What does a director of client development do?
A director of client development is a management executive who is responsible for managing business development managers to provide customer service to clients. This director is required to identify and secure business opportunities to support new revenue growth for the organization. The director must develop sales strategies for new account prospects and secure profitable new business by managing marketing activities, performing competitive analysis, and conducting client meetings. This director must also meet with the organization's chief operations officer to review their sales efforts and build territory business plans.
Director of client development responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real director of client development resumes:
- Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
- Direct and secure all new business - from prospecting and cultivating relationships through RFP development and contract negotiations.
- Full service marketing company with an emphasis on client's ROI for advertising.
- Create proposals, presentations and RFP's to upper management base on specific needs and budgetary constraints.
- Collaborate with senior leadership team on strategy to improve win rate, ROI and other growth goals.
- Implement a CRM approach with focus on account profiling, tactical and strategic planning and elevating levels of relationship selling.
- Report directly to the company principals of a healthcare reimbursement company.
- Leverage technology and improve CRM utilization to improve communications flow and inside/outside sales productivity.
- Provide strategic and innovative consultation and training to institutions of higher learning, healthcare, non-profit and for-profit organizations.
- Initiate regional campaign to assess and grow field readiness of sales team to effectively communicate corporate software solutions and capabilities.
- Organize scheduling and forecasting activities for the Mid-Atlantic region.
Director of client development skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of Directors Of Client Development are proficient in Client Facing, Digital Marketing, and Client Relationships. They’re also known for soft skills such as Customer-service skills, Leadership skills, and Analytical skills.
We break down the percentage of Directors Of Client Development that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Client Facing, 10%
Traveled both internationally and domestically in support of the Accredited Training program and client facing on site business development dealings.
- Digital Marketing, 9%
Partner with clients/prospects to develop and implement effective digital marketing campaigns.
- Client Relationships, 9%
Developed and maintained executive client relationships and was an active participant in consulting engagements up to delivery from suppliers.
- Account Management, 7%
Monitored divisional credit quality through constant application of decision variables and effective account management.
- Salesforce, 5%
Developed and implemented effective sales, marketing and business development plans, including acquisition and integration of market database into SalesForce.com.
- Java, 5%
Created a Java application to load data to MS Access database from AS/400 and RS/6000 production systems using FTP.
Common skills that a director of client development uses to do their job include "client facing," "digital marketing," and "client relationships." You can find details on the most important director of client development responsibilities below.
Customer-service skills. One of the key soft skills for a director of client development to have is customer-service skills. You can see how this relates to what directors of client development do because "when helping to make a sale, sales managers must listen and respond to the customer’s needs." Additionally, a director of client development resume shows how directors of client development use customer-service skills: "keep abreast of industry related knowledge, customer trends and competition in order to adapt company product development and marketing efforts. "
Leadership skills. Many director of client development duties rely on leadership skills. "sales managers must be able to evaluate how their sales staff performs and must develop strategies for meeting sales goals.," so a director of client development will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways director of client development responsibilities rely on leadership skills: "collaborated with senior leadership team on strategy to improve win rate, roi and other growth goals. "
Analytical skills. This is an important skill for directors of client development to perform their duties. For an example of how director of client development responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "sales managers must collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and demographic groups, and determine the most effective sales strategies." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a director of client development: "created a java application to load data to ms access database from as/400 and rs/6000 production systems using ftp. ".
Communication skills. A big part of what directors of client development do relies on "communication skills." You can see how essential it is to director of client development responsibilities because "sales managers need to work with colleagues and customers, so they must be able to communicate clearly." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical director of client development tasks: "recognized new business opportunities through salesforce analysis and created reports which changed future communication with prospective clients. "
The three companies that hire the most director of client developments are:
- Live Nation Entertainment8 directors of client development jobs
- JPMorgan Chase & Co.7 directors of client development jobs
- Inmar5 directors of client development jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable director of client development resume templates
Build a professional director of client development resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your director of client development resume.
Compare different directors of client development
Director of client development vs. Client services director
A client services director is responsible for maintaining healthy business relationships with clients, ensuring that operational teams provide the highest quality services for the clients, following their deliverables and business requirements. Client services directors oversee project management procedures, identifying inconsistencies, and revising business plans to improve outputs and achieve client satisfaction. They also recommend cost-reduction techniques, as well as processes to maximize productivity and enhance the utilization of resources. A client services director coordinates with the clients for progress updates, as well as informing them of adjustments and opportunities for business development.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, director of client development responsibilities require skills like "client relationships," "salesforce," "java," and "software development." Meanwhile a typical client services director has skills in areas such as "customer service," "business development," "excellent interpersonal," and "project management." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Client services directors tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $120,175. In contrast, directors of client development make the biggest average salary, $99,672, in the finance industry.The education levels that client services directors earn slightly differ from directors of client development. In particular, client services directors are 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a director of client development. Additionally, they're 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of client development vs. National director
A national director is responsible for designing, developing, and implementing strategic plans for an organization. As the national director, you are expected to oversee the organization's day-to-day operations that include developing business plans and managing departments and staff. Other duties that you perform include evaluating the performance of employees, cultivating good relationships with other decision-makers and leaders, and implementing new strategies to increase profitability. As the national director, you are also responsible for directing and overseeing business development initiatives across the region.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real director of client development resumes. While director of client development responsibilities can utilize skills like "client facing," "digital marketing," "salesforce," and "java," national directors use skills like "project management," "customer service," "oversight," and "veterans."
National directors earn a higher average salary than directors of client development. But national directors earn the highest pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $127,805. Additionally, directors of client development earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $99,672 annually.national directors earn similar levels of education than directors of client development in general. They're 2.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Director of client development vs. Managing director
A Managing Director oversees workflow and progress, making sure that all operations align within the company or organization's mission or set of goals. They are responsible for crafting strategies, devising effective business plans, and executing guidelines that would nurture a company's growth, and as well as to be the driving force that would direct employees to the company's objectives. Furthermore, a Managing Director must coordinate with those in a higher position, such as the members of the board.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, directors of client development are more likely to have skills like "digital marketing," "salesforce," "java," and "software development." But a managing director is more likely to have skills like "portfolio," "business development," "oversight," and "project management."
Managing directors earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $177,065. Comparatively, directors of client development have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $99,672.When it comes to education, managing directors tend to earn higher degree levels compared to directors of client development. In fact, they're 6.6% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Director of client development vs. Account director
An account director is responsible for managing client accounts, monitoring budgets, and sales forecasting. Their goal is to maintain stable account management strategies, meet clients' demands, develop healthy professional partnerships that would generate revenues, increase profitability, and achieve the organization's long-term goals objectives. Account directors supervise the account management staff, ensuring the project's successful completion with the highest efficiency and accuracy. An account director also plans training programs to maximize their performance and productivity, especially when dealing with deadlines and clients' requests.
Types of director of client development
Updated January 8, 2025
