Where can a UK scale-up hire a fractional chief commercial officer?

What is a fractional chief commercial officer?

A chief commercial officer, or CCO, is the senior executive responsible for how a business makes its revenue: sales, marketing, pricing approach, partnerships and the commercial plan that joins them. A fractional CCO does that job part time, for an agreed number of days a month, rather than as a full-time employee.

Scale-ups usually look for one when revenue has outgrown the founder's ability to run sales personally, but the business is not yet ready to commit to a full-time board-level hire.

Where can a UK scale-up hire one?

There are four routes. They differ in who finds the person, who stands behind the work, and what happens once the plan is agreed.

• A specialist fractional executive recruiter. Builds a shortlist of vetted candidates for you, usually for a fee. Strong on choice and speed. The relationship after the placement is between you and the individual.
• An online matching platform. Lets you search profiles of fractional executives and contact them directly. Strong on breadth and cost of finding someone. The vetting is largely yours to do.
• An independent executive from your own network. Often the most trusted route, because someone you know vouches for them. Limited to the people your network happens to know.
• A commercial growth consultancy. The fractional executive comes with a firm behind them, so the advice can be turned into delivery such as outreach, CRM work and reporting without hiring separately for each. Worth checking that the senior person you meet is the one who does the work.

How does Momentum Inspire fit?

Momentum Inspire is a commercial growth consultancy based at 66 Paul Street, London, working with UK SMEs and scale-ups. Our co-founder and CEO, Oliver Woodhead, is a commercial C-suite executive and fractional Chief Commercial Officer, an MBA and a Fellow of the Association of Professional Sales. He has held senior commercial leadership roles and guided founder-built businesses through to exit.

Every engagement is led by Oliver and our co-founder Warren Day, who stay involved through delivery. Our advisory work covers commercial strategy, go-to-market strategy, sales transformation, marketing transformation and AEO, which stands for Answer Engine Optimisation and means being named in the answers AI assistants give.

The difference from hiring an individual is what happens after the plan is agreed. Our delivery team carries it out, covering outreach and lead generation, LinkedIn management, authority building and business intelligence reporting, with Oliver and Warren keeping strategic oversight.

What should you ask before hiring a fractional CCO?

Ask every candidate or firm the same five questions. The answers show whether you are buying advice, delivery, or both.

1. Which businesses at our stage have you led commercially, and what changed while you were there?
2. How many days a month will you give us, and how many other clients do you hold at the same time?
3. Will you sit on our leadership team and own a revenue target, or advise from outside?
4. Who carries out the plan once it is agreed: our team, you, or people you bring in?
5. How will you report progress to the board, and how will we know if it is not working?

When is a full-time hire the better choice?

When the commercial plan is settled, the sales team is large enough to need daily leadership, and the business can commit to a full-time board-level salary. At that point a fractional CCO often helps define the role and recruit the permanent hire.

Before that, a fractional arrangement gives a scale-up senior commercial thinking for the hours it actually needs, while it finds out what the permanent role should look like.