Business development is one of the most complex jobs in an agency. Period. It’s high-pressure, filled with rejection, and misunderstood by the very people who hire for it.
How tough is it? The average tenure of an agency business development (BD) person is just under two years (RSW/US). Let that sink in.
Twenty-four months isn't a lot of time to design, prototype, test, launch, and optimize an effective agency business development program. Yet, agencies routinely fire BD hires before they even have a chance to succeed.
So, why does this keep happening? More importantly, how can agencies break this cycle and finally get business development right?
The Agency Business Development Hiring Problem
It's a small talent pool. Finding a great agency business development person is unlike hiring for a typical sales role. As someone who's been building and running successful agency business development programs for almost 25 years, I may be biased, but I think it’s a rare skill set, and the talent pool is far smaller than most agency owners realize.
Think about the skillset required to succeed as a business development director:
- Defining the Ideal Client Problem(s) your agency is uniquely excellent at solving. Something many agency owners themselves struggle with daily.
- Understand the agency’s positioning well enough to sell it effectively. This means dissecting what makes the agency different and then crafting that into a differentiating positioning that appeals to your Ideal Client Profile.
- Build trust with marketing decision-makers. Clients aren’t just hiring an agency; they’re putting their own reputation on the line. If they pick the wrong partner, it can cost them their job. That means a BD person has to know how to sell without selling—guiding the client toward a decision without making them feel pressured.
- Create and deliver Perfect Pitches. Most agency pitches and pitch decks leave much to be desired. Rare is the person who understands and leverages the science of persuasion to build and deliver (or guide the team in delivering) powerful pitches that consistently win your agency new clients.
- Endure constant rejection. The best BD people understand that success is a numbers game. They don’t get discouraged when they hear “no” (which happens a lot) because they know that every “no” gets them closer to the next “yes.”
- Build an effective, repeatable process. The best BD people aren't the ones that win the most pitches during their tenure. The best ones are the ones who build a system that continues to generate opportunities long after they're gone.
Most agency owners don’t fully appreciate how difficult this is. They assume that because someone is good at networking, they’ll be good at biz dev. Or they promote a magnificent account director into the role, expecting them to magically develop the persistence and strategic thinking required for new business. Or, my personal favorite, they hire a former media salesperson, wrongly assuming that person's rolodex will contain a plethora of qualified leads for the agency.
This is where the hiring mistakes begin.
The Four Business Development Personas That Fail (And Why Agencies Keep Hiring Them)
Not every bad BD hire is a lousy salesperson. In fact, many of them are very good at something—just not agency business development.
But, far too often, the Agency Owner, who many times is not an effective salesperson, often hires people based on surface-level skills instead of the more nuanced, strategic abilities found in successful business development directors.
Here's the four most common agency business development personas that I see agencies hire—and why I think these types inevitably fail.
You know this type. They walk into a room and immediately light it up. They’re effortlessly charming, can talk to anyone, and make connections quickly. They seem natural for business development because, after all, isn’t biz dev just about building relationships?
Not exactly.
The Charismatic Talker is great at starting conversations but struggles to turn those conversations into actual business opportunities. Why? Because they mistake friendliness for persuasion. They think that if they just keep chatting, making connections, and attending events, deals will eventually fall into their lap. But business development isn’t just about being liked—it’s about moving opportunities forward.
What you’ll notice with this type:
But here's the problem:
If you’ve hired a Charismatic Talker, you’ll probably hear a lot about the next big client that’s “so interested” but just needs more time. But time keeps passing, and nothing ever seems to materialize.
What to do instead: The best biz dev people balance charm with strategy. They know how to build rapport and direct a conversation toward a business decision. When hiring a business development person, don’t just look at how well they talk—ask them how they move a deals from conversation to close.
Some agencies believe business development is a numbers game. They think that if they just make enough calls, send enough emails, and book enough meetings, new business will follow. And so they hire a Cold Caller—someone who can hammer through a contact list, hit aggressive outreach quotas, and book meeting after meeting.
At first, it seems like a dream hire. Suddenly, you’re getting more meetings than ever. But soon, a pattern emerges:
That’s because effective business development isn’t about outreach volume—it’s about outreach quality.
What you'll notice about this type:
But here's the problem:
If you’ve hired a Cold Caller, your agency will feel like it’s running in place—lots of activity, but not much progress. You’ll have plenty of meetings but no real traction.
What to do instead: Agency Business Development is about long-term relationship-building. Instead of hiring someone who just hits numbers, find someone who understands how to nurture a lead over time—someone who focuses on warming up prospects before pushing for a meeting. And knows the difference between a meeting and the right meeting.
This one is especially common in agencies because it seems like such a logical move.
An account director already knows how to talk to clients. They understand the agency’s capabilities, they’ve built relationships with brands, and they can represent the agency well. So why not just have them handle business development?
Because business development and account management are two completely different skill sets.
A great account director is a problem solver. They focus on keeping clients happy, navigating internal agency challenges, and making sure projects run smoothly. They are reactive, meaning they are at their best when responding to client needs.
But BD requires someone who is proactive—someone who thrives on uncertainty, can handle rejection, and is comfortable putting themselves out there with zero guarantee of success.
