How to hire a director of sales & business development

How to hire a director of sales & business development, step by step

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

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

What does a director of sales & business development do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The director of sales & business development 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

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a director of sales & business development to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a director of sales & business development that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of director of sales & business development salaries for various roles:

   Type of Director Of Sales & Business Development	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Of Sales & Business Development	Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for organizations’ sales representatives.	$18-84
   National Sales Director	A national sales director is responsible for monitoring the sales targets and performance of the sales force across the country's regions. National sales directors handle the execution and release of goods and services according to market trends and public demands... Show more	$35-64
   Regional Sales Director	A regional sales director is responsible for monitoring sales quotas for a specific area or region, developing sales strategies, and adjusting existing techniques to increase revenues and achieve its profitability goals. Regional sales directors manage marketing campaigns, analyze current market trends to meet consumer demands, plan promotional events, handle employees' sales training programs, and coordinate with multiple sales teams to implement effective sales processes... Show more	$37-85

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Value Proposition
   • Sales Cycle
   • CRM
   • Revenue Growth
   • Leveraged
   • Lead Qualification
   • Saas
   • Sales Strategies
   • Sales Process
   • Strategic Partnerships
   • Account Management
   • Client Relationships
   • Business Development
   • Trade Shows

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead all client communications, in order to exceed expectations, retain business and increase ROI for brand partners.
   • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
   • Utilize SaaS to increase multimillion dollar business growth with portfolio of ~ clients.
   • Develop CRM, internal pipeline, and project management platform for reporting up and downstream.
   • Coach and supervise SaaS sales / product specialists to configure and coordinate technology deployment services.
   • Hire and direct a staff of five to teach consultative selling, digital products, new sales associate curriculum and CRM.

   More director of sales & business development duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your director of sales & business development job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A director of sales & business development can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, directors of sales & business development' average salary in louisiana is 47% less than in oregon.
   • Seniority. Entry-level directors of sales & business development 78% less than senior-level directors of sales & business development.
   • Certifications. A director of sales & business development with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a director of sales & business development's salary.

   Average director of sales & business development salary

   $82,585yearly

   $39.70 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level director of sales & business development salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 25, 2025

   Average director of sales & business development salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Virginia	$118,270	$57
   2	Washington	$116,436	$56
   3	New Jersey	$116,373	$56
   4	Maryland	$113,530	$55
   5	District of Columbia	$111,127	$53
   6	New York	$110,552	$53
   7	Massachusetts	$109,874	$53
   8	California	$109,700	$53
   9	Pennsylvania	$108,387	$52
   10	Ohio	$102,006	$49
   11	Michigan	$100,202	$48
   12	Minnesota	$97,422	$47
   13	Wisconsin	$95,638	$46
   14	Arizona	$95,245	$46
   15	North Carolina	$90,962	$44
   16	Colorado	$89,531	$43
   17	Illinois	$87,120	$42
   18	Indiana	$83,623	$40
   19	New Mexico	$78,619	$38
   20	Georgia	$65,648	$32

   Average director of sales & business development salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Mastercard	$185,405	$89.14	116
   2	Commvault	$178,367	$85.75
   3	Avanade	$178,062	$85.61	3
   4	Proton OnSite	$178,058	$85.60
   5	AmerisourceBergen	$166,660	$80.13
   6	Routematch	$163,988	$78.84
   7	QuintilesIMS	$157,827	$75.88	60
   8	Persistent Systems	$153,879	$73.98	1
   9	QuinStreet	$150,371	$72.29	3
   10	Cengage Learning	$143,299	$68.89	37
   11	Reinsurance Group of America	$134,131	$64.49	1
   12	MaCher	$132,522	$63.71
   13	Korn Ferry	$127,601	$61.35
   14	Samsung Next	$127,360	$61.23
   15	Tivix	$122,423	$58.86
   16	Acacia Communications	$119,742	$57.57
   17	BI WORLDWIDE	$118,615	$57.03	24
   18	May Mobility	$116,176	$55.85
   19	Markit North America, Inc.	$115,505	$55.53
   20	BioDuro-Sundia	$115,505	$55.53

4. Writing a director of sales & business development job description

   A job description for a director of sales & business development role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a director of sales & business development job description:

   Director of sales & business development job description example

   Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future
   
   Hadrian builds software-defined high precision component factories for the top aerospace companies in the world. After a successful customer beta phase, we are substantially scaling our operations to our second factory (based in Torrance) and are in the final stretch of building our core software engineering and product team from whom the future of Hadrian will be built upon. This team will leverage various current and advanced technologies and build custom in house software solutions to help improve, automate and scale the future of manufacturing in the U.S.
   
   We are in search of individuals with the drive to augment manufacturing heping enable our engineers build complex, yet elegant software as well as the machinists who have a passion to push the trade forward.
   
   We've raised >$100m to achieve this vision, with multiple rounds from Lux Capital, A16Z, Founders Fund, Construct Capital, Caffeinated Capital and more.
   
   This role reports to the CEO, and partners with the Directors of Hadrian running Finance and Operations.
   
   We have enormous demand at a transactional level and need a VP/Director level Sales Leader to engage with customers at the Director/VP/CEO level to drive large, 6-9 figure contracts as we transform the industry.
   
   Hadrian has strong access to stakeholders at all Space / Defense / Semiconductor primes, and a clear path to turn proof of concept manufacturing at the business unit level into transformation programs at the VP/Director level at customers.
   
   We are looking for a 0-1 leader who will manage and close our first $1m-$20m in large scale contracts, while working with internal engineering and technical support. After the first successful closing cycles, the leader will build out an Enterprise BD team of 1-4 people split across each Prime.
   
   This person should be experienced in high dollar sales to Space & Defense primes, and could come from a Cloud Computing, ERP or Program sales background.
   
   No manufacturing knowledge is necessary, but a strong understanding of sales cycles within Space / Defense primes is important, as well as demonstrated ability to sell large contracts into the Defense sector. The ideal candidate will also have the ability to engage strongly with our government relations partners to support our enterprise sales cycles.
   What Hadrian can offer Greenfield opportunity with customers that currently spend $500m-$4b annually at existing vendors we are disrupting Ability to sell two "products" where we have fundamental speed and cost advantages over legacy competitors we are disrupting Strong brand awareness and momentum Gov. Rel & Technical support available to support BD operations Large equity and commission grants
   Must haves Experience in opening and closing large dollar figure contracts into Space, Defense, Semiconductor Primes Understanding or interest in learning supply chain and manufacturing Can be from software, services or infrastructure sales background Creative seller who can go 0-1 without an established process High EQ and IQ with ability to grasp real pain points at a customer's business Ability to drive multi-year engagements with customers (eg: pick off one division, then 3, then entire company) Fast-paced and extremely hard worker Doesn't mind flying into customers or DC
   Nice to have Existing experience selling Cloud or other large transformation programs into Space / Defense primes Founder mentality Ability to connect with blue collar factory worker and F100 CEO equally Previous Gov Rel or similar experience
   We believe that the ideal BD hire comes from a cloud (GovCloud, Azure), supply chain services, Enterprise SaaS (ERP, Salesforce, Finance Services) or prime contracts background, but are primarily looking for a BD leader who can go 0-1 with Primes, and are very open to considering candidates from non-standard backgrounds.
   
   ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
   
   To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find directors of sales & business development for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any directors of sales & business development they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level directors of sales & business development with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

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

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting directors of sales & business development requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete 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 director of sales & business development

   Once you have selected a candidate for the director of sales & business development position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize 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.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new director of sales & business development. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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