6sense spotlight | Marcin Baga

The role of a BDR manager is to guide your BDRs in their career through training, development, and support.

Marcin Baga, Senior Sales Development Manager at 6sense has been leading a high-performing team at 6sense for the last 2.6 years, so we sat down with him to figure out his secret to success.

The backstory

International business graduate, Marcin didn’t know what he wanted to do in his career but was always drawn to industries that were fast developing and disruptive. Mixed with his competitive nature, and desire to make money, SaaS was the perfect fit.

Throughout his career, he started as an BDR at Syncoms, before moving to Bazaarvoice and then KORE Wireless where he was leading a BDR team across APAC and EMEA.

Why 6sense?

“When I was at KORE, I actually wasn’t looking for a new job, however, 6sense approached me for the role of BDR Manager and I was instantly drawn to the care and effort they showed. Throughout the whole recruitment process, they made me feel special, the whole team reached out to introduce themselves, not just the recruiter, and they didn’t look at me as a candidate.

I learnt a lot from them in that process and that has impacted the way I recruit for my team. I try to make the experience for each person unique.”

One of my mentors once said to me: “It’s not about the job title, it’s about the opportunity.”

Although I had the opportunity to move into a director role at my previous organisation, I chose to leave and accept the position that 6sense offered me because of the opportunity that came with it.

Additionally to their approach, Marcin was intrigued by 6sense’s Product, People, and Process.

What makes a successful BDR

Currently expanding his team, Marcin shared with us the key traits he looks for in the recruitment process and in his view, what makes a successful BDR.

• How quickly you learn - The job itself and the industry is constantly changing so it’s important candidates can showcase their adaptability and ability to constantly learn new things and up skill.
• Someone who’s not afraid of taking their own initiatives, being brave and managing up. You are the CEO of your own Enterprise so should be able to showcase your independence.
• Confidence- By confidence, I dont mean to be the loudest person in the room. You have to have self belief and confidence as on a daily basis you are managing relationships with different stakeholders whether that’s internally or externally.

Tips for being a successful BDR Manager

As a leader you need to be able to adapt to different personalities and styles of your reps. Identify who you’re working with and how they like to be managed.

There isn’t one style of management that will fit your whole team.

For example: I have some reps that thrive from working independently. They need very few check ins, and don’t need constant support. On the flip side, other BDRs prefer daily check ins and look for regular communication and to run most things past me.

Have open communication and speak to your team transparently. Let them know how things are going, even if they aren’t going great. This will help your team understand the business better, and be more bought in to internal changes.

Support your team. Support doesn’t mean giving them tools and tell them to do their job. It means showing them how to use those tools.

Lastly, respect each other. You must show respect to gain respect.

Key team highlights

🚀 70% of all BDRs I’ve hired have been promoted internally within 6sense

💥 Worked closely with a BDR who was really struggling to turn his performance around hitting his target for 9 consecutive months, achieving at least 120%, resulting in a promotion to AE within 18 months

🤝Helped a BDR that thought they wanted to become an AE realise that her skill set was better suited to Client Success, and has since been promoted to a CSM

Why a diverse team means a high-performing team

Diversity brings people from different backgrounds together which helps introduce new ideas to the table and you to look at challenges from different perspectives.

Through his time at 6sense, Marcin’s highest performing team was over 50% female.

“Diversity translated to performance and I don’t think there is a better way to prove why diverse teams work.”

When we hire, we make sure we give equal opportunities to everyone and always have a diverse pipeline of candidates to interview.

The future of BDRs and AI

We couldn’t end the interview without asking Marcin about his view on the future of the BDR role and how AI plays into that.

“AI is supporting BDRs and making their job easier and more interesting. They have more time to speak to prospects, do more discover and polish their skills to progress in their career.

People shouldn’t be fearful that the role of a BDR will be made redundant to AI because people buy from people. AI can’t do discovery calls and build relationships with prospects, but it can help you do your job more efficiently and get you to where you want to be in your career faster.”

If you would like to hear more about 6sense, their open opportunities, or to connect with Marcin, click here.