The Business Development Director (BDD) for Estate Planning & Probate serves as the strategic business development and sales leader for Berlin Patten Ebling’s Estate Planning & Probate practice group. This role is responsible for driving sustainable growth by managing attorneys as a sales team, developing and executing attorney-specific business development strategies, and ensuring consistent, measurable activity that results in new matters and long-term referral relationships.
The Business Development Director is not the primary salesperson. Instead, this role identifies prospects and referral opportunities, facilitates introductions, sets initial meetings, and manages attorney follow-up and relationship maintenance. Using HubSpot as the primary CRM, the BDD oversees pipelines, tracks activity, enforces accountability, and measures performance against defined KPIs, with a focus on generating qualified opportunities, growing attorneys’ books of business, and delivering measurable return on investment.
Key Responsibilities
Attorney Business Development Leadership
- Serve as the primary business development manager for assigned Estate Planning & Probate attorneys.
- Manage attorneys as a sales team by setting expectations, directing outreach efforts, conducting regular check-ins, and monitoring follow-up and performance.
- Partner with each attorney to develop an annual business development plan that includes goals, target referral sources, and activity benchmarks.
- Coach attorneys on relationship development, referral conversations, and effective business asking.
- Own and manage the Estate Planning & Probate business development pipeline within HubSpot.
- Monitor pipeline health, deal progression, and performance metrics, and prepare regular reports on attorney activity, conversion trends, and revenue impact.
- Ensure all attorney business development activity, meetings, referrals, and opportunities are accurately logged and maintained in the CRM.
- Assign and track follow-up tasks to attorneys to ensure timely and consistent engagement with referral sources.
Lead Generation & Referral Development
- Identify and cultivate new referral opportunities with financial advisors, CPAs, trust officers, senior living communities, funeral homes, and related professionals.
- Schedule and coordinate introductory meetings between attorneys and prospective referral sources.
- Develop and execute outreach strategies to expand referral networks within the assigned territory.
- Track and evaluate the return on investment for business development initiatives, events, and campaigns.
- Establish annual business development goals for the practice group and continuously adjust strategies throughout the year based on performance data and market conditions.
- Collaborate with Marketing to align campaigns, training opportunities, and messaging with business development objectives.
Events, Training & Public Presence
- Strategically plan and execute business development events and attorney trainings designed to generate qualified leads and strengthen referral relationships.
- Coordinate attorney presentations and public speaking opportunities.
- Attend and participate in firm-hosted, community, and industry events, including some evenings and weekends, as required.
- Assist Marketing with managing the Estate Planning team’s guest list for the firm’s annual Post Holiday Madness Party, a mandatory client referral event.
Professional Representation & Firm Values
- Represent Berlin Patten Ebling professionally and consistently in the community.
- Uphold the firm’s vision, mission, and values in all interactions.
- Actively pursue professional growth and continuous improvement.
Qualifications
- Must possess a valid Florida driver’s license and be able to travel between firm offices and within assigned territory as needed
- Proven experience in business development, sales management, or revenue growth roles
- Experience managing professionals or revenue-generating teams
- Strong understanding of pipeline management and performance metrics
- Exceptional communication, organizational, and follow-up skills
- Ability to work independently while collaborating across teams
- Comfortable with public speaking and relationship-driven environments
- Experience using a CRM to manage deals, track KPIs, and enforce accountability is preferred
- Competitive salary (based on experience) with bonus opportunities
- Health insurance benefits
- Retirement plan options
- Paid time off and holidays
- Annual all-expenses-paid firm trip (after eligibility period)