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What Kodak's Digital Camera Can Teach B2B Teams About Their Own #FolkloreDebt
In 1975, a Kodak engineer built the first working digital camera. And yet what followed wasn't a transformation, rather, it was careful management. Digital was licensed, developed slowly, kept at a safe distance from what had made Kodak one of the most valuable companies in the world — film. Digital photography never quite…
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Folklore Debt: The Stories That Build B2B Companies — and the Ones That Hold Them Back
Hi all, Yesterday we teased the release of our new framework Folklore Debt. We're really excited to be sharing it with you today. Like technical debt, folklore debt accumulates when the stories that once drove success outlive the conditions that made them true — quietly shaping decisions long after they should have been…
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New Framework coming tomorrow — Folklore Debt
Every B2B company has a story about how it first won. The scrappy outbound team that outsold everyone. The inbound engine that flooded the pipeline. The founder who cold-called their way to $10M. Those stories are real — and they were earned. The problem is what happens to them over time. They stop being context and start…
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BDR outreach volume has nearly doubled but it's not predicting performance
Hi all! Back with more from year 5 of our BDR research. Outreach volume has nearly doubled. BDRs now average ~34 touches per contact, up from ~17 in 2024. Every channel is up — email, calls, social — and the pace is almost identical across all BDRs: roughly 4 to 5 touches per week. What differs is how long cadences run.…
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Job support is the most reliable predictor of BDR performance — for the 5th year.
Hi all! Happy Day 4 of BDR Appreciation Week! Coming from an org psych background, this is absolutely one of my favorite kinds of findings to see in data. BDRs who feel clearly supported in their role average 100% quota attainment. Those who don't: 77%. "Supported" in our data means having the tools, training, and…
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9 in 10 BDRs Multithread -- Here's What the Top Teams Do Differently
Happy Day 3 of BDR Appreciation Week! Back with more from this year's BDR research: 91% of BDRs say they multi-thread into accounts — and that number has been statistically similar for the past few years. So multithreading itself might not be what separates teams anymore, but what happens within it does. Reaching two…
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What cut "wrong timing" rejections from 78% to 44% in our BDR data?
Happy Day 2 of BDR Appreciation Week! Continuing to share findings from year 5 of our BDR research — this one connects to what I shared yesterday about account prioritization tools and performance targets. "Wrong timing" is the #1 reason prospects tell BDRs no. But how often reps hear it depends a lot on how their…
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Celebrating BDRs + New Research
Each year, BDR Appreciation Week is our chance to celebrate the hard work, resilience, and pipeline-driving contributions of BDRs and SDRs — and to check in on how the role is evolving. We survey BDRs annually to understand what they're experiencing day to day, and this year we asked more questions than ever. We're excited…
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New BDR research is coming next week!
Hi all, Every year, we take BDR Appreciation Week as an opportunity to celebrate the hard work, resilience, and pipeline-driving contributions of BDRs and SDRs — and to check in on how the role is evolving. As part of that, we survey BDRs on their day-to-day experiences, and this year, we asked more questions than ever,…
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Wednesday Wisdom: 4 Dimensions of Prior Experience Buyers Bring to Evaluations
Our buyer experience research has shed a lot of light on how much prior experience buyers bring with them into new evaluations — vendor relationships, past evaluations that ended in success, those that didn't result in a purchase, implementations, failed solutions, solutions that earned promotions, and much else. In our…
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Wednesday Wisdom: Top of Funnel or, Ton of Hope
Hi all, More from Kerry on “funnel” thinking — how often do we hear, read, and use terms like TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU ourselves? They roll off the tongue… a little too well 😄 But how many of us can actually define them? And how often would those definitions be the same? It’s part of the problem. These terms are used to mean…
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2026 BDR Research Update
Hi all, We're about to close the books on this year's BDR survey. We had over 700 BDRs participate🤩 Thanks to all those who contributed. We're looking forward to writing up the results - we're already picking up on so many interesting stories in the data. So many new questions added this year, and so many oldies we've been…
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The TOFU-Gumball Fallacy
Hi all, Sharing our head of research @Kerry's take on the TOFU-gumball fallacy 🍬 A useful reframing of funnel thinking: buyers aren’t sitting in TOFU waiting to be pushed forward. Buying processes emerge irregularly and often outside vendor visibility, which means funnels reflect measurement frameworks more than buyer…
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Wednesday Wisdom: New Sci of B2B Reads
Hi all, We’ve added a bunch of new content to the Science of B2B homepage. Our Head of Research is a typing machine, and he always brings so much wisdom and thoughtful perspective! Head over to our page for a ton of new good reads. Here's one of my faves: The Only Door Problem: Why B2B Keeps Mistaking the Channel for the…
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Metric Monday: Are BDR Teams Still Growing?
Last year, nearly 80% of BDRs said their organizations were either hiring or maintaining headcount. I’m interested to see how that number has changed — if at all — over the past year, especially given Gallup’s latest global polling showing the economy remains the top concern worldwide. How many organizations have had to…
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Metric Monday: BDR AI Adoption
Hey all, In 2024, just over half of BDRs (53%) reported using AI tools in their jobs. That number rose to 62% in 2025—and I’m very curious how it looks this year. We’re currently collecting responses for our annual State of the BDR study and would love to hear from you if you’re a current BDR/SDR. As a thank-you, you’ll…
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BDRs/SDRs - share your experience + $10 UberEats on us!
Hey BDRs! It’s that time of year again — our annual State of the BDR study is open. Each year, hundreds of BDRs take part to help build an industry benchmark on how the role is evolving, especially as things change with AI and market conditions. If you are actively prospecting and qualifying prospects, we’d love to hear…
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Wednesday Wisdom: Research on Top Drivers of Final Vendor Choice in B2B
Happy Wednesday, all! Brand familiarity seems to be the baseline requirement for most spots on B2B shortlists, but things like solution features, ease of implementation, and price also move the needle when it comes to the final pick. This deep dive report examines the drivers behind the final “yes” — how buying teams come…
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Wednesday Wisdom: Never Say Never
Hi everyone, I'd love to share another deep-dive report we wrote based on our most recent Buyer Experience research. On Monday I posted about buyers extensive experience evaluating solutions/vendors. What this report explores is just how durable that experience is. Buying groups carry it forward into shortlists, early…
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Metric Monday: How Many Formal Evaluations Has the Average Buyer Completed?
Happy 2026, y'all! I'm looking forward to the year ahead and all the research we will discuss here in Research Road 🙂 New year, new buying group? Not really. Our Buyer Experience research shows buyers bring extensive experience to the table. The average B2B buyer has been through eight to nine formal purchase journeys in…