How to hire a business development director

How to hire a business development director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step business development director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a business development director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new business development director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a business development director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The business development director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A business development director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, business development directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of business development directors and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Business Development Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Business Development Director	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$34-92
   Director Of Sales	A sales director is responsible for managing the sales operation of the team, ensuring that members comply with the sales strategies and procedures in meeting sales goals. Sales directors' duties include maintaining consistency of sales targets, providing reports and important updates for sales improvement, managing customers' inquiries and resolving complaints, launching new services to expand product offers, researching the current market trends, and improving sales plans... Show more	$35-80
   Director Of Product Development	A Director of Product Development supervises and implements product development policies, initiatives, and objectives. They conduct market research to determine consumer needs and identify competitors.	$48-94

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Healthcare
   • CRM
   • Patients
   • Customer Relationships
   • Account Management
   • Project Management
   • Client Relationships
   • Sales Process
   • Customer Service
   • Business Relationships
   • Lead Generation
   • Market Trends
   • Revenue Growth
   • Salesforce

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Create and manage business development, government affairs and public relations initiatives to achieve growth objectives for this correctional healthcare company.
   • Achieve access to SVP level resulting in significant new business.
   • Manage network services, e-ticketing and packaging solutions, CRM solutions, message management, and e-provisioning/identity management/security solutions.
   • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
   • Track all sales and marketing activities using a CRM program and analyze data to optimize business development approach and management
   • Collaborate with the marketing team to ensure laser focuse messages at all conferences and trade shows ensuring competitive logistics solution offerings.

   More business development director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your business development director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A business development director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, business development directors' average salary in hawaii is 46% less than in new mexico.
   • Seniority. Entry-level business development directors earn 63% less than senior-level business development directors.
   • Certifications. A business development director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a business development director's salary.

   Average business development director salary

   $117,784yearly

   $56.63 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level business development director salary

   $72,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 13, 2026

   Average business development director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$141,219	$68
   2	Massachusetts	$128,512	$62
   3	Washington	$125,214	$60
   4	Connecticut	$124,891	$60
   5	Michigan	$122,859	$59
   6	North Carolina	$121,708	$59
   7	New Jersey	$120,700	$58
   8	Utah	$120,325	$58
   9	Nevada	$120,265	$58
   10	New York	$118,675	$57
   11	Maryland	$117,913	$57
   12	Missouri	$117,767	$57
   13	Pennsylvania	$116,136	$56
   14	Arizona	$115,647	$56
   15	District of Columbia	$114,739	$55
   16	Georgia	$114,235	$55
   17	Indiana	$114,021	$55
   18	Illinois	$113,636	$55
   19	Colorado	$113,043	$54
   20	Virginia	$112,678	$54

   Average business development director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	alliantgroup	$231,749	$111.42
   2	Baltimore City Community College	$204,342	$98.24
   3	Baker McKenzie	$203,767	$97.96	1
   4	Biogen	$186,406	$89.62	6
   5	Exelixis	$184,032	$88.48	6
   6	Revlon	$183,875	$88.40
   7	Meta	$181,525	$87.27	126
   8	JUUL	$180,916	$86.98	1
   9	Bain & Company	$178,904	$86.01	8
   10	eBay	$178,550	$85.84	2
   11	Superpedestrian	$177,177	$85.18
   12	Incyte	$174,546	$83.92	5
   13	VMware	$174,155	$83.73
   14	Capgemini	$173,681	$83.50	119
   15	FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies	$173,623	$83.47	5
   16	Hearst	$173,081	$83.21	6
   17	Natera	$172,475	$82.92	7
   18	Ernst & Young	$170,350	$81.90	246
   19	Intuit	$169,875	$81.67	61
   20	Amgen	$169,712	$81.59	23

4. Writing a business development director job description

   A business development director job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a business development director job description:

   Business development director job description example

   Thinking about improving your career development and your professional growth? We invite you to join one of the most successful international logistics organizations here at Kuehne+Nagel. Our Charlotte branch is looking for a new Director Business Development to join their Contract Logistics team. Your Role Develops and implements strategic sales plans to accommodate/tie into local BU, region, and corporate goals, determines market strategies & plans to achieve new business targets, researches and develops lists of potential targets, and maintains an up-to-date understanding of industry trends and technical developments that effect target markets. Your Responsibilities
   
   Direct sales activities and achieve performance goals, advises external customer base, contacts, and vendors about sales and advertising programs underway, and analyzes/reviews sales statistics to create a change if/when needed.
   
   Represent company at client meetings, deliver sales presentations to key clients and meet with clients, and assist sales personnel with maintaining relationships, and negotiating closing deals.
   
   Interface between sales department and other departments within/outside of the company, prepares necessary sales reports showing sales volume, potential sales, and areas of proposed client base expansion, and carries out responsibilities following our policies and applicable laws.
   
   May also have additional responsibilities following a specific division(s) / territory (ies), involvement, and be tasked with specific, individualized assignments, monitors and evaluating the activities and offerings of the competition, and recommends budget, expenditures, capital appropriations and manage sales budget for the region.
   
   Tasked with sales revenue/profit growth for targets for vertical and development of creative solutions.
   Your Skills and Experiences Bachelor's degree in Business or equivalent experience. Requires 8 years of sales field experience with at least 3 years in a sales management position or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience with Logistics processes and solutions. Management within a matrix organization and negotiation skills. Good Reasons to Join We offer a great compensation package, medical, dental, vision, and retirement benefits package, employee discounts, tuition reimbursement, excellent training programs and a global work environment. At Kuehne + Nagel we strive daily to Empower not only to our customers but colleagues. With over 79000 employees at some 1,300 locations in over 100 countries, the Kuehne + Nagel Group is one of the world's leading logistics companies. As an employer, Kuehne + Nagel stands for equal opportunity, and we are committed to diversity in our teams with regard to people with disabilities. We believe that you can make a valuable contribution to Kuehne + Nagel and look forward to receiving your application. Kuehne + Nagel is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity ("EEO") and to compliance with all federal, state, and local laws that prohibit workplace discrimination and unlawful retaliation. Kuehne + Nagel strictly prohibits all discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, color, age, national origin, ethnicity, religious creed or belief, physical or mental disability, marital or familial status, legally protected medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical condition), gender (including gender identity and gender expression), sexual orientation, citizenship status, protected activity (such as opposition to or reporting of prohibited discrimination or harassment. Kuehne + Nagel will also make reasonable accommodations for disabled applicants and employees, including accommodations for pregnancy and childbirth, and for the sincerely held religious beliefs of applicants and employees depending upon individual circumstances unless such accommodation would create an undue hardship on Kuehne + Nagel.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right business development director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your business development director job on Zippia to find and recruit business development director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with business development director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new business development director

   Once you've selected the best business development director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new business development director. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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