Do you know what to look for when hiring a business development representative? What is their average salary? How many job opportunities are available, and what does a BDR (or SDR) do precisely?
If you are considering hiring or training a BDR for your business, then you have come to the right place. In the paragraphs below, you’ll get everything you need to know about business development representative salaries in the United States.
If you are thinking about becoming an SDR, BDR, or hiring one for your business, then you have come to the right place. This article is just for you as we will discuss everything you need to know about business development representative’s salaries in the United States.
How Much Does a Business Development Representative Make in 2021?
According to PayScale, a BDR makes about $48,165.00 a year in America, and an SDR makes about $48,412.00 per year. Interestingly enough, the national average salary for a business development representative in the USA is $48,548.00;
If you are thinking about hiring a business development representative, you will need to count the costs to see if you could afford to have one on your team. Another option is to outsource a sales development representative.
So what does this amount to per hour? We used a simple salary calculator, which we found here. So $48,165.00 amounts to about $22.03 an hour, which is a total of $3,818.00 per month.
Are you keen on knowing what sales and business development representatives make in the US?
Top 50 Cities And Salary Breakdown for Sales Development Representatives
Here are the top 50 cities in the US for this role. Please see their annual income and the hourly rate for each city. Please note that these amounts are before tax. All the stats and data captures have been provided by Glassdoor.com.
| City | Annual rate | Hourly Rate | |
| 1 | New York, New York | $52,625.00 | $26.31 |
| 2 | Los Angeles, California | $48,412.00 | $24.21 |
| 3 | Chicago, Illinois | $45,413.00 | $22.71 |
| 4 | Houston, Texas | $51,171.00 | $25.59 |
| 5 | Phoenix, Arizona | $41,272.00 | $20.64 |
| 6 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $46,230.00 | $23.12 |
| 7 | San Antonio, Texas | $43,359.00 | $21.68 |
| 8 | San Diego, California | $46,800.00 | $23.40 |
| 9 | Dallas, Texas | $42,128.00 | $21.06 |
| 10 | San Jose, California | $58,210.00 | $29.11 |
| 11 | Austin, Texas | $44,916.00 | $22.46 |
| 12 | Jacksonville, Florida | $43,764.00 | $21.87 |
| 13 | Fort Worth, Texas | $42,128.00 | $21.06 |
| 14 | Columbus, Ohio | $44,429.00 | $22.21 |
| 15 | Charlotte, North Carolina | $41,642.00 | $20.82 |
| 16 | San Francisco, California | $56,643.00 | $28.32 |
| 17 | Indianapolis, Indiana | $45,620.00 | $22.81 |
| 18 | Seattle, Washington | $46,131.00 | $23.07 |
| 19 | Denver, Colorado | $43,246.00 | $21.62 |
| 20 | Washington, DC | $46,623.00 | $23.31 |
| 21 | Boston, Massachusetts | $49,738.00 | $24.87 |
| 22 | El Paso, Texas | $39,886.00 | $19.94 |
| 23 | Nashville-Davidson, Tennessee | $42,986.00 | $21.49 |
| 24 | Detroit, Michigan | $45,107.00 | $22.55 |
| 25 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | $42,454.00 | $21.23 |
| 26 | Portland, Oregon | $43,372.00 | $21.69 |
| 27 | Las Vegas, Nevada | $44,684.00 | $22.34 |
| 28 | Memphis, Tennessee | $43,494.00 | $21.75 |
| 29 | Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky | $43,764.00 | $21.87 |
| 30 | Baltimore, Maryland | $43,897.00 | $21.95 |
| 31 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | $44,510.00 | $22.26 |
| 32 | Albuquerque, N.M | $43,066.00 | $21.50 |
| 33 | Tucson, Arizona | $43,071.00 | $21.85 |
| 34 | Fresno, California | $46,317.00 | $23.16 |
| 35 | Mesa Arizona | $41,272.00 | $20.64 |
| 36 | Sacramento, California | $39,999.00 | $20.00 |
| 37 | Atlanta, Georgia | $43,104.00 | $21.55 |
| 38 | Kansas City, Missouri | $43,958.00 | $21.98 |
| 39 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | $43,979.00 | $21.99 |
| 40 | Omaha, Nebraska | $43,749.00 | $21.87 |
| 41 | Raleigh, North Carolina | $42,266.00 | $21.13 |
| 42 | Miami, Florida | $48,364.00 | $24.18 |
| 43 | Long Beach, California | $48,784.00 | $24.39 |
| 44 | Virginia Beach, Virginia | $42,800.00 | $21.40 |
| 45 | Oakland, California | $56,643.00 | $28.32 |
| 46 | Minneapoliss, Minnosota | $45,308.00 | $22.65 |
| 47 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | $42,666.00 | $21.33 |
| 48 | Tampa, Florida | $42,836.00 | $21.42 |
| 49 | Arlington, Texas | $42,128.00 | $21.06 |
| 50 | New Orleans, Louisiana | $43,646.00 | $21.82 |
What Do Business Development Representatives Do?
