Even before a pitch begins, there's a number of "assets" that need to be developed and managed. These help increase your ability to convert business... there should be an element of performance tied to development and managing things such as:

> Positioning: articulated in a way that is differentiating from other agencies, compelling to clients and authentic to the agency.

> Creative Brief for the Agency Brand & New Business/Marketing Efforts: based on the above.

> New Business Plan: objectives, strategy, executional details.

> Agency Website: delivers on the above creative brief and drives prospects in the door.

> New Business Tools: database software, leads sources, project management tools, etc.

> Core New Business Team: a clear understanding of who is on the "agency SWAT team." 

> Budget: how much is required to achieve the objectives? What is the expected return on this investment?

There's probably more, this is just off the top of my head.

It sounds like more new business directors need to take more responsibility for understanding the situation of what they're getting into... rather than just taking the job and then complaining afterwards that they're not getting what they need to be successful. 

Performance should also be measured against how well they "manage the management team." Although this is more difficult when you're junior, there are still best practices in terms of keeping the team focused on a plan... or on a pitch, as the case may be.

On the flip side, CEOs must recognize that the more senior their hire for the NBD role is, the better the overall results of the position will be. While this sounds obvious, too many agencies are cheaping out on their NBD investment. The results speak for themselves.

This comes up at the conference every year. Generally, everyone laughs about "herding the cats." But getting the entire team committed, focused and aligned does seem like a real issue.