Why Saudi Startups Should Buy BD Outcomes, Not BD People
The retainer-plus-commission model fixes the broken incentive in business development.
The retainer-plus-commission model fixes the broken incentive in business development.
A BD hire at SAR 25,000-40,000 a month is a fixed cost. The expectation is they'll produce pipeline. Some months they do. Most months, in early-stage companies, they don't.
The incentive is wrong: the BD person gets paid the same whether deals close or not.
Base retainer of SAR 7,500 per month. Buys: continuous account intelligence on 20 named accounts, outreach designed and sent under your name (after approval), monthly strategic review.
Commission of 8% on deals that close as a result of the engagement. Aligns incentives - we get paid more if we work harder; you only pay for results.
Minimum 6-month commitment because BD takes time to compound. Anything shorter doesn't allow the warm-path strategy to play out.
Founders who can't yet justify a full-time BD hire but who need enterprise traction. Startups between SAR 1M and SAR 10M annualized revenue. Companies expanding into KSA from elsewhere who need local relationship velocity.
Not for: companies whose product isn't ready (BD doesn't fix product). Companies that won't sign-off on outreach within 48 hours (the cadence matters). Companies that expect us to close instead of you (we drive the conversation; you own the close).
If we close 1 deal at SAR 200,000 average value in a quarter, our total cost to you is SAR 22,500 (retainer) + SAR 16,000 (commission) = SAR 38,500 - versus a SAR 75,000+ quarterly cost of a BD hire who hasn't closed anything yet.
If we close nothing, our cost is just the SAR 22,500 retainer. The downside is bounded; the upside is shared.
Book a free 30-min call with Anas. We'll figure out the right starting point.
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