Dallas - Business Development Manager - Capital Markets, Funds and Real Estate

About the role

The Business Development Manager (BDM) plays a key role in helping the firm's partners drive revenue by supporting and facilitating targeted business development (BD) initiatives, including strategy development and target identification. Each BDM is assigned a portfolio that may include practice groups, industry groups, and client teams ("collectively, referred to as “portfolio”), and serves as a primary point of access to the full range of services offered by the BD Department.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Planning: Collaborate with the Practice Operations—and firm, practice, and Industry leadership—to proactively develop and implement strategic initiatives for portfolio as well as strategic plans.
• Pitch, RFP Response, & Presentation Support: Provide thorough and initiative-taking presentation and pitch/RFP response support and coaching to the lawyers within their portfolio.
• Client Development Coaching & Strategy: Guide lawyers in identifying and pursuing BD prospects, along with maintaining and fostering growth of existing client relationships, including providing insight as to relationship expansion opportunities as well as overseeing conflict (legal, business, and positional) issues and other potential BD challenges for portfolio.
• Intelligence Gathering & Metrics: Oversee the collection of competitive intelligence following each pitch, RFP response, presentation or other marketing or BD opportunity and initiative, including, in collaboration with the lawyers, gathering lawyer-solicited client feedback as to portfolio’s successes, shortcomings, and areas for improvement in the pitch process, including information as to how and why the hiring decision was made.
• Research & Analysis: Work with the BD Research team to proactively deliver client, prospect, competitor, and industry research to meet the portfolio’s BD needs as outlined in BD and strategic plans.
• Management & Leadership: Oversee, manage, and mentor junior team members, including drafting and editing pitches, RFP responses, and client presentations; managing events, thought leadership, sponsorships, and BD opportunity spotting for the portfolio; and ensuring appropriate follow-up and collection of feedback and ROI metrics.
• Lateral Integration: Serve as primary contact for new lateral partners who join portfolio, managing BD onboarding and continued integration, including drafting and implementing an integration plan. Coordinate efforts with Talent and Firm Development.
• Marketing Collateral & Lawyer Biographies: Determine needs and oversee to completion the creation and maintenance of printand digital collateral and content (website) for portfolio. Collaborate with Marketing Communications team on messaging, design, and visual storytelling.
• Directories & Surveys: Manage team’s response to directories and surveys such as Chambers and Legal 500 , among other select awards and rankings. Make recommendations as to directory, survey, and award competitions to which the portfolio should respond.
• Value-additive Content & Events: Lead the creation and distribution of client alerts and newsletters, and the production of webinars, podcasts, and other value-additive programs for portfolio, ensuring alignment with firm branding and seamless execution in collaboration with lawyers and marketing communications and technology teams.
• Knowledge Management: Oversee team’s collection of information for use in BD systems and reporting tools, including key experience, client and target BD opportunities and results, lawyer biographical information, lawyer and group honors and awards, and other useful practice area and lawyer information, including metrics, for portfolio.
• Budgets & Expenses: Develop and manage BD budget for portfolio, including processing expense approvals, ensuring compliance with firmguidelines and processes, and making recommendations as to approval of new and unexpected expenditures.
• Internal & External Communications: Collaborate with Marketing Communications team to raise the visibility of portfolio, in alignment with BD and strategic plans and ensuring brand compliance, by identifying valuable speaking, sponsorship, seminar, expert commentary, article placement, and other profile-raising opportunities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in a discipline requiring writing, research and analysis, strategic planning, and/or marketing or business development.
• J.D. or M.B.A. or other relevant master’s degree a plus.
• 7 + years of marketing, business development, or client service experience required.
• Must live within a commutable distance to the firm office with the ability to come into the office 3-4 days per week.

Skills

• Experience with strategic/business planning, conceiving and implementing BD and marketing initiatives, and budgeting/ROI analysis.
• Ability to build strong client relationships.
• Strong project management skills; experience developing persuasive pitch materials and RFP responses; experience drafting directory and award submissions; understanding of CRM/databases; and a focus on operational efficiency and process improvement.
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Experience analyzing multiple, competing factors to make sound decisions and the ability to work independently and creatively to solve complex business challenges.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a focus on building and maintaining strong client relationships and fostering a collaborative team environment.
• Ability to mentor, coach, and develop junior staff and foster a positive and inclusive team environment.

Benefits

Winston offers comprehensive benefits that provide a full spectrum of coverage and support for our full-time employees and their families. Additional information about benefits and rewards can be found here.