Fractional sales director and fractional CRO
Experienced leadership of your sales function, two days a week, while the board decides what it needs for the long term.
Best at: growth and scale-up, or holding a turnaround steady while a permanent leader is found.
A fractional sales director leads your sales function for part of each week, for a fixed monthly fee. I work two days a week, three by agreement: I hold the number, run the forecast and pipeline reviews, and report to the board while it decides what the permanent role should look like.
When does a company need a fractional sales director?
- A company whose sales leader has left, with a permanent hire months away.
- A board that wants the team steadied before it decides on the shape of the permanent role.
- A US company opening or rebuilding its UK and EMEA operation.
- An executive search firm whose client needs interim cover while the search runs.
What does the board receive?
- The number held while the board decides.
- An operating rhythm the next leader inherits rather than rebuilds.
- Board reporting that shows the board what the sales team sees.
- A hiring brief for the permanent role, if one is needed, and a handover to that person.
How does a fractional engagement run?
Meet every seller and leader, review the pipeline and forecast, and give the chief executive a one-page view.
Install the operating rhythm: forecast call, pipeline review, deal reviews and leading indicators for each role. Work on the top three constraints.
Formal review against the agreed scorecard.
Next 90 days scoped, or handover planned.
Results reported, and either continuation or a clean handover to the permanent leader.
Every engagement has a fixed scope and a fixed fee, agreed in a short written proposal before work starts. Ongoing work is paid monthly in advance. There is no hourly billing, and no work on commission or for equity alone.
Most recently: interim VP Sales across a four-team, 20-seat region, finishing at 120% of in-seat quota. The new business sellers who qualified hardest closed their first deals at nearly twice the average price, which is why new business and expansion sellers now get different leading indicators.
Frequently asked questions.
What is the difference between a fractional and an interim sales director?
An interim leader covers a vacant seat for a defined period; a fractional leader works part of each week, usually over several months. I provide both through this service: two days a week covers most interim needs, and three days a week is available when the seat is empty and the quarter is at risk. See interim sales director.
Is a fractional CRO the same as a fractional sales director?
The work is largely the same. The title depends on whether marketing and customer success report into the role. I take the title that fits your organisation and agree the scope in writing before work starts.
How many days a week, and for how long?
Two days a week, or three by agreement, for a minimum of 90 days. At day 60 we either scope the next 90 days or plan the handover.
Can you hand over to a permanent sales leader?
Yes. If the board decides it needs a permanent hire, I write the hiring brief and hand over a team and an operating rhythm the new leader can run with from their first week.
How is a fractional engagement priced?
A fixed monthly fee, paid in advance, agreed in a short written proposal. There is no hourly billing and no work on commission or for equity alone.
Would it help to talk it through?
Thirty minutes on what the board has committed to and what is in the way. If this service is not the right fit, I will say so.
Or email priority@jonnyrocket.com, or connect on LinkedIn