I get this question constantly from founders and revenue leaders: should we hire a fractional BDM or commit to a full-time business development manager? Both models can work. Both can also fail. The right answer depends on your growth stage, budget, and what you actually need the role to accomplish.
Having operated as a fractional BDM across more than 10 companies and helped generate over $100M in pipeline, I have seen both models succeed and fail up close. Here is how I think through the decision.
The Cost Comparison
Let us start with the number that matters most at early stages: cost.
A full-time BDM in a major US market typically costs between $120,000 and $180,000 in base salary, plus 20 to 30% in on-target earnings, plus benefits, equity, payroll taxes, and recruiting fees. All-in, you are looking at $180,000 to $280,000 in fully-loaded cost for year one. And that assumes the hire works out. If they do not, you have lost six to twelve months and a significant amount of money.
A fractional BDM typically costs between $5,000 and $20,000 per month depending on the scope and hours. For a mid-range engagement at $10,000 per month, your annual cost is $120,000 with no equity dilution, no benefits overhead, and no severance risk. You also get the ability to scale up or down, or exit the engagement entirely, with a standard 30-day notice period.
For most companies under $5M ARR, this cost difference alone makes the fractional model the obvious choice.
The Speed-to-Execution Comparison
A full-time BDM hire typically takes 60 to 90 days to recruit, another 30 days to onboard, and another 30 to 60 days before they are producing meaningful pipeline. You are looking at 4 to 6 months from decision to output in the best case.
A fractional BDM can start within a week. By the end of month one they have audited your existing motion, identified your best ICP segments, set up or cleaned up your CRM, and are running outbound. Real pipeline shows up in month two or three.
If you are at a stage where pipeline cannot wait six months, the fractional model wins on speed.
The Experience Comparison
This is where full-time looks appealing on paper but fractional often wins in practice. When you hire a full-time BDM at the $150,000 range, you are typically getting someone with five to eight years of experience. Solid, but not exceptional.
When you hire a fractional BDM like me, you are getting someone who has run BD across multiple companies, industries, and growth stages. The pattern recognition from working at ten companies is more valuable than deep experience at one. I know what works in SaaS outbound versus professional services versus fintech because I have done all of them, not because I read about it.
For companies solving novel problems or entering new markets, that cross-industry experience often matters more than deep tenure in a single role.
The Commitment Comparison
Full-time hires are invested in the company's success in a way that a fractional operator is not. They go deep on the product, the culture, and the long-term strategy. They build internal relationships that make them more effective over time. If you are building a 50-person sales organization, you need full-time leadership that is fully bought in.
Fractional works best when the engagement has a defined scope and the company benefits from fresh perspective rather than deep institutional knowledge. When the goal is to build and prove a BD motion, the fractional model is ideal. When the goal is to scale that motion with a large team, full-time leadership usually makes more sense.
When to Choose Fractional BDM
The fractional model is the right choice in these specific situations:
- You are pre-Series A and cannot justify the full-time cost yet
- You need pipeline in the next 90 days, not six months from now
- You are entering a new market or testing a new ICP and want dedicated focus without disrupting the existing team
- Your last BDM left and you need someone to hold the function while you recruit a permanent replacement
- You want to build and document your BD playbook before hiring someone full-time to run it
- You are post-Series A but want to validate your BD motion before committing to a senior full-time hire
When to Choose a Full-Time BDM
Full-time is the right choice when:
- You have consistent ARR above $5M and can support the fully-loaded cost
- Your BD motion is proven and you need deep execution, not exploration
- You are building a BD team and need a leader who will manage and develop people full-time
- Your sales cycle is so complex or relationship-dependent that continuity of the same person matters enormously
- You have strategic partnerships that require full-time nurturing and executive-level attention
The Hybrid Approach
Many companies I work with use a hybrid model that I think is underutilized. They bring me in as a fractional BDM for six months to build the motion, generate initial pipeline, and document the playbook. Then they use those results and that documentation to recruit a permanent BDM, with a clear job spec based on real performance data rather than guesswork.
I sometimes stay on for 30 to 60 days after the full-time hire joins to transfer knowledge and ensure continuity. This approach gets them the speed of fractional with the long-term commitment of full-time, and it dramatically reduces the risk of a bad hire because the new BDM is walking into an established, documented function instead of building from scratch.
Questions to Ask Before You Decide
Before you make this decision, answer these questions honestly:
- Can we afford $200,000+ all-in for a full-time hire right now without compromising runway?
- Do we have six months to wait for a hire to ramp up, or do we need pipeline in the next 90 days?
- Is our BD motion proven and ready to scale, or do we still need to figure out what works?
- Do we have the management bandwidth to onboard and develop a new full-time executive?
- Are we okay with equity dilution as part of a full-time comp package?
If you answered no to two or more of those, you are likely a better candidate for fractional.
Want to talk through which model makes sense for your specific situation? Book a strategy call and we can do a 30-minute assessment of your current BD motion and growth stage. You can also review my engagement options to understand what different fractional structures look like.