Thinking of Hiring an Agency Business Development Person? Read This First.
Why You Need a Strong Foundation for Agency Business Development
If you run a digital, marketing, or creative agency, chances are you've thought about hiring someone to handle agency business development.
But here’s the thing: agency business development isn’t just about getting someone to do sales. It’s about building a clear system—a structure that helps your team win without relying on guesswork or luck.
In fact, a recent study by Sales Insights Lab found that 42% of sales reps feel they don’t have enough information before making a call. In many agencies, the founder holds all the client knowledge in their head. So when they hire a business development person too soon, without that knowledge transferred or systemised, it usually backfires.
“Hiring a salesperson without the right systems is like building a house without a foundation.”
In this article, I’ll show you what that foundation looks like—and how to know if your agency is really ready to grow through agency business development.
What Is Agency Business Development (And Why Most Get It Wrong)
Agency business development isn’t just outreach or closing deals. It’s the whole system that helps you attract, qualify, and win better clients.
Too many founders make the same mistake: they expect a hire to fix sales problems overnight. Here are two real-world examples of how that plays out.
Story 1: The Wrong Role Mistake
A founder hired a BD person from another agency, hoping they could jump in and start selling. The founder wanted to focus on delivery and hand off sales completely.
The problem? The new hire was used to warm leads from inbound marketing. This agency didn’t have that. The founder expected the BD person to generate their own leads, qualify them, and close the deals.
After 2.5 months in the role – and a full month of waiting before they started – they parted ways. No deals, no momentum. Just four months lost and $25,000 of costs.
Story 2: The All-Things-to-All-People Mistake
Another founder hired a contractor to do full-stack agency business development. Their job was to send outreach, do follow-up calls, qualify leads, and close sales.
In just 8 weeks, they sent over 1,000 messages. Cost? $20,000. Result? Zero sales calls.
The problem was the agency’s offer. It was too broad. The targeting was off. They were trying to be everything to everyone—so they ended up sounding like every other agency out there.
Both founders meant well. But without a proper agency business development foundation, the result was predictable.
The Checklist That Could Save You Tens of Thousands
Before you post a job ad or brief a recruiter, ask yourself:
“Is my agency actually ready to support a BD hire and help them succeed?”
That’s why I created this:
Checklist: Are You Ready to Hire a Salesperson?
It walks you through the 9 essential elements of agency business development, including:
- A clear Ideal Client Profile (ICP) you could run a campaign against
- Why clients choose you—beyond “we do great work”
- Repeatable lead sources (or clarity on who will create them)
- A proven offer that’s priced for profit
- A simple way to track your pipeline (even if it’s just a Google Sheet)
It’s not a generic sales checklist. It’s built specifically for agency business development, with examples, coaching prompts, and a scoring system you can use right away.
What Kind of Agency Business Development Role Do You Actually Need?
This is where a lot of founders go wrong. They expect one person to do everything – generate leads, run calls, write proposals, and manage client relationships.
But there are different types of salespeople, and choosing the right one is key to making agency business development work.
BDR (Business Development Rep)
- Focus: Outreach, cold campaigns, booking meetings
- Best for agencies that already have a strong offer, a clear ICP, and just need more conversations
BDM (Business Development Manager)
- Focus: Discovery calls, proposals, closing deals
- Best for agencies that already have lead flow and need help qualifying and converting
Hiring one person to do both – without a system in place – usually leads to burnout and disappointment.
Pro tip: Start by handing off the part of the process you know best. That way, you can coach them, track what works, and scale with confidence.
The 3 Core Layers of Agency Business Development
To set up any BD hire for success, your agency needs three layers in place:
1. Pipeline Layer
- Are you bringing in a consistent stream of leads each month?
- Do you know where your leads come from?
- What percentage of those become sales-qualified?
Example: You get 20 new leads every month from LinkedIn and referrals. 10 of those become sales-qualified.
Not sure how many leads you need? Read: Most Agencies Need 2-3X the Sales Leads—Here’s How to Find Your Number
2. Process Layer
- Do you have clear sales stages? (Discovery → Proposal → Close)
- Do you use call guides or scripts?
- Do you have proposal templates ready to go?
- Are you tracking sales activity and outcomes?
Example: You use a simple 3-stage process:
- Qualification
- Value & Budget
- Proposal & Close
You track deals in a CRM, or at least in a Google Sheet.
3. Support Layer
- Do you review sales activity weekly?
- Can you coach and support your BD person in their first 90 days?
- Do you have a clean handover from sales to delivery?
Even a great agency business development person will lose momentum fast without support.
Most early hires fail. Not because they’re bad at sales, but because they’re left to figure it out alone.
Systems Sell. Hustle Doesn’t Scale.
When agency founders hire their first salesperson, they often focus too much on the person—and not enough on the system.
But here’s the truth: it’s not the salesperson that drives growth. It’s the system behind them.
You don’t scale agency business development through hustle.
You scale it through repeatability.
Look at founders like Nick Bell, who grew his agency to $1M/month profit in just 12 months. Or Alex Hormozi, who scaled GymLaunch to $2M/month.
They didn’t rely on a “rockstar closer.” They built a sales system—a proven process others could step into and succeed with.
If you don’t have that, you’re exposed.
What Happens When Your Closer Walks?
Without a clear sales process:
- Your entire growth engine walks out the door with them
- You lose momentum and leads overnight
- You start from zero with every new hire
It’s the same problem you see in delivery.
If all your client knowledge lives in one senior team member’s head, you can’t scale.
Sales is no different.
Don’t build your business around a hero.
Build it around a repeatable system.
And here’s the kicker:
According to The Bridge Group, the average ramp-up time for new sales hires is 4.9 months. That’s nearly half a year before you know if they’ll deliver.
Want to reduce that risk?
Make sure your agency business development process is already mapped, tested, and ready to go.
Build the System Before You Hire the Person.
That means:
- Clarifying your Ideal Client Profile and qualification rules
- Mapping your sales stages and messages
- Creating templates, follow-up sequences, and deal trackers
- Reviewing your pipeline every week
When you own the system, you stay in control.
If your first salesperson thrives, you can scale.
If they leave, you still have the playbook.
That’s what a confident, strategic CEO builds toward.
Ready to Scale Sales Without Burning Cash?
Download the Checklist: Are You Ready to Hire a Salesperson?
Includes a self-assessment and simple action plan.
Let’s fill the gaps in your agency business development process—so your next hire succeeds.
