BDR Stack Build

The Problem

First BDR headcount hired, no tooling to support them. They were working out of spreadsheets, emailing manually, with no way to verify contact data before sending. Click-through rates looked reasonable but meeting book rates were low, and the deals being generated were too small — they were going in too far down the org.

The Engine

Data layer. Cognism used for net-new prospecting against a defined ICP. All contacts run through ZeroBounce before entering HubSpot — hard bounce rate dropped significantly from day one.

CRM architecture. HubSpot configured with custom lifecycle stages, deal pipeline, and BDR activity properties. Outreach synced bidirectionally so sequence activity reflected in HubSpot without manual logging.

Sequence design. Outreach sequences built by persona and industry vertical. Messaging repositioned toward senior stakeholders — longer sales cycles, but significantly higher AOV and close rates.

Reporting. HubSpot dashboards tracking conversion at each stage: contact created, email sent, reply, meeting booked, SAO. Identified click-to-meeting drop-off as the primary bottleneck and iterated messaging against it.

Outcome

• £1.5M pipeline generated in the first year of outbound function
• 40% close rate on outbound-sourced pipeline
• Higher average deal size — senior stakeholder targeting shifted AOV materially

Tools

• HubSpot
• Cognism
• ZeroBounce
• Outreach