Retained Search · Business Development Managers
Hire a BDM Who Actually Bills
Every BDM candidate interviews well — selling themselves is the job. A retained search replaces the interview lottery with a mapped market, evidence-based assessment and a shortlist of proven revenue generators, delivered within 15 business days and backed by a 6-month replacement guarantee.
- 24h brief to first endorsement
- 28-day average time to hire
- ~90% offer-to-acceptance
The Stakes
The wrong BDM costs you a year of pipeline
A Business Development Manager is the rare hire whose failure is invisible at first. They interview brilliantly, they're busy from day one, the CRM fills with activity — and two quarters later the pipeline they promised isn't there. By the time a BDM mis-hire is undeniable, you've paid a year of salary for an empty territory and handed your competitors a full sales cycle, uncontested.
Typical time before a mis-hired BDM's lack of pipeline becomes undeniable — a year of territory coverage gone.
The sales cycle your competitors get to run uncontested while the seat is empty or underperforming.
Replacing a failed commercial hire costs multiples of salary once lost pipeline, ramp time and re-recruitment are counted.
Why Retained
Why retained search is built for BDM hiring
Retained and contingent recruitment are different tools for different jobs — and for a revenue-critical BDM seat, the economics favour retained. Industry benchmarks consistently put retained search completion rates above 90%, while contingent briefs — worked in parallel by multiple agencies with no commitment on either side — complete far less often. Here's why the model fits this role specifically.
The best BDMs are passive
The top billers in any market are employed, hitting target and well looked after. They won't answer a job ad or fill in a lead form — but they will take a discreet call about the right opportunity. Retained search is the only model that systematically finds, approaches and assesses them.
Assessment built for salespeople
Every BDM interviews well — selling themselves is the job. We assess evidence instead: revenue actually generated, contracts won and retained, pipeline built in markets like yours, and references from the people who watched them do it.
One voice in your market
Multiple contingent agencies pitching the same role dilutes your brand and burns candidates — the same operator gets three versions of your story. A retained search puts one voice in the market, carrying your story consistently and confidentially.
Aligned incentives
A contingent recruiter is paid to place someone quickly; a retained partner is paid to fill the role with the right person and stands behind the outcome. Our replacement guarantee only makes commercial sense because the assessment is built to get it right the first time.
Not sure which model fits your hire? Compare retained vs contingent search — for mid-level roles with a broad candidate pool, we'll often recommend contingent ourselves.
The Search
How a retained BDM search runs
Six stages, each with named deliverables. The engagement fee commissions the search; the balance is staged against shortlist delivery and placement — we quote the exact fee on the discovery call once we understand the role. See the full breakdown of how we work.
Discovery brief
We define the revenue outcomes the role owns — territory, targets, contract types — and the profile of operator who can deliver them. You sign off the brief before the search begins.
Market map
We map every credible BDM in your market, including the senior operators who aren't looking. In our core verticals the map is already built and maintained — your search starts warm.
Confidential approach
We approach the target candidates directly and discreetly. Your search stays off the open market — no job ads, no leaks, no incumbent finding out before you're ready.
Evidence-based assessment
Structured interviews against the brief, revenue and contract track record verified, and references taken from managers and clients who saw the results first-hand.
Shortlist & offer
A qualified shortlist within 15 business days of brief sign-off — guaranteed. We then manage interviews, offer, notice period and resignation through to a signed acceptance.
Onboarding follow-up
Structured check-ins with you and the placed candidate through the first months in the seat, so ramp problems surface early — backed by a 6-month replacement guarantee.
Proof
Specialists who run BDM searches every week
BDM and senior business development roles are the core of what we place. Our deepest market maps are in Facilities Services and Freight & Logistics — verticals where revenue is won through relationships, tenders and long contract cycles — and the same retained discipline carries into adjacent B2B service industries.
Every search is led end-to-end by the senior consultant on your desk — the person who knows which operators are winning contracts in your market this quarter, not a researcher working a cold list. We're a national, remote-first firm placing across Sydney, Melbourne and Australia-wide.
