Business Development Manager
About The Position
Whitley Penn is seeking a senior-level individual contributor to drive strategic revenue growth through proactive market development and consultative selling. The Business Development Manager partners with firm leaders to identify new business, develop targeted outreach strategies, and advance complex sales opportunities. The role focuses on building the firm’s business development function in a new market and converting market opportunities into revenue. This is a full-time, exempt position in the Growth department based in Whitley Penn’s Fort Worth office. It is fully in-office, generally Monday through Friday for eight hours per day between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., with overtime as needed. Regular travel within the market and occasional out-of-market travel are expected. The Business Development Manager works collaboratively with local office, service line, industry, and marketing leaders, while developing executive-level relationships and representing the firm externally. Whitley Penn describes its culture as collaborative, entrepreneurial, and focused on sharing knowledge, innovation, and personalized client service.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree.
- At least 5 years of business development or consultative sales experience in a professional services environment, with a strong emphasis on new-market or territory development.
- Proven record of originating new opportunities, generating revenue, and winning complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles.
- Strong business acumen and fundamental understanding of accounting concepts.
- Ability to create pipeline, advance opportunities, and close business independently with minimal oversight.
- Strong discipline in pipeline management and follow-through.
- Experience using CRM tools for pipeline management, reporting, and sales execution.
- Experience using social media and digital platforms to identify, access, and engage executive-level prospects.
- Strong communication, presentation, influencing, and negotiation skills.
- Executive presence, credibility, and professionalism in C-suite and Board-level conversations.
- Entrepreneurial, self-directed, results-oriented mindset and strong bias toward action.
- Relationship-driven approach.
- Ability to navigate ambiguity, influence across complex internal organizations, and drive measurable outcomes.
- Ability to travel regularly within the market and occasionally outside the market.
Nice To Haves
- Advanced degree or MBA.
- Prior experience in Accounting or Finance.
- Existing network of Boards of Directors and C-suite officers at mid-market companies, private equity decision makers, and other professional-services relationships that can be activated to generate opportunities.
Responsibilities
- Partner with the Head of Business Development to establish and build a business development function in a new market.
- Collaborate with local office, firm, service line, and industry leaders to identify market gaps and target companies not currently served by the firm, converting opportunities into business.
- Work with the marketing team to develop targeted outreach strategies and go-to-market plans.
- Build and maintain a disciplined, high-quality sales pipeline aligned with growth targets.
- Originate new sales opportunities by initiating sales calls consistently and securing meetings.
- Identify key decision makers and lead executive-level discovery conversations to understand business challenges, service capabilities, strategic priorities, and return-on-investment drivers; develop strategies to position the firm as a solution provider.
- Control and execute the sales plan and process, coordinating internal and external resources to position the firm to win business.
- Meet sales production targets and goals with minimal oversight and direction.
- Establish, build, and maintain effective, collaborative, long-term relationships with executive clients.
- Support local office, firm, and industry leaders in identifying and maximizing appropriate cross-selling opportunities with existing clients.
- Represent the firm externally in a professional, relationship-based manner.
- Participate in professional organizations and informal networks to build and sustain professional relationships.
- Develop opportunities through networking contacts, professional affiliations, industry groups, and other professional-services relationships.
- Use the CRM system daily and consistently to keep reporting, customer information, sales activity, and pipeline data up to date.
Benefits
- Firm-paid medical insurance, including free employee-only coverage on two of three plans.
- Voluntary dental insurance.
- Voluntary vision insurance.
- 17 annual firm holidays, including extended breaks around July 4 and year-end.
- 20 days of paid time off.
- Paid maternity and parental leave.
- 401(k) with profit sharing.
- Discretionary bonus program.
- Health and wellness program.
- Pet insurance.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
