BDMs: saints, sinners or something in between?

BDMs must run pubs as part of their training if they're going to help build profitable businesses

The most maligned individual in our industry is the business development manager (BDM), also referred to in some organisations as area manager, regional manager or business relationship manager. From the licensees' perspective, are they villains or friends? Well, neither actually. They really aren't the nasty pieces of work a lot of licensees think they are.

However, tenanted/leased pub owners can certainly get their act together by making sure that BDMs are more accessible, better equipped to handle licensees' issues, and, crucially, capable of working with licensees to develop the business.

Of course, there are good and bad BDMs, but pub operators do have a responsibility to ensure that BDMs are focused on building both the licensee's and the pubco's businesses, and not just acting as a policeman.

Comments I have picked up over the years range from: "All BDMs do is drive around in posh cars, get the highest possible rent, and only call you when the rent direct debit bounces," to "I see my BDM on a regular basis, we have a good working relationship and I look forward to the visit."

Other comments I have heard include: "They know very little about the business, and have never run a business themselves, let alone a pub." The reality is that a typical BDM is a mixture of all of these, and has probably been pitched in at the deep end by bosses at the pubco without undergoing a detailed induction.

So, how can the perception of BDMs be radically improved in the eyes of the licensee?

Well, for a start, the BDMs' induction programme should include, at the very least, a period of a month actually running a pub — whether he/she has been a licensee before or not. By running a pub, I mean living in for the period of the induction and undertaking all of the routine tasks, from opening-up/closing and stock ordering, to dealing with staff.

I would recommend that the stock be taken at the start of the induction and at the end, so that the effective measurement of success — profitability — can be identified. The ideal scenario is where the pubco has managed houses — the new BDM can be easily installed, say during the manager's holiday period. It is a little more difficult with leased/tenanted-only pub groups, but it is not an insurmountable problem.

Martin O'Grady CMBII, long-time lessee of the Jolly Farmer in Warsash, near Southampton, and chair of the BII South, is typical of many tenants: "Over the years I have had some excellent BDMs, but also some very poor ones, who I would not let anywhere near my business."

But at the end of the day, BDMs are not there to be liked by licensees. They are there to ensure that profits are maximised. After all, if a pub is doing well, so is the pubco!

Clive Williams was brought up in the trade and is a former tenanted director at Whitbread. After leaving Whitbread, he co-founded three pubcos, the last of which — Celtic Inns — was sold to Marston's in 2006. He is a judge of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers Operations Manager of the Year competition.