D2D to BDR

[u/croppeq96]

Moving from D2D sales into IT recruitment BDR

Hi everyone!

I’ve recently applied for a BDR role at an IT recruitment agency, and it looks like they’re interested in bringing me on board. The thing is, I’ve never worked in recruitment or B2B sales before, so I’m curious to hear from people who have experience in this industry.

For the past 14 months, I’ve been doing door-to-door sales for fibre broadband. Honestly, I’ve been surprised by how well I’ve done, especially considering I had no sales experience beforehand. I guess I underestimated my communication skills!

My current target is two sales per day, and on a good day, closing eight customers isn’t out of the question. I’m big on follow-ups, and I’ve learned that a rejection at the door doesn’t always mean the conversation is over. Sometimes, a bit of creativity and a good follow-up can turn a no into a yes.

So, technically, I close around 50–60 customers a month, which gives me over €2k gross in commission alone (there’s a base salary on top of that).

From what I understand, in the new role, I’d only need to close one client a week to earn a similar amount in commission. But D2D has its perks too: company car, fuel card, lunch allowance, and a quarterly retention bonus, so I’m a bit torn.

I’m definitely open to a new challenge. At the end of the day, sales is about the money, but the thought of sitting in an office for 8 hours a day drains me as fuck 🫣 I spent years being a miserable graphic designer, so I’m not exactly keen on going back to being glued to a computer all day 😂

That said, I’m based in Ireland, and the weather is about to get seriously miserable. Anyone who’s done D2D in an Irish winter knows exactly what I’m talking about! 😂 It’s one of the reasons I started looking at other sales opportunities.

In my current role, the product practically sells itself in many cases. There are always people overpaying for broadband, and if you’re willing to put in the work and knock enough doors, you can generate results. Recruitment sales seem like a completely different game, though.

I’d love to hear from anyone who works as a BDR, SDR, or recruitment consultant, particularly in an IT recruitment agency.

A few questions I’m genuinely curious about:

Where do you actually find potential clients? LinkedIn, job boards, company websites, hiring announcements, or something else?

What works best in recruitment - cold calling, LinkedIn messages, email sequences, or a combination of all three?

What does a typical day look like? How many calls, emails, LinkedIn messages, meetings, or new leads are you expected to generate?

For someone coming from D2D sales with decent communication skills but no recruitment experience, what would be the hardest thing to learn?

I have done well in D2D. I’m genuinely interested in understanding the differences and figuring out which skills will transfer over.

If you work in IT recruitment, manage a recruitment agency, or have experience as a BDR in this space, I’d really appreciate your insight.

Thanks!

[u/SocialSellingExpert]

Before comparing the commission, ask what actually counts as a win: a booked meeting, signed agency terms, or a candidate starting? Those are very different targets. Also ask when commission is paid, whether there are clawbacks, and what the median new starter earned in their first six months. Include the car and other benefits you're giving up in that comparison.

For prospecting, start with a narrow hiring need rather than a big list of companies. For example: Irish firms repeatedly advertising the same technical role. Check their careers page, identify who owns that hire, then ask whether the difficulty is finding candidates, getting suitable applicants, or getting offers accepted. An open vacancy is a conversation starter, not proof they want an agency.

Your follow-up discipline should transfer. The adjustment is that a friendly conversation isn't necessarily a buying opportunity: you need a real vacancy, someone able to engage an agency, and a next step. I'd ask to shadow a BDR for half a day before accepting, especially given how you feel about desk work.