Why Your Commission Structure Is Costing You Top BD Talent

24th February 2026

Over the past twelve months, I’ve seen more demand for business development talent. The job titles may vary from Chief Growth Officer, New Business Director, Head of Growth, or Business Development Manager, but they’re hired to drive sustainable, long-term revenue growth.

Many agencies, often after a previous bad hire or when hitting a ceiling through founder-led growth, realise that a dedicated BD specialist is essential.

However, this is where a critical gap often appears. In the rush to hire, agencies define a title and salary, but the role's commercial substance remains dangerously vague. This lack of clarity creates significant risks, as key details are often missing:

Unvetted Revenue Targets: Goals haven’t been properly stress-tested against market realities or internal capacity.

Ambiguous Commission Structure: The incentive plan is still a topic of internal debate, with no firm decisions made.

No Unified Vision: The leadership team lacks a shared understanding of what success in the role truly looks like.

The result is that the search for elite talent becomes much harder. Top candidates are commercially aware and can spot indecision a mile off. A poorly defined role is a major red flag, signalling a lack of strategic alignment and a high risk of failure.

Hunter or Farmer: What Kind of Growth Do You Really Need?

Before discussing compensation, you must answer a fundamental question. Are you hiring a hunter to land new logos or a farmer to grow existing accounts? These are vastly different mandates requiring distinct skills and incentive structures.

The Hunter: This individual thrives on autonomy and the thrill of the chase. They are wired to pursue and close new business and need clear acquisition targets and robust marketing support.

The Farmer: This role focuses on strategic, relationship-led growth within your existing client base. A successful farmer excels at building deep, trusted partnerships, often leveraging the 80/20 rule where most growth comes from a small percentage of clients.

Top candidates will expect you to have a clear answer to this question before they commit. They want to know if they'll be building from scratch or cultivating established relationships.

The Commission Mistake That Repels Top Talent

Growth professionals are money-motivated, have the hustle and are wired to think in numbers. When considering a new role, they scrutinise the earning potential, commission structure, and target credibility. If you can't confidently answer, “What can I earn if I hit my target?” their confidence plummets.

A Real-World Example of Indecision

A recent search highlights this problem. We identified an ideal candidate for a senior growth role, but four months in, the commission structure was still not finalised. While the base salary was clear, the critical details around targets and payouts remained unsettled. This lack of clarity created significant hesitation. If the reward framework isn’t a priority, it signals a fundamental lack of alignment on growth at the leadership level.

This situation is common but avoidable. When you go to market with a vague plan, you slow the recruitment process and risk damaging your credibility with the very people you are trying to attract.

Get Aligned Internally Before You Go to Market

Before briefing a recruiter, your leadership team must be fully aligned on the role's commercial details. You need a defined and documented framework that is rubber-stamped by all key stakeholders. This includes:

A Competitive Base Salary: Benchmark it against the market for the role's experience and seniority.

A Realistic Revenue Target: Base it on a thorough analysis of your business, market, and genuine growth potential.

A Confirmed Commission Percentage: It should be competitive and motivating, with a clear link between performance and reward.

A Clear Commission Structure: Detail any split (e.g., 50% personal, 50% company) so it is understood by all.

You must be able to model what earnings look like at 100% of target and how overachievement is rewarded.

This framework needs full sign-off from the board and finance (CFO, FD, or accountants) before the role goes live. This is the commercial foundation of the hire and sends a powerful signal about how seriously you view growth.

Give Candidates the Clarity to Do the Maths

A growth hire is a direct investment in your agency's future revenue. The structure you build around that role reflects your company’s ambition and commitment to rewarding success.

Candidates need to see the path to success. Be transparent about your client base. If your largest client is worth £8 million and you don’t take projects under £250,000, share that. This allows candidates to do the maths in their head and assess how many wins are needed to hit their target.

Before you start your search, do the internal work first. Agree on the numbers and secure the necessary sign-off. The strongest growth talent expects this level of certainty, and providing it will dramatically increase your chances of securing them.

By Ali Wallace

About us

At DNA Recruit, we have a long heritage in recruiting top business development talent and have been the Official Talent Partner of the BD100, and sponsor of the Business Developer of the Year Award for the last for seven years.