The Age-Old Question: Who Should be Involved in BD?

The answer, according to PSMJ’s salary survey, is almost everyone! From the Chairman of the Board to a junior project manager, your people need to be involved. And who better to sell your firm and services than those who know it best.

Here’s the breakdown of average percent time spent on BD activities by personnel category, as reported in the 2013 PSMJ A/E Management Compensation Benchmark Report:

Position	Time Allocated to BD Activities (%)
Chairman of the Board	30
Chief Executive Officer	29
Executive Vice President	28
Senior Vice President	26
Other Principals	23
Director of Finance	3
Controller	7
Business Manager	13
Director of Administration	1
Director of Operations	18
Director of Quality Control	8
Director of Business Development	68
Director of Human Resources	3
Director of Computer Operations	5
Branch Office Manager	21
Department Head	19
Senior Project Manager	11
Junior Project  Manager	7

Follow these tips to increase participation from key people:

* Senior executives. Include them in the BD accountability list. This list provides a reminder that, without clients, your organization is nothing. And who knows the top echelon at your best clients’ organizations better than your senior executives?

* Director of operations. He or she may enjoy the day-to-day in-house routine of running the office. Assign specific BD responsibilities such as client sponsor roles to this individual. Who else knows the full scope of services the operation can provide and war stories to back it up?

* Junior project managers. When a staff engineer gets promoted to any “project manager” role, be sure to sit down with the new PM and clearly state your expectations related to business development. And assign a good mentor (see article on page xx).

You have a wealth of BD assets. Take every opportunity to involve your personnel at all levels!