability to conduct high-volume calling with professional, consultative voice.
  • Email deliverability and sequence optimization — ability to write high-converting, personalized emails and track open/click/response metrics.
  • Lead qualification frameworks (BANT, CHAMP, MEDDIC-lite) and practical experience applying qualification criteria.
  • Basic data analysis and reporting skills — comfortable with spreadsheets (Excel or Google Sheets), pulling CRM reports, and interpreting funnel metrics.
  • Basic understanding of account-based marketing (ABM) concepts and coordination with marketing campaigns.
  • Demonstrated ability to schedule and run discovery calls, prepare concise call notes, and create handoff documentation for AEs.
  • Familiarity with GDPR/CCPA compliance in outreach and data handling best practices.
  • Experience using calendar scheduling tools (Calendly, Chili Piper) and coordinating multi-stakeholder meetings.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication — persuasive, clear, and tailored to executive and technical audiences.
  • Active listening and strong questioning skills to uncover customer pain, urgency, and decision criteria.
  • Resilience and grit — handles rejection routinely and sustains consistent outreach activity to hit targets.
  • Time management and prioritization — balances high-volume activities with strategic account work.
  • Coachability — accepts feedback, iterates on messaging, and improves conversion through rapid learning cycles.
  • Collaboration and cross-functional communication — effectively partners with marketing, AEs, and product teams.
  • Problem-solving and adaptability — quickly adjusts outreach strategies when market signals or campaign performance change.
  • Organization and attention to detail — maintains accurate CRM records and clean data for predictable forecasting.
  • Empathy and relationship building — builds trust with prospects to progress early-stage conversations.
  • Presentation and storytelling — able to communicate value propositions succinctly during intro calls and internal reviews.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High school diploma or equivalent (most employers prefer post-secondary education)

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Marketing, Communications, Economics, or related field

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Business / Business Administration
  • Marketing
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Sales / Commercial Studies
  • International Business / Trade

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 0–3 years of professional experience in sales, business development, or related roles

Preferred:

  • 1–2+ years of B2B sales, SDR/BDR, or inside sales experience — ideally in SaaS, technology, professional services, or fast-growing startups
  • Demonstrated track record of meeting activity and meeting-booking quotas, with measurable pipeline contributions
  • Experience working with enterprise or SMB segments depending on role focus, and demonstrated ability to adapt messaging by buyer persona

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