Business Development Managers (BDMs)

Headline stats

86% male, 14% female
Average age 43
100% full time
97% employed, 3% self-employed
46% qualified to Level 4
15% Chartered

Size of organisation

BDMs tend to work in the much larger organisations – the life groups, the asset managers etc. with almost half in the 1000 plus category and only 12% working in firms with less than 50 people.

Organisation Size	BDM
1 - 4	2%
5 - 10	0%
11 - 20	3%
21 - 50	7%
51 - 100	4%
101 - 250	13%
251 - 500	6%
501 - 1000	17%
More than 1000	48%

Type of organisation

BDMs in the Census work for a variety of types of organisations but with Investment providers, Platforms and Life Companies accounting for 89% of BDMs.

Firm/Employer Category	BDM
Financial Adviser/Planner	1%
Life Company	27%
Employee Benefits Consultancy	1%
Bank/Building Society	2%
Investment Provider	40%
Platform/WRAP	22%
Other	7%

Salaries

Showing an increase of 8.4% over the year.

Average Salary	BDM
Current Salary	£80,819
Previous Salary	£74,558
% Increase	8.4%

Distribution of salaries

Salary Range	BDM
£20,000 - £40,000	2%
£40,000 - £60,000	19%
£60,000 - £80,000	28%
£80,000 - £100,000	28%
£100,000+	23%

Bonuses

Average Bonus	BDM
Recent Bonus	£36,137
Previous Bonus	£34,362
% Increase	5.2%

Distribution of bonuses

Bonus	BDM
<£10,000	16%
£10,000 - £20,000	22%
£20,000 - £40,000	34%
£40,000 - £60,000	10%
£60,000 - £80,000	10%
£80,000 - £100,000	1%
£100,000+	7%

Method of Bonus for BDMs

KPI’s are the favoured method with Formula based and Discretionary also popular.

Bonus Calculation	BDM
Formulaic	34%
Discretionary	42%
KPI	50%
Profit Share	24%
Other	4%

Earnings

Employed Earnings	BDM
Current	£116,956
Previous	£108,920
% Increase	7.4%

Distribution of earnings

60% of BDMs earn over £100,000.

Employed Earnings	BDM
£20,000 - £40,000	1%
£40,000 - £60,000	6%
£60,000 - £80,000	19%
£80,000 - £100,000	14%
£100,000 - £120,000	23%
£120,000+	37%

Comparing earnings for field based BDMs v Telephone Based

The earnings disparity between field-based and telephone-based BDMs is significant, with field-based BDMs earning nearly twice as much as their telephone-based counterparts.

Despite the substantial amount of phone work performed by field-based BDMs, their roles are evidently more lucrative than those purely telephone-based.

Average	Field Based	Telephone Based
Salary	£85,035	£47,246
Bonus	£38,309	£16,296
Total Earnings	£123,344	£65,542

Providers

BDMs for DFMs show the highest average earnings with over £150,000.

Providers	Earnings
Life & Pensions Provider	£99,601
Fund Management	£122,220
DFM	£150,564
Platform	£107,034
Protection/Mortgage/Specialist	£61,802
Alternative Investments	£125,467

This shows the importance of the various areas where KPI’s are applied for BDMs

Business performance tops the list closely followed by Attitude and Teamwork.

KPI Breakdown	BDM
Business Produced	92%
Retention/Lapses	47%
Compliance/Quality	74%
Project Performance	28%
Qualifications Achieved	21%
Team Work	83%
Attitude	91%
Other	2%

Impact of qualifications on earnings

Showing a clear relationship between higher level qualifications and earnings.

Qualification Level	Earnings
In process of achieving Level 4	£110,536
QCF Level 4	£119,330
Chartered (or equivalent)	£133,419
Expect to attain Chartered (or equivalent) in 2024	£127,333

Impact of gender on earnings

The data reveals a significant gender gap in earnings for BDMs: 42% in overall earnings, 36% in salary, and 42% in bonus disparities. Considering the gender-neutral nature of the role, ideally, there should be no gender gap, making these statistics particularly concerning. However, it's worth noting an improvement from last year's figures, which indicated a nearly 50% earnings advantage for males, with a 39% disparity in salaries and a 75% gap in bonuses. Thus, while some progress is evident, there's substantial room for improvement. We recommend that individual providers closely examine their specific circumstances to address and mitigate these disparities.

Average	Male	Female
Salary	£83,661	£61,334
Bonus	£37,960	£24,159
Earnings	£121,620	£85,493

Age distribution of BDMs

43 is the average age of BDMs and we show below the spread. Unlike the adviser role, BDMs by and large stop at 60 – in many cases reflecting company retirement policy. Of course, unlike advisers they don’t have a client bank requiring their on-going services.

Age	% of BDMs
20 - 30	7%
30 - 40	31%
40 - 50	31%
50 - 60	28%
60 - 70	3%

Impact of age on earnings

40 to 50 is the high point for BDM earnings but essentially after 30 the earnings are excellent right through the age bands.

Age	Earnings
20 - 30	£70,469
30 - 40	£115,343
40 - 50	£130,726
50 - 60	£114,137
60 - 70	£120,000