A BDR is an essential part of any business, as they are a type of a sales rep whose primary focus is to generate qualified prospects. A business development representative will do this by:
Usually, in the B2B space, the customer’s first contact point is with the business development representative or sales development rep; therefore, their role is pretty important. They are the critical element to bring in new clients. A BDR will contact a new customer either by research that they have conducted on their own or with a business development associate’s help.
Once the business development representative has contacted the potential customer, they will arrange for the customer to meet or have a call from someone in a senior position, such as the account executive;
This ensures the sale will hopefully move forward. As a business development representative, you are essentially responsible for nurturing prospects that will eventually lead to sales and closing deals.
Why the Business Development Representative Is the Most Important Position in Your B2B Sales Team
If your BDR isn’t great, then, unfortunately, your business might struggle with growth; This is why it is imperative to find the right person for the job, or if you want to become a BDR, make sure that your training is impeccable.
Remember, a business development representative is a key to successful relationships with your potential clients. They nurture relationships, and without this genuine aspect of your company, you will miss out on genuine leads.
In short, they bring in new opportunities. Without a BDR, a more senior team member would be spending hours a day prospecting new clients.
What is the PayScale of BDR’s in Different Cities Across the US?
It’s interesting to see what different cities offer as salaries for business development representatives across America.
In this section, we will consider ten cities in the US and their PayScale. Most of the averages below have been submitted to Glassdoor based on 8,874 salaries of business development representatives.
- San Francisco
According to Glassdoor, a business development representative receives a 15% above average salary in San Francisco. On average, they will receive $55,985 per year; this was based on 618 anonymous salaries that were submitted to Glassdoor by BDR employees across San Francisco.
- Miami
PayScale.com shows that a BDR makes about $53,000 per year in Miami.
Interestingly enough, this is still above the national average for a business development representative, and the data was captured in January 2021. This equates to about $17,50 per hour.
- Austin
In Austin, Texas, most business development representatives make 1% more salary-wise than the national average. Once again, Glassdoor indicates that a BDR’s annual salary is about $49,099; This was based on 432 salaries submitted anonymously in Austin.
- San Diego
San Diego’s business representatives make 3% more than the national average, with a yearly salary of $47,299. This is according to recent data captured by Glassdoor, based on 108 salaries.
- Chicago
Quite interestingly, business development representatives in Chicago make 8% below the national average. The average base pay is $44,617 per year. If you would like to see more stats based on a BDR’s salary in Chicago, please click here.
- New York
If you are looking for a higher salary, then being a BDR in New York might be for you. With salaries 11% above the national average, you can look forward to spoiling yourself a little bit extra every month. The average base salary for a business development representative is $53,832 per year.
- Dallas
Sunny Dallas offers slightly below the national average salary for BDR’s. This was based on data captured by Glassdoor. The average base pay for those who live in Dallas is $47,119 per annum.
- Seattle
Seattle also offers quite a good base pay salary for business development representatives. For example, you can expect a salary that is 5% above the national average. This is roughly $50,763 a year.
- Washington DC
Washington DC’s salaries for a BDR are only 1% below the national average, which isn’t too bad. If you live in this area, you can expect a yearly salary of $48,073. This was based on data provided by Glassdoor of by 709 salaries.
- Los Angeles
With a 7% above average paycheck, it’s no wonder why some BDR’s choose to move to Los Angeles. If you are looking for a higher income, then consider moving to this exciting city. You can expect an average base salary of $52,069.
These were some of the best-paying cities for BDR’s. Most of the averages are similar, with only some being slightly above the average paycheque.
Which Cities Pay The Lowest for Business Development Representatives in America?
Interestingly, these three cities pay the lowest salary rates for business development representatives in the US, as shown by Glassdoor:
- El Paso, Texas
The average yearly salary for a business development rep in El Paso is $36.310.00. This is 31% below the national average salary.
- Sacramento, California
In Sacramento, you can expect an 8% below average salary per year compared to other cities. The annual salary for a business development representative in Sacramento is $44.011.00.
