Senior commercial leadership. Without the full-time hire.
A Fractional Commercial Director gives growing MSPs and technology businesses access to experienced commercial leadership on a flexible, part-time basis — helping strengthen sales performance, improve commercial discipline and build the capability needed for the next stage of growth.
Whether you need a Fractional Sales Director to lead your sales team or broader commercial leadership to support your next stage of growth, the starting point is understanding what your business needs and agreeing the right level of support.
Prefer a little space to reflect first? The free health check takes around three minutes, with no email required. Your answers and results stay private unless you choose to send them to me.
Senior roles with Gartner, Vodafone Global Enterprise and Dell, followed by a decade with PE-backed MSPs, from Group Sales Director to Country Manager.
A result from my earlier career, alongside a recommendation from an MSP leader. Why work with Robbie →
Incremental first-year service revenue generated through a significant government agency contract and wider commercial activity.
The government agency contract accounted for more than 70% of the total, with the balance coming from other commercial opportunities. Clearer targeting, stronger qualification and hands-on leadership of strategic opportunities underpinned the result.
Read the managed services case study“Robbie went to great lengths to understand the commercial bottlenecks in our business, which were throttling our growth. Through a process beginning with a sales assessment and evaluation, Robbie methodically rebuilt our commercial engine and removed a number of the significant barriers preventing our sales team from reaching its full potential.”
Commercial leadership is consuming too much of the owner's or MD's time.
Good people are working hard, but performance, accountability or forecasting aren't where they need to be.
The business has reached a point where informal sales processes no longer scale.
A new growth strategy, investment, new market or sales-team restructure requires experienced commercial leadership.
The difference isn't simply the job title. It's the breadth of responsibility your business needs someone to take.
When your challenges extend beyond the sales team into commercial strategy, pricing, profitability, routes to market or growth through acquisition.
I work across these connected priorities, helping align sales activity with the wider commercial objectives of the business.
You gain: Experienced leadership across the decisions that influence sustainable, profitable growth.
When your sales team needs stronger direction, more dependable forecasting, better qualification, coaching or greater accountability.
I take responsibility for the agreed sales leadership remit, helping your team improve performance, develop capability and convert the right opportunities into profitable revenue.
You gain: Consistent sales leadership, clearer visibility of performance and more time to focus on running your business.
You don't have to decide before we speak. We'll start by understanding your commercial challenges, then agree the responsibilities, authority and level of involvement that will make the greatest difference.
Based in Glasgow, I work with technology and managed-services businesses throughout Scotland and across the UK. We agree a practical mix of on-site time and remote working around your team, location and commercial priorities.
Whether you need focused sales leadership or a broader commercial remit, the starting point is the same: understand where you need support, agree what I will own and establish how we will work together.
Discuss the support your business needs →Within the first 30 days, you’ll have a written priority plan setting out what needs attention, who owns each action and how progress will be measured.
See what the first 90 days can look like →Access senior commercial judgement and hands-on leadership at an agreed level of involvement, balancing growth, profitability and the capacity of your team.
Translate investor growth expectations into priorities your team can deliver, with clear accountability and reporting that gives management and investors a consistent view.
I lead the sales discipline around new managed service contracts, renewals and account expansion, connecting pipeline reviews with qualification, pricing and delivery handovers. You get a clearer view of the revenue you can rely on and where growth may be putting pressure on margin.
I help your team make deliberate choices about vendor relationships, partner opportunities and routes to market. Clear opportunity ownership and attention to incentives, discounting and direct-sales overlap keep the focus on business that serves your customers and commercial goals.
When acquired teams bring different CRMs, propositions and account relationships, I can lead the work to establish shared forecasting, account ownership and realistic cross-sell priorities. Your team gets clearer direction while management gains a more consistent view of performance.
Across my commercial career and work with businesses, I have seen talented leaders and teams struggle to move forward because they lacked the time, capacity or particular experience a challenge required. Sometimes acknowledging the need for help was itself a difficult step.
Explore the financial commitment and potential commercial return.
Explore the commercial value of fractional leadership →Sales strategy, go-to-market priorities, growth planning, pricing and commercial discipline.
Pipeline quality, forecasting, conversion, accountability, performance management and CRM discipline.
Sales leadership, organisation design, recruitment, coaching, roles, responsibilities and development.
