Business development representatives (BDRs) spearhead a company’s sales process, acting as the first point of contact for customers. They bridge the gap between marketing and sales, generating leads that are passed on to the sales team, which is ultimately responsible for closing the sales. This is why BDRs, like Riley Cordeiro, are integral to Reciprocity’s sales pipeline – and success.
Becoming a BDR
While Riley received a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, her first job after college wasn’t actually in Marketing. After graduating from the University of Alabama, she became a Sales representative for a company that specializes in industrial automation – and quickly realized that Sales wasn’t her passion. So, she tried recruiting, which wasn’t a fit either. She knew she wanted to be in Marketing, and persevered until she learned about a Marketing Development Representative role at Reciprocity.
“We help market Reciprocity’s solutions to prospective customers, creating a positive introduction to the company that helps our Sales representatives sell our solutions. We make calls, send emails, and even use social media to connect with people who have attended our events or downloaded white papers from our website – our prospective customers. Basically, I’m here to provide them with any additional information they might need, or to answer any questions they might have, to ensure Reciprocity can help with their business challenges.”
Getting Social
Riley’s role has expanded considerably since she first joined the company in 2021. She is now a Senior BDR, leading a team of her BDR colleagues as they work together to create business opportunities for the company. In addition, she’s taken a more active role in Reciprocity’s social media program, helping to build the company’s digital presence in a way that raises awareness of the company’s brand while also connecting with customers and partners.
“I’m really enjoying being part of the social media team. It’s helping me learn so much more about our products as I need to do a lot of reading of our blogs and reports to help me write copy for our social posts. We try to have fun with our social media, so I get to be a little more creative with what I write as well. That’s the nice thing about working in tech – it’s always evolving, so there’s always something interesting we can post about.”
What Comes Next
While Riley has already done so much, in such a short amount of time, she’s already looking toward what will come next in her career. She definitely wants to do more social media in the near term. But her long-term goal is to eventually become a Chief Marketing Officer, which will means learning about – and getting involved in – a full range of marketing disciplines over the coming years. And while she recognizes it will take time to get there, she’s confident her career is already heading in the right direction.
“One thing that I really appreciate about Reciprocity is the recognition I get for what I do. It just makes me want to work even harder, to learn even more, and to help my team – and the company – achieve all our goals. I feel incredibly lucky to be here – I tried sales, I tried recruiting, and I wasn’t into either of them. Reciprocity gave me a chance with Marketing Development and here I am, a year and half later, and I’m still loving it!”
New Opportunities
Reciprocity continues to grow at an exponential rate, which is creating new career opportunities for people like Riley, who are always ready for the next challenge. We know there is much more to come from Riley, so definitely keep an eye on her – and her LinkedIn profile – to track her career!
Interested in a career at Reciprocity? Check out our current job openings.