Average from brief sign-off to first endorsed candidate
Average time to hire across recent searches
Offer-to-acceptance rate
Guaranteed business-day shortlist SLA, in writing
Our Commitment
Two guarantees, in writing
Retained search asks for commitment up front — so we put our own commitments in the Terms of Business, not in the sales pitch.
Shortlist in 15 business days
A qualified, evidence-assessed shortlist within 15 business days of brief sign-off. Not first CVs — a shortlist you could appoint from.
6-month replacement guarantee
If the placed candidate leaves for any reason inside their first six months, we re-run the search and replace them at no additional fee.
Common Questions
Retained BDM search, answered
Why use retained search for a BDM hire instead of a job ad or contingent recruiter?
Because the BDMs who consistently bill are almost never applying for jobs. They're employed, hitting target, and well looked after — a job ad reaches the people between roles, not the top performers. Retained search funds a dedicated, mapped search of the whole market, so the shortlist is built from the strongest operators in the sector rather than the most available. For a role that owns revenue, that difference compounds every month the right person is in the seat. Compare retained vs contingent search.
How much does a retained BDM search cost?
Fees are quoted per engagement once we understand the role, the market and the package — a search for a senior BDM carrying a multi-million-dollar territory is scoped differently to a first commercial hire. The engagement fee commissions the search and is offset against the total fee, with the balance staged against shortlist delivery and placement. We'll give you the exact number on the discovery call, before you commit to anything.
How quickly will we see a shortlist?
You'll have a qualified, assessed shortlist within 15 business days of brief sign-off — that commitment is written into our Terms of Business. First endorsements typically land well inside that window: our average from brief to first endorsed candidate is 24 hours, because the market maps in our core verticals are maintained continuously rather than built cold for each search.
What happens if the placement doesn't work out?
Every retained BDM search carries a 6-month replacement guarantee: if the placed candidate leaves for any reason inside their first six months, we re-run the search and replace them at no additional fee. It's in writing in the Terms of Business, and it exists because our assessment process is built to make it very rarely needed.
Which industries do you cover?
Our deepest market maps are in Facilities Services (commercial cleaning, security, integrated FM, waste) and Freight & Logistics (forwarding, 3PL, supply chain) — the two verticals we work every day. The same retained BDM search discipline applies well to adjacent B2B service industries where revenue is won through relationships, tenders and long sales cycles. If your hire sits outside our map, we'll tell you honestly on the first call.
Do you cover Sydney, Melbourne and the rest of Australia?
Yes. We're a national, remote-first firm and run BDM searches Australia-wide, with the heaviest concentration of mandates in Sydney and Melbourne. Because each vertical is mapped nationally rather than city-by-city, we reach the strongest candidates wherever they sit — including operators open to relocating for the right role.
How do you assess whether a BDM can actually sell?
Every candidate interviews well — that's the job. So we assess against evidence instead: the revenue they've actually generated, the contracts they've won and retained, how they built pipeline in markets comparable to yours, and reference checks with people who watched them do it. We test track record against the specific way your sector buys — contract sizes, procurement cycles, tender processes — not generic sales competencies.
What does the retained process involve?
Six stages: a discovery brief that defines the revenue outcomes the role owns; a full market map of credible candidates; direct, confidential approaches to the targets; evidence-based assessment; a shortlist with offer management through to signed acceptance; and a structured onboarding follow-up through the first months in the seat. You get named deliverables at every stage. See the full process.
Start Here
Brief us on your BDM hire
Four fields, one business day to a response. On the discovery call we'll pressure-test the brief, tell you honestly whether retained search is the right model for this hire, and quote the exact fee — no obligation either way.
We come back to you within one business day.
A 20–30 minute discovery call on the role, market and package.
A written proposal with the search plan, timeline and fee.
Your brief goes straight to the desk leads — Adam Beverley and Walter Sambrook — not a triage queue.