Deciding on Business-Development Compensation for Consulting Firms

The consulting landscape is shifting under our feet. Between talent shortages, uneven demand, economic slowdowns, and the rise of AI, landing—and keeping—clients is tougher than ever. Many firms are doubling down on business development (BD), whether by hiring dedicated BD managers or asking consultants to carry part of their own sales quota.

But how do you reward that effort in a way that aligns incentives, drives growth, and still protects your margins? The right business-development compensation strategy can create clarity, motivate performance, and ensure long-term profitability.

This guide unpacks the key questions every founder should ask—and the main compensation structures to consider—before you build a BD plan that sticks.

What should consulting firms consider before setting business-development compensation?

Before putting numbers on paper, leaders must assess what kind of business development their firm requires. Here are the essential variables that shape your approach:

1. Standardized versus highly customized offerings

   • Productized services (think playbooks, retainer-style engagements) tend to have shorter, more predictable sales cycles—and you can often commission them like “products.”

   • Deeply bespoke work (complex strategy or transformation projects) requires more senior-level credibility up front and often a team effort to close—so flat commissions alone may not cut it.

2. Required seller fluency

   • Will your clients insist on speaking immediately to your principal consultants? If so, you need sellers who can match that technical credibility.

3. Practice archetype

   • Are you a “big-brain” thought-leadership shop (à la Maister’s classic model)? Or a procedural, repeatable practice? Your hiring, training and pay approach should reflect how your methodology actually sells.

4. Hunter versus farmer roles

   • Hunters open new relationships and break into fresh markets.

   • Farmers nourish existing accounts, pursue add-on work and renewals.

   • You may need both—and they should be compensated differently.

5. Type of sales cycle

   • Problem-solving sales (client has a known pain point) versus demand-creation sales (you’re educating the market on a new solution). Longer, consultative cycles often require higher base pay and team incentives.

What business-development compensation models can consulting firms use?

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Each model has advantages depending on your sales structure, team design, and goals.

Model	Best for…	Pros	Cons
Individual contributor	Outbound hunters finding net-new work	Straightforward: pay for what they close.	Requires highly credible sellers; peaks/valleys.
Team-based bonus	Complex, collaborative deals (e.g., strategy)	Aligns delivery + sales teams; builds culture.	Harder to track individual efforts.
Hybrid	Mixed hunter/farmer or follow-through selling	Incentivizes both deal origination and delivery.	More complex to administer.

To dig deeper into how compensation connects to business model, see our Professional Services Growth Blueprint Tools.

What should drive your BD commissions?

Compensation plans should be aligned with strategic goals. Consider the trade-offs below when selecting performance metrics:

• Revenue vs. gross margin

  • Tying payouts to gross margin protects your profitability—but may dampen growth if you’re trying to rapidly scale.

• Profit vs. topline

  • Rewarding pure revenue can push sellers into low-margin deals. Profit-based metrics ensure quality pipelines, but can feel opaque.

Decide which levers—top line, margin or profit—best reflect your firm’s current growth goals.

How do you align compensation with distinct business development roles?

Many firms mistakenly bundle all sales activities into one compensation model. But in reality, you’re paying for at least three different functions:

1. Opportunity creation (prospecting, cold outreach):

   • Low base, higher commission to drive pipeline volume.

2. Opportunity management (qualifying leads, proposal development):

   • Moderate base plus commission or bonus tied to proposal acceptance.

3. Account management (renewals, cross-sell, upsell):

   • Higher base, lower commission—focus on retention and client lifetime value.

By clearly mapping responsibilities to compensation mix, you avoid overlap, ensure accountability, and reward the right behavior.

🔎 For a deeper dive into the client success side of renewals, see our blog on Client Relationship Strategies for Year-End Growth.

Getting started: How do you build and test a compensation plan?

1. Define your goals: Are you building scale fast, protecting margins, or deepening client relationships?

2. Choose your metrics: Top line, margin or a blend.

3. Map roles to models: Hunters get one structure; farmers another.

4. Pilot and refine: Roll out a test with one team, gather feedback, then scale firm-wide.

Final Thoughts

Designing the right business-development compensation plan is a strategic decision—not a spreadsheet exercise. It requires a deep understanding of how your services sell, the people who sell them, and the outcomes that matter most to your firm.

With the right structure in place, you’ll attract top talent, reward results, and create sustainable growth for your consulting practice.

Ready to design a plan that fits your firm’s unique DNA? Let’s book a conversation to tailor your BD compensation strategy.