What is fractional BD?
You've heard of fractional CFOs.
Meet the fractional BD Director.
The same logic that put a part-time CFO in growing firms applies to business development. Senior expertise, embedded in your leadership team, on a retainer, without the full-time salary.
The traditional problem
BD off the side of a principal's desk
Most AEC firms rely on their principals for business development. It's expensive, it's inconsistent, and it doesn't scale. Every hour a principal spends chasing work is an hour not spent on billable, specialized engineering.
Expensive
A principal billing $300/hr running BD is the most expensive salesperson a firm could hire, and rarely the best one.
Inconsistent
BD happens between deadlines, so the pipeline lurches. Feast, then famine, then a scramble for the next pursuit.
Unsustainable
As the firm grows, the BD load grows with it, until the people doing the work have no time left to do it.
What fractional means
Not a consultant. Not a contractor.
A fractional BD Director is an embedded member of your leadership team, on a retainer. They sit inside the firm, in your pipeline, your proposals, your client relationships, the way a full-time director would, at the scale you actually need.
That's the difference from a project consultant: a consultant is transactional and disconnected, here for a deliverable and gone. A fractional BD Director is relationship-first and ongoing: they own the work from the inside.
The comparison
Three ways to fill the BD gap
| Capability | Full-time hire$120–180K + benefits | Project consultantTransactional | BD-AECFraction of the cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior BD expertise | |||
| Embedded in your team | |||
| Owns ongoing relationships | |||
| Runs day-to-day pipeline | |||
| Fraction of the cost | |||
| No salary, benefits, overhead |
Is it right for your firm?
Fractional BD fits when…
- You do $1M–$20M in revenue (or you’re on track to by 2027).
- Your principals are still carrying business development themselves.
- You win on relationships and reputation, not low bids.
- Your pipeline is reactive: it moves when someone remembers it.
- You can’t justify a $150K+ full-time BD hire, but you feel the gap.
Wondering if this fits your firm?
A discovery call is a direct conversation, no forms, no pitch deck. Thirty minutes to see if it's a fit.