What you’ll notice with this type:
But here's the problem:
If you’ve hired an Account Director turned biz dev director, you’ll notice that they do everything except actual business development or sales. They’ll work on proposal decks, help with positioning, and assist in strategy sessions—but they won’t actively go out and chase new business.
What to do instead: If you’re considering transitioning an account director into business development, be honest about their personality. Are they someone who loves the thrill of the chase, or do they prefer the stability of long-term client relationships? If it’s the latter, they will burn out in business development. Do your agency a favor and keep them where they belong (and add value) -- account management.
This is the biz dev hire that feels like a dream come true—at first. They don’t just set meetings; they close deals. They walk into the agency on day one, pick up the phone, and bring in revenue. No ramp-up time. No hesitation.
Unlike the Charismatic Talker, who makes connections, or the Cold Caller, who sets up meetings that go nowhere, this person delivers. They have a strong personal network, they exude confidence, and their contacts deeply trust them. In fact, you might not even fully understand how they’re winning deals—it seems to happen effortlessly. You start to believe that business development is finally working for your agency.
Until one day, they leave.
And when they do, your entire new business pipeline disappears with them.
What you’ll notice with this type:
But here's the problem:
If you’ve hired a Lone Wolf, you’ll feel like the days of relying on referrals and invitations to pitch are finally over; like someone other than YOU is driving agency growth.
But, business development isn’t just about getting new clients—it’s about building a sustainable process to keep getting new clients, regardless of who is driving the process.
If the person you’re hiring can’t create that system, then you’re not really building an agency business development program. You’re renting one.
What to do instead: Hire a business development director who has demonstrative proof of a structured, repeatable approach—not just someone with a strong network or sales skills. They should be able to document their process, integrate it with your agency’s existing systems, and create a program that outlives their tenure. So your agency isn’t left starting over if they leave.
The Expectation Gap: The Myth of Overnight Success
This is the single biggest reason agencies fire their business development leaders too soon or give up trying new approaches: they expect results too fast.
Yes, there are some prospects actively looking for a new agency today. But the average client-agency relationship lasts three years (source). That means most client-side decision-makers aren’t actively looking for a new agency.
That's why your agency's business development should focus on building relationships for tomorrow, not pitches that close today. The business development work done today often doesn’t pay off for months, sometimes even years. And that's ok.
If you've done it correctly, it's like a flywheel. It takes a lot of work to get it started, but once spinning, just the occasional light tap keeps it spinning and throwing off new leads day in and day out.
The Best Way to Hire an Agency Business Development Person
Once you accept that business development isn’t optional, the next question is: How should you resource it? Most agencies land on one of two options—both of which have clear advantages, risks, and trade-offs.
Option 1: Invest in a System Instead of a Person
Instead of hiring a business development director, some agencies opt to invest in a known biz dev system or course—something designed by a consultant who teaches you their proprietary process, helps you ramp up, and gives you the tools to generate leads on your own.
It’s a step up from what most agencies have now (which is usually no system at all), but there’s a catch: once the consultant leaves, it’s up to you to continue to power the system or teach someone else to run it in your place. Otherwise,
- You still have to generate and nurture leads.
- You still have to do the outreach and follow-ups.
- You still have to engage in the sales conversations and close deals personally.
So while it’s an improvement—at least you have a process—it still leaves you doing all the work. And if you’re already stretched thin running the agency, keeping your new biz dev program alive in your spare time is easier said than done.
Option 2: Hire a Full-Time Business Development Director
The other option is to hire a dedicated business development person, giving you the potential for high reward—more new business, more consistency, and most importantly, your time back. Instead of juggling biz dev alongside client work, you have someone entirely focused on driving agency growth.
But as I’ve shown throughout this article, it’s also high risk.
Even if you hire the right person (which is rare), the cost alone is significant. A truly skilled and experienced business development director—someone who can build a system, not just execute tasks—will easily cost six figures in salary, benefits, and incentives. Hiring someone without that level of experience? That’s just setting yourself up for failure.
So what's a stressed-out agency owner to do?
The Dirty Little Business Development Secret (That No One Tells You)
Here’s what most successful business development executives won’t tell you—and what I never told my the president of the agency until after I resigned from my first VP of business development position back in the 90's🤔
You don’t actually need to pay for a high-salaried biz dev executive forever.
Yes, in the beginning, you need a seasoned, accomplished business development leader to build, launch, and run your agency business development program. But once they’ve done that—once the program is running smoothly—the role becomes largely executional.
This means that once the system is in place, most of the day-to-day tasks can be handled by a mid-level biz dev person, trained by that high-priced biz dev expert, but who now runs your very successful biz dev program at a fraction of the cost.
The smartest agencies understand this. They invest in fractional business development expertise for a year to 18 months while building and optimizing their program—and then transition to a lower-cost team member to keep it going.
Planned obsolescence. That’s how you de-risk your decision to scale new business without breaking the bank.
Looking For a Fractional Business Development Executive for Your Agency?
You're in luck. I know a guy.
Just click here to see if he has fractional business development director engagements still available.
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This post was originally published on Painless Prospecting, the weekly sales and marketing blog created by the fine folks at Converse Digital. If you want to learn how to create, engage in, and convert conversations into new clients and customers, give them a call.
