Business Development Manager

Description 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.

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.

• 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.

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

• 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…