Fractional Sales Leader versus Permanent Full-Time Hire: 4 Business Cases

Many companies have a decision to either hire a permanent full-time Sales Manager, Vice President of Sales, Chief Sales Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, or to engage a prominent sales consulting company like Treeline to take advantage of fractional Sales leaders.

Which is the best option for you? Here are four business cases which align best with the fractional route.

1) Early stage ventures ready to scale beyond founder-led selling but finding the right fit is a gamble…

Many founders, after building a strong foundation for their business on which they have scaled revenue past proof of concept and other early stage milestones, develop the need for specialized and focused sales leadership and sales management. The need reflects success achieved which is a great thing! Navigating the next step however is difficult and risky for a number of reasons.

First, there is a chasm between “Sales Leadership” and “Sales Management” and both are sometimes required. However, finding one person who can provide insight and value when it comes to Sales Strategy who at the same time is comfortable rolling up their sleeves and executing across the range of Sales Management activity, is a challenge. This same individual needs to be comfortable working in the absence of structure; in fact, the role includes developing the very structure that some Sales managers require to be successful. Keep in mind, this is occurring during a period of transition and growth for the business. While the founder(s) have decided to relinquish certain aspects of strategic or tactical control over the Sales function, new business remains the life blood and change takes time. This necessitates a careful blend of flexibility and creativity on the part of the new team member. The pressure is significant when the objective is to hire one, ideally long-term, individual to cover all the bases.

Personalities, expectations, pace, operational maturation, available budgets and resources, product readiness, compensation, and other factors further multiply the risk of an expensive and time-consuming misstep.

One solution is to work with a Sales consulting firm like Treeline to first define the core requirements, prerequisites, and priorities together with defining the measures of success (which also come into play when determining the Sales compensation plan). Simply put, Sales consultants are the flashlight that helps you see the forest through the trees before selecting which path (fractional or hire) and before bringing anyone onboard.

Ultimately, Fractional Sales Leadership is often selected because of this ability to harness the right “Experience on Demand”. Time is money and therefore speed matters. Fractional Sales consultants can spring into immediate action and tackle activities and outcomes across the spectrum of Sales People, Sales Process, Sales Enablement, Sales Strategy, and Sales Management.

2) Sales organizations struggle to onboard and retain productive sales people.

Even companies with relatively mature and robust sales leadership and sales management in place can find tactical gaps such as this which impede goal attainment. The answer could lie in defining a full-time role to resolve the issue and sustain new practices and processes. Or, replacing Sales leaders or Sales managers could be considered. However, the existing team can often sustain the solution(s) once defined and implemented. This is another great business case for utilizing a Sales consulting firm.

Fractional Chief Sales Officer can help you quickly identify the specific factors at play. For example, the steps and curriculum required to build strong foundations while decreasing time to competency could represent opportunities for improvement. The accessibility and organization of this content could require improvement. The ongoing maintenance of these platforms and information assets could require attention. Beyond onboarding, programs are often required to build skill and discipline around a company’s chosen sales system and sales process.

Similarly, retention problems can be costly in terms of time, capital, and goal attainment. Some of the same factors influencing time to competency and productivity often affect retention. Other factors within the realm of sales enablement such as sales tools and CRM user experience influence exit decisions.

Fractional Chief Sales Officers can assess the specific array and degree of factors. Following assessment and definition, the required content, processes, practices, and platforms, can be updated and/or implemented. Finally, coaching and guidance for the Sales management team to ensure ongoing success of these remedies and new opportunities can be provided.

3) New business wins have stalled for two consecutive quarters going on three.

Again, the choices range from new hire, replacement hire, or fractional sales consultant to define and resolve the challenge. In some cases, replacement can solve the identified challenge only to result in unintended consequences. This is after the time and cost of the new hire process and the organization change management required.

In less time than the typical new hire process, a fractional Chief Sales Officer can assess the degree to which the sales people are properly armed and aimed and motivated to hunt, and what’s holding them back such as their sales compensation plan.

The first goal of every sales compensation plan should be to affect behavior. The specific behaviors depend on each company’s defined sales outcomes and activities (which when properly constructed entirely align with the company’s strategy and organizational goals).

While sales compensation is often a cause, other structural factors can be involved. For example, it’s common for certain renewal-dependent businesses to reach the point where the sales model requires bifurcation to utilize hunters and farmers. This necessitates sensitive changes to the hunter compensation plan along with thoughtful change management and messaging along with a new farmer compensation plan. A fractional sales manager can assess, design, and implement these important catalysts of progress.

Sometimes, the company’s revenue leadership team has too many priorities while top line revenue targets are missed. A targeted engagement with a Fractional Chief Revenue Officer can drive prioritization, alignment, and action. The output results in clarity as well as a re-usable framework for future initiatives.

Getting the correct sales strategies dialed in have implications across the organization from human capital models, to headcounts, to budgets and forecasts and more. Fractional CROs can bring the insight and hands-on execution experience to drive cross functional progress and build profitable sales engines.

4) Company has matured to the point of readiness for a full-time Chief Sales Officer yet cash flow concerns limit options.

Companies sometimes force the wrong decision and hire the wrong fit when they reach the point of hiring a C-level Sales leader such as a CRO or CSO. The costs of hiring, onboarding, and carrying the fully loaded expense are significant and force tradeoffs. Alternatively, fractional Sales consultants can drive immediate value without the overhead and carrying costs. Weekly engagements range from 5 to 40 hours for those companies not yet ready to recruit a full-time Chief Sales Officer or Sales Manager.

In addition, the fractional sales approach provides increased flexibility, less risk, and the ability to cover a broader range of sale strategy and tactics as often required at this stage.

The Treeline fractional Sales consulting team brings the experience accrued from having worked with thousands of companies and sales teams for over two decades. For more about Treeline CRO services, please visit https://www.treelineinc.com/sales-recruiting/fractional-cro-service/