5 Benefits of Hiring a Fractional Sales Leader

Let’s face it: you don’t know enough about sales. 

I don’t mean just you personally, either. Nobody knows enough about sales. Even the top sales teams need advice from sales experts who aren’t afraid to tell them what they’re doing wrong.

You could certainly improve by hiring a sales leader, but that’s a major expense you can’t always afford to risk. However, the solution is simpler than you think—hire a sales leader on a time-share.

Okay, you can’t do that exactly, but bringing a fractional sales leader on board is pretty close conceptually. Despite how it may sound at first, a fractional sales leader is a skilled sales professional with 100% of their body intact, and only works for you and your team a fraction of the time. 

Fractional sales leaders are typically highly experienced sales executives looking to advise multiple businesses in an area, rather than grow their roots in a single business. 

So if you’re looking to kick your sales into high gear, a fractional sales leader might be the perfect solution for your company. Here are a few reasons why…

1. Premium sales advice without the full-time salary.

If you don’t have enough money to buy a home, you rent one. So why not do the same with a sales leader? While my legal team has advised me against telling you to rent a salesperson, a fractional sales leader can offer your team high-level consulting—without the full-time price tag.

They help you set up meetings ahead of time, and plan out strategies that give your team clarity until the next meeting. Because of these part-time services, you can end up paying less than half the price of a full-time sales leader when you account for interviews, benefits, and the cost of aspirin for your full-time headache during the onboarding process.

Whether you’re a small business looking to up your sales game by hiring an expert, or just looking to get a second opinion on your sales leader’s existing strategies, a fractional sales leader has the advice you need to make your sales team great. 

2. A fresh perspective on sales strategy and tactics.

Tunnel vision is a huge issue for any sales team. It can be difficult to grow your sales team if you can’t look at the bigger picture. But when you have a sales expert who wears a variety of hats in any given month, their outside look can be invaluable.

Businesses often fall into the trap of clinging to sales strategies because they worked in the past. This can incentivize your team to replicate their results, rather than adapt their strategy to fit your circumstances. Since a fractional sales leader checks in on your team from time to time, they always come back with a fresh set of eyes. 

But enough talk about their weekly eye transplant surgery. Fractional sales leaders use what they learned from years in sales at a multitude of companies to find practical sales solutions that your team might not have even considered.

3. Keep your team on track between sales leader transitions.

In sales, two weeks goes by in a flash. So imagine how shocking two weeks’ notice from a sales leader can be. It’s hardly enough time to set up a proper interview, much less hire a new person who can flawlessly pick up where they left off.

Fractional sales leaders are ideal for carrying the torch until you have a more permanent replacement. They’re experienced with making sales strategies in a pