Director of Business Development

Overview

You're managing a business development team that sells Zonda's data platform, research, and consulting services to the homebuilding industry. You'll coach reps working mid-market and enterprise deals while carrying your own book of strategic accounts - likely the largest builders or investors. Most of your time goes to pipeline management, deal reviews, and working cross-functionally with product and customer success to close complex deals.

Role Snapshot

Company Context

Stage: Growth stage (raised $33.4M, backed by Oaktree Capital and MidOcean Partners)

Size: 921 employees

Growth: Actively expanding - recent platform upgrades to Envision design center tool, new APIs launched

Market Position: Established player in homebuilding data/analytics - not a startup but not category-creating either. Competing in a niche B2B vertical.

GTM Reality

Pipeline Sources:

• 60% Outbound - reps prospecting into target accounts (builders, developers, manufacturers)
• 25% Referrals/Existing relationships - housing industry is relationship-driven
• 15% Inbound - some brand recognition from industry events and BUILDER magazine partnership

SDR/AE Structure: Mix - some SDRs feeding enterprise pipeline, BDRs self-sourcing for mid-market

SE Support: Likely have solution consultants for technical demos of the data platform

Competitive Landscape

Main Competitors: Other homebuilding data providers (market is somewhat fragmented), point solutions for specific use cases

How They Differentiate: Integrated platform (data + software + consulting in one), proprietary research on housing markets

Common Objections: "We already have our own data sources", "Too expensive vs. piecing together tools", procurement cycles tied to fiscal year planning

Win Themes: Complete solution vs. duct-taped tools, depth of housing-specific insights, enterprise platform that scales

What You'll Actually Do

Time Breakdown

Team Management (35%) | Strategic Deals (30%) | Internal/Planning (35%)

Key Activities

• 1-on-1s and deal coaching: Weekly sessions with 4-6 BDRs reviewing their pipelines, strategizing on stalled deals, roleplaying objection handling. You're teaching them how to navigate procurement at large builders.
• Working strategic accounts personally: Carrying 3-5 major accounts yourself - think top 10 homebuilders or large institutional investors. Multi-threading across CFO, VP of Land, and Director of Market Research roles.
• Forecasting and pipeline reviews: Weekly forecast calls with leadership. You're defending commit numbers and explaining why that $300K deal slipped to next quarter (spoiler: budget approvals at builders move slowly).
• Cross-functional coordination: Meetings with product about what features enterprise buyers need, with customer success about expansion plays in existing accounts, with marketing about event sponsorships at homebuilding conferences.

The Honest Reality

What's Hard

• Homebuilding is cyclical - when interest rates spike or housing starts drop, your buyers freeze budgets. You're selling during a market that's been rocky the past few years.
• Long, multi-stakeholder sales cycles. Builders involve finance, land acquisition, and analytics teams. Deals you think are done get delayed 90 days for budget approval.
• Your reps will lose deals to "status quo" - builders who decide to keep using spreadsheets and free data sources rather than pay for an integrated platform.
• Managing up is constant - explaining why enterprise deals don't close on linear timelines to executives who want predictable revenue.

What Success Looks Like

• Your team consistently hits 80-90% of quota (not 100% - enterprise is lumpy)
• You personally close 2-3 strategic deals per year worth $300K+ each
• Reps you've coached get promoted or recruited away (which is actually good for your reputation)
• Renewal rates stay above 85% because your team is selling to the right buyers

Who You're Selling To

Primary Buyers:

• VP/Director of Land Acquisition at homebuilders (evaluating markets to build in)
• CFO/Finance teams at developers (underwriting projects)
• Chief Investment Officers at REITs and investment firms
• VP of Market Research at building product manufacturers

What They Care About:

• ROI on data investment - can they make better land acquisition decisions?
• Accuracy and timeliness of housing market data (permits, starts, pricing)
• Integration with their existing tools and workflows
• Support and consulting included, not just software access

Requirements

• 7-10 years in B2B sales, ideally 3+ managing a team
• Experience selling SaaS, data, or analytics solutions - bonus if you've sold to real estate, construction, or financial services verticals
• Track record building pipeline in enterprise accounts with 6+ month sales cycles
• Comfortable with complex deals involving multiple stakeholders and procurement processes
• Willing to travel 20-30% for customer meetings, industry conferences (IBS, NAHB events)
• Experience with Salesforce, sales engagement tools, forecasting disciplines