Business Development Manager

About Us

Ketel Thorstenson, LLP, is a full-service accounting firm rich in history, serving clients in the Black Hills region since 1936. Currently, we have 26 partners and over 50 CPAs, with offices in Rapid City and Spearfish, SD, and Gillette and Casper, WY. The firm offers a variety of accounting services, specializing in the agricultural, construction, hospitality, estate planning, nonprofit, and government industries. Our mission is to inspire excellence in our people, clients, and communities by building meaningful relationships through progressive thinking, collaboration, and passion.

Position Overview

The Business Development Manager leads the firm's growth initiatives by developing and implementing comprehensive business development strategies to attract new clients within our existing markets and industry specializations. This role focuses on building and maintaining a robust pipeline of qualified prospects, establishing relationships with centers of influence, and collaborating with department leaders to support the firm's growth objectives. The Business Development Manager works closely with firm leadership to identify market opportunities while maintaining alignment with the firm's values and strengths.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive business development and marketing strategies to attract new clients within our existing markets and industry specializations
• Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified prospects through networking, research, and strategic outreach initiatives
• Develop a firm-wide sales pipeline and manage regular pipeline meetings
• Represent the firm at industry events, conferences, and networking functions to increase visibility and identify potential client opportunities
• Data mining and analysis of the client information database using Excel to identify potential add-on services for existing clients. 
• Identifying and managing sponsorship opportunities
• Collaborate with partners and practice leaders to understand service capabilities and develop compelling value propositions for prospective clients
• Create tailored business proposals and lead presentation efforts to secure new client engagements
• Establish and maintain relationships with centers of influence to generate referrals
• Work with department leaders to create, support, and grow the firm's niche plans and marketing initiatives
• Engage in planning firm positioning, market and competitive analysis, client segment selection, and related service line positioning
• Lead the firm's client experience initiatives including screening, onboarding, identifying areas for efficiency, and soliciting feedback
• Develop tracking mechanisms for all business development and marketing efforts and adjust strategies based on success
• Provide support and coaching to partners and key leaders and coordinate their marketing and sales activities to support the firm's growth strategy
• Help drive firm growth by promoting our value and service offerings and supporting team members in their efforts to deliver exceptional client service
• Monitor market trends and competitive landscape to identify emerging opportunities and threats
• Track and analyze business development metrics, preparing regular reports on pipeline activity and conversion rates
• Other duties as assigned by Partner-in-Charge or other member of the Partner group

Supervisory Responsibility

The Business Development Manager is responsible for the supervision of one HR / Marketing Coordinator.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; degree in Marketing, Business Administration or related field preferred
• 5+ years of successful business development or sales experience, preferably in professional services or accounting
• Proven track record of meeting or exceeding revenue growth targets
• Strong understanding of accounting services and the unique needs of our target industries preferred
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with C-suite executives and business owners
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including presentation and proposal development
• Ability to work autonomously and manage the workload of others
• Ability to gather data and make important strategic and spending decisions
• Must be comfortable and proficient speaking in front of large groups (50+), as well as greeting and talking with individuals at business and community events as a firm representative
• Proficiency in CRM systems and analytics platforms
• Must demonstrate the ability to build trust and confidence from firm leadership and staff, employing a consistently positive attitude
• Proficient in MS Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
• Demonstrates ability to interact and cooperate with employees, management, current and potential clients, and other industry resources

Desired Skills

The ideal candidate will bring a strategic mindset, deep relationship-building skills, and a passion for helping our firm grow.

Shared Values

• Truth
• Excellence
• Innovation
• Community
• Diversity

Benefits

• Work life balance: PTO, Extended Illness Leave, 8 paid holidays, Flex Hours - outside of peak season, Community Service Opportunities, Paid Volunteer Time, & Dress for your day.
• Health and Wellness: High Deductible Health Plan, Dental, Vision, Long Term Disability, Short Term Disability, Basic and Voluntary Life Insurance, Voluntary Accident Insurance, & Voluntary Critical Illness Insurance.
• Financial Wellness: 401k Retirement Plan, Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Health Savings Account (HSA), Financial Advising through Morgan Stanley, Tax Season Incentives, Employee Referral Program
• For more information about our benefits, visit www.ktllp.cpa/careers.

Work Environment and Physical Demands

• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as laptop computers, phones, photocopiers, scanners, and fax machines.
• The position requires extended periods of sitting or standing at a desk while completing computer or office-based work.
• The employee may lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Schedule and Location

• This is a full-time position working 40 hours per week M-F. Some nights and weekends as needed.
• Located in Rapid City, SD office. Role may require travel as needed in town, out of town, and overnight.
• This role will be reporting to the Firm Administrator

Become a member of our team – apply today!

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.