Why This Finance Leader Refuses to Let Business Development Report to Sales

Most organizations structure business development as either a marketing function or a sales function. Both approaches create systematic dysfunction.

BD teams reporting to marketing optimize for lead volume—their job is feeding the funnel regardless of lead quality. BD teams reporting to sales optimize for conversion rates—they avoid anything that might not close quickly, even if those opportunities could become valuable clients over time.

Neither serves the organization’s actual interest: attracting prospects who are genuinely good fits and likely to become successful long-term relationships.

Taylor Thomson, who leads revenue operations at Denver-based agency WITHIN, advocates for BD operating as an independent function. “If the DD team is only incentivized on bringing in the best opportunities or the things that will get basically to close, because obviously all salespeople are really interested in getting their win rates high and they’ll sandbag an opportunity as soon as they can if it’s not going to close,” Thomson explains.

This independence requires operational support and credibility. Thomson’s background includes roles reporting to both marketing and sales leadership, giving him the political capital to maintain BD’s autonomy.

At WITHIN, business development serves as a bridge between functions rather than a subordinate to any single one. The team interacts constantly with marketing to understand what campaigns are driving interest. They talk with sales daily to learn what’s resonating in conversations. They maintain relationships with client success to understand what makes for successful engagements.

This structure demands different success metrics than traditional approaches. Instead of measuring only lead volume or only close rates, independent BD teams focus on fit quality across the entire revenue lifecycle.

Thomson’s approach involves significant operational infrastructure. He manages company-wide P&L reporting, develops forecasting strategies, and oversees technology investments that enable better measurement. Revenue operations can’t function as an afterthought—it requires systematic attention to how information flows between teams.

The organizational design question matters more as companies recognize that sustainable growth depends on client retention, not just acquisition. BD teams optimizing for quick closes regardless of fit quality create problems that client success teams must later manage.

Getting organizational structure right from the start prevents these issues. That requires executives willing to challenge conventional wisdom about how revenue functions should be organized.