Should billable creative staff participate in the sales process? While there’s comfort in having experienced creatives present during client pitches, sustainable agency scaling requires reducing billable employees’ involvement in selling.
Your designers are paid to design, and your developers are paid to develop. Each team member should be measured on their primary role’s outcomes rather than diverted tasks.
When to Involve Billable Staff
However, real-world business requires flexibility. Four circumstances justify involving billable staff in sales:
1. Expertise Requirements
Creatives build client trust through specialized knowledge the sales team lacks. Their industry experience and technical understanding strengthen proposals.
2. Project Scope Definition
Complex, multi-disciplinary projects benefit from team leads clarifying actual scope and costs. This prevents costly misinterpretations that hurt everyone.
3. Delivery Timeline Discussions
When projects are urgent and likely to close, involving the delivery team accelerates onboarding and demonstrates capability.
4. Stakeholder Presence
Large client teams with multiple decision-makers appreciate meeting your experienced staff. They gain confidence in your team’s capacity to deliver.
Finding the Right Sales Engineer
The ideal candidate is the most experienced team member with the lowest cost to the business.
This approach prevents overutilizing senior creatives while developing mid-level talent through mock pitches and feedback sessions. Build the capability across your team.
For Creative Founders
If you’re balancing dual roles, creative work and sales, ask yourself:
- What do you need to do for the business to succeed?
- What do you want to do?
Document sales processes systematically to gradually delegate functions while maintaining business momentum.
The goal is building a sales capability that doesn’t depend entirely on you or your senior creatives.