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Service

Executive search

Discreet, structured search for the commercial leaders who own the number: Heads of Sales, Sales Directors, VPs of Sales and CROs.

Discuss an executive search

The commercial purpose

A commercial leader changes the shape of a business, and the wrong one costs a year you cannot get back. This service exists to remove guesswork from the single most consequential hire in a revenue function.

What the process looks like

  • A confidential briefing with the board or founder on mandate, constraints and what must be true in twelve months.
  • A mapped market rather than a shortlist of whoever happens to be available.
  • Assessment against the specific stage of the business: building, fixing or scaling.
  • Structured referencing on leadership behaviour, not just results.
  • A clear written view of the risk in each candidate, and what would mitigate it.

What we assess for at leadership level

  • Whether they build a system or personally carry the number.
  • Coaching: evidence of individuals who measurably improved under them.
  • Forecasting credibility, and how they use RevOps and data to earn it.
  • How they hire, develop and, when necessary, remove people.
  • Credibility in both directions: with the board and with the shop floor.
  • A considered view on where technology genuinely improves their funnel, and where it does not.

How it is structured

Executive search is a retained, exclusive engagement with a defined scorecard and staged milestones. Discretion is part of the product: we will run a confidential search where an incumbent is still in seat.

Assessment

Five stages, weighted for leadership

At this level stages four and five carry the most weight. Leadership failures are almost never a lack of sales knowledge.

  1. Stage 1: Experience and evidence

    What has this person actually done?

    We get specific about the numbers and the environment behind them, in the same format for every candidate, so you can compare people rather than compare CVs.

    Past performance is evidence, not a forecast. A strong number in a business with exceptional inbound tells you very little about a cold market, and we say so.

    Includes

    Quota, attainment and how it moved across the last three periods · Average deal value and sales cycle length · Market, customer type and the ICP they actually sold into · New business versus account growth, outbound versus inbound

  2. Stage 2: How they sell

    What happens when this person has to actually sell?

    We take them through real situations rather than competency questions, because selling is a behaviour and you can hear it.

    Includes

    Discovery: the questions they ask and the order they ask them in · Listening ratio, and whether they follow the thread or return to a script · Prospecting method and how they choose who to approach · Building rapport without performing

  3. Stage 3: Modern GTM capability

    Can this person operate inside a modern revenue team?

    Technology should give a seller more time in front of buyers. We check they understand that, and that they use it with judgement rather than for volume.

    Nobody needs experience of every platform, and we do not screen on a tool list. The principle is simpler: a strong modern seller can explain how technology makes them more effective, and where it makes them worse.

    Includes

    CRM discipline in Salesforce or HubSpot: clean pipeline, honest stages, useful notes · Conversation intelligence such as Gong, and what they changed after listening back · Sequencing and engagement platforms such as Outreach or Salesloft · Data and intelligence tools: Apollo, Lusha, Cognism, Clay, LinkedIn Sales Navigator

  4. Stage 4: Mindset and motivation

    Why does this person sell, and what happens when it gets hard?

    This is the stage most processes skip and the one that most often explains a failed hire. It is a proper conversation, not a personality questionnaire.

    The goal is meaningful human understanding, not a psychometric score. We report what we heard and where we are unsure.

    Includes

    Why they chose sales, and whether they actually enjoy selling · What motivates them beyond the commission plan · Ambition: what they want to be doing in three years, and how realistic it is · Resilience and how they describe a bad quarter

  5. Stage 5: Human and cultural fit

    Where is this person most likely to thrive?

    We are not looking for people who all sound the same. We are working out which environment brings the best out of this particular person, and whether that is yours.

    Cultural fit is not a code word for people who resemble the existing team. Used properly it is the difference between a good hire and a good hire in the wrong place.

    Includes

    Communication style, and how it lands with your buyer · Personality and values, described honestly rather than flatteringly · The working environment they perform best in · The management style that gets the most out of them

See the full screening process in detail

Common questions

Leadership hiring, answered

What makes a great Sales Director?
Three things, in this order: an operating rhythm they can install and hold, the ability to coach individuals to measurable improvement, and a forecast the board can trust. Personal selling ability matters far less than most hiring processes assume — a Director who can only carry the number themselves has capped your growth at their own capacity.
Should our first leadership hire be a Head of Sales or a VP?
It depends on team size, deal complexity and how much of the motion already exists. We will give you a straight recommendation, including when the answer is to promote internally, hire a hands-on Sales Manager, or wait another two quarters.
Can you run a confidential search?
Yes. Where an incumbent is still in post we run the search without naming you until a candidate is properly qualified and under confidentiality.

Other ways we work

If this is not the shape of your hire

The three services overlap on assessment and differ on scope. If you started in the wrong place, move sideways.

  • One hire at a time

    Permanent recruitment

    You are adding to or replacing a seat in a motion that already works, and the profile matters more than speed.

    Hire GTM talent

  • Several connected hires

    Team builds

    You need a functioning unit rather than a set of filled vacancies: an SDR pod, an SDR plus AE structure, market entry or a rebuild.

    Build my sales team
Compare all three services

Hiring a commercial leader?

Tell us the mandate and the constraints, in confidence. We will tell you what the market looks like before you commit to anything.

Tell us who you're hiringSee how we assess