Key takeaways
- An ADR starts from accounts the company has already chosen, not from a pile of leads.
- Depth beats volume: the job is several well-researched threads into each account.
- ADRs share each account with an account executive and often with an account-based marketing lead.
- Success is a meeting with the right people at a chosen account, not a count of emails sent.
How an ADR's week is organised
An ADR's week is organised around a short list of accounts instead of a long list of contacts. Each account gets a plan: why it was chosen, what the company is trying to do this year, which teams would feel the problem the product solves and who already knows the vendor.
Most of the time goes on research and mapping before any message is sent. The ADR builds a picture of the buying group, finds a reason to talk that is specific to the account, then works the plan across email, phone and LinkedIn until someone agrees to meet.
- Keep an account plan for every named company on the list.
- Map the departments and job titles likely to take part in a purchase.
- Track news, hires and announcements that give a reason to get in touch.
- Write openers that only make sense for that one company.
- Book meetings and brief the account executive before the first call.
Account development representative vs SDR
The difference between an ADR and an SDR is the starting point. A sales development representative usually works inbound leads or a territory and qualifies whoever shows interest; an account development representative is handed named companies and has to create interest inside them.
That changes the craft. An SDR is judged on how quickly and consistently they work a flow of leads; an ADR on how well they understand a handful of organisations. Some companies use BDR for the outbound version of the SDR job, so the three titles overlap, but ADR almost always means the account-led variant.
What account based sales development looks like in practice
Account based sales development is prospecting that treats each target company as its own campaign. As an illustration, picture an ADR whose list includes a mid-sized freight forwarder that has just opened a new warehouse.
Rather than one message to one manager, the ADR writes to the operations director about the new site, to the finance lead about the cost of running two locations and to the IT manager about connecting the new team's systems. Each message stands on its own, and the account executive joins once one of them replies. The point is multi-threading from the first touch, so the deal does not depend on one contact.
The ADR's manager and closest colleagues
An ADR usually reports to a sales development manager, or to the head of sales in a smaller team. Day to day they work in pairs or pods with account executives, who own the opportunity once a meeting happens.
Marketing is the other close neighbour. Where a company runs account-based marketing, the ADR and the marketing lead agree the same target list, so ads, events and outreach reach the same accounts in the same weeks instead of by accident.
Pitching a tool to an ADR team
Pitching a tool to an ADR team works when it is about depth rather than volume. Their managers care about the quality of research behind each message and the time it takes to map an account, so tools that send more email faster are less interesting than tools that help them understand one company well.
The buyer is usually the sales development manager or head of sales, with sales operations checking how the tool fits the CRM. Show the product on one of their real target accounts and be specific about where the data comes from.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
- CapabilityProspecting & customer recordsFind fresh leads takes 1 to 10 named target companies, at least one role and one location, and returns 1 to 100 leads a run from Pebbles Ai's own growing B2B contact database, with work emails where found and a confidence score.
- CapabilityResearch & analysisResearch reads a target company's website and public sources and returns findings with numbered citations, so the reasons behind an account plan can be checked.
- CapabilityOutreach contentOutreach drafts account-specific emails and LinkedIn messages with a personality for each piece; emails are saved as drafts in the connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox, and LinkedIn messages are yours to send.
Common questions
Is an ADR the same as a BDR?
Not quite. A BDR usually prospects outbound across a territory or segment, while an ADR works a fixed list of named accounts chosen in advance; some companies use the titles loosely, so check the job description.
How many accounts does an ADR usually cover?
It depends on deal size and how deep the research goes. Teams selling large contracts give each ADR fewer accounts so every one can be mapped properly.
Does an account development representative close deals?
Rarely. The ADR creates the first meeting and hands the opportunity to an account executive, though they often stay involved while new contacts at the account are brought in.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