Key account growth, executive sponsorship, major deal support and direct leadership through periods of change.
The right answer depends on the problem, the level of responsibility required and how much leadership capacity the business genuinely needs.
| Consultant | Fractional Commercial Director | Full-time Commercial Director | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic advice | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hands-on leadership | Sometimes | Yes | Yes |
| Part of leadership team | Usually no | Yes | Yes |
| Flexible commitment | Yes | Yes | No |
| Permanent employment commitment | No | No | Yes |
| Helps implement change | Varies | Core role | Core role |
Fractional leadership isn't a substitute for every permanent hire. Where the business genuinely needs a Commercial Director five days a week, permanent leadership may be exactly the right investment. Fractional works particularly well when senior commercial capability is needed now, but the requirement does not yet justify a full-time executive.
Not sure which model fits? We can discuss the responsibility and capacity you need.
Let’s talk Or start with the free Commercial Health Check →The right level of support depends on the responsibility you want me to take and the work ahead. Two starting options are:
On-site and remote working are agreed around your needs. Engagements normally begin with a three-month commitment, with the level of involvement reviewed as priorities evolve. Additional capacity can be agreed separately.
Recruiting an experienced Commercial Director or Sales Director can be the right investment when your business requires dedicated, full-time leadership.
But if your immediate priorities call for senior commercial judgement, stronger accountability and practical leadership without a five-day-a-week requirement, a fractional arrangement may offer a more appropriate commitment.
At £3,750 per month, the annual fee for up to four days of fractional leadership per month would be £45,000, assuming the engagement continues for 12 months.
For illustration, a permanent director earning a £100,000 annual base salary would represent a further £55,000 in salary expenditure before employer National Insurance, pension contributions, benefits or recruitment costs.
These are not equivalent levels of capacity. A permanent director provides substantially more working time, while fractional leadership provides an agreed level of senior involvement focused on defined commercial priorities.
The important question is not simply what you could save. It's whether the investment provides the experience, capacity and continuity needed to move your business forward.
All fees exclude VAT and agreed travel or accommodation costs. The £100,000 salary is an illustrative comparison, not a market benchmark.
Engagements normally begin with a three-month commitment. After that initial period, either party can end the engagement by giving 30 days’ written notice, as set out in our agreement.
Engagements are generally non-exclusive. I seek to avoid working with directly competing businesses wherever possible. Any potential conflict would be discussed before accepting the work, with strict NDAs and clear boundaries around confidential information. An NDA does not replace the need to assess whether a conflict can be managed appropriately.
There is no fixed number. I base capacity on the time, responsibility and involvement each engagement requires. I only take on work where I can honour the agreed commitment and give your business the attention it needs.
We plan the handover so your team can continue with clarity. This includes documenting current priorities, progress, outstanding actions and ownership, and handing over relevant working documents and reporting. Where appropriate, I work with the MD or incoming leader to support the transition. Confidentiality continues after the engagement ends.
An illustrative rhythm for ongoing fractional leadership. The pace and priorities depend on the agreed scope, monthly time commitment and availability of your team and information.
Meet the people involved, review existing commercial information and agree the priorities.
You receiveA written 30-day priority plan with actions, owners and measures of progress.
Begin the agreed actions, establish regular team and pipeline reviews, and address the most immediate barriers.
You gainClearer priorities and a regular view of actions, decisions and progress.
Coach the team, embed agreed improvements and refine the approach using what the early work reveals.
You gainMore consistent ways of working and an updated view of what still needs attention.
Assess progress against the agreed measures and decide whether to continue, adjust the support or plan a handover.
You receiveA progress review and agreed next steps, with clear ownership.
Any change or planned ending follows the agreed engagement terms, including the initial commitment and notice period.
You do not need a finished brief. We start with the challenges you are facing and what you want to change.
We discuss your business, your growth ambitions and the commercial pressures you are managing. It is an opportunity to understand whether my experience is a good fit for what you need.
We explore where support could make the most difference, whether that is sales performance, pipeline visibility, team leadership or a clearer commercial direction.
Before work begins, we agree the priorities, responsibilities, time commitment and fees, along with how we will review progress. The scope reflects your business and the level of support it needs.
Tell me where growth, performance or commercial responsibility is creating pressure. We can work out the right level of support together.
A three-minute health check, with no email required. Your answers stay private unless you choose to share them.