- Charlotte, North Carolina
You can expect a 17% below the national average salary in Charlotte for a business development rep. On average, the salary in Carolina is about $40.612.00 per year.
What is the Difference Between BDR and SDR?
The two job titles might seem similar, but they are, in actual fact, quite different. There is no official definition, but both terms can be separated to make them more transparent.
– A BDR focuses on prospecting outbound leads.
– An SDR focuses on qualifying inbound marketing leads.
One key element that one should notice is that neither one is responsible for closing deals. Instead, the primary purpose is to find the leads and then move them on to more qualified and experienced business closers, such as those in senior positions.
If you would like a more detailed representation of what these acronyms and definitions entail, please see the infographic below by Kalungi. This paints a remarkable picture of the sales process and all those who are key players.
How Much Can a BDR Make?
Some business development representatives are making salaries as high as $79,500 per year, whereas other BDR’s are making as little as $19,000 a year. This is according to data collected via ZipRecruiter. On average, salaries range between $35,000 to $53,000.
As you can see, there is quite a vast salary difference, which means that there is an opportunity for salary advancement depending on your skills.
Do Those Who Work Remotely Make The Same Amount of Money?
Another factor to consider is that due to the Covid 19 pandemic, many employees have started to work remotely. An interesting question to consider is whether sales development representatives and business development representatives make more or less money due to working from home.
The most recent statistics show that almost 3.2% of the entire American workforce work remotely. According to ZipRecruiter, there are 300 jobs listed at the moment for remote positions for sales development representatives. The salaries range between $40K-$129K a year. The average salary for a remote SDR is about $69,505.00 per year.
- ZipRecruiter also shows that there are 164 remote positions for a business development representative in the US.
- Linkedin shows 847 results for remote sales development representatives and 422 results for remote business development positions.
- Indeed.com shows a tremendous amount of work for sales development reps with a whopping 8703 results.
Interestingly findings show that salaries seem to be more or less the same per year for remote workers in this line of work.
What Are Some of the Best Paying Business Representative Jobs in the US? You Might Need to Adjust Your Title… And That’s Okay!
If you are exceptionally skilled, there are 5 BDR jobs that pay higher than usual. These jobs offer salaries between $60,398 and $86,508. As you can see, this is a way higher income than an average of $45,814 for a BDR.
Some of these tops roles are :
- Vice President of Business Development
- Director of Business Development
- Professional Development Manager
- Senior Director of Business Development
How Many Job Openings Are Available Right Now?
Based on ZipRecruiter’s recent job postings, the Business Development Representative job market in both Boardman and the surrounding areas is very active.
On Glassdoor alone, there are 142 job postings available for this position and over 2000 positions available on Linkedin. The good news is that there also seem to be many remote positions available as well. Here is a link to some of the top companies hiring business development representatives this year.
And as mentioned above, there are numerous remote positions available at the moment.
Are there alternatives to hiring a Business or Sales Development Representative?
Yes, there are some alternatives to hiring a full-time BDR. You might want to consider these options if you are thinking of saving costs for your business.
Remember, if you hire a BDR full-time, you will need to pay them a salary each month; as we saw above, this could mean a salary of $3,000 plus a month.
Another option would be to outsource a business development representative to a “Done for you Lead Generation Agency” like Salesbread.
This means that you could hire a company that specifically deals with this aspect of a business. Some people prefer this option as it allows for flexibility and monetary savings. Outsourcing a sales development is still a little more costly but not as expensive as hiring a business development rep full time.
When it comes to hiring someone in-house, you might also need to pay things such as bonuses, pensions, and medical care. Not to mention the time and money you will spend trying to train a new employee.
Fortunately, outsourcing is roughly 63% cheaper than hiring a San Fransico-based BDR, for example. You can get an outsourced BDR for less than 3k/month.
You will also get an experienced team that knows exactly what they are doing, and this also paves the way for you to decide whether or not you would like to hire a BDR full-time one day.
Plus, lead generation agencies do this all day long, so they know exactly what’s happening in the B2B space. This will save you time and money when it comes to training up a BDR in-house.
In Conclusion
There you have it! Everything you need to know about business and sales development representatives in 2021. If you are thinking about becoming one or hiring one, then I hope that this article gives you a better indication of what to expect. From average salaries to some of the US’s best-paying cities, we really hope that you found this article informative. If you are thinking of outsourcing a BDR, please get in touch with us, as we would love to help you reach your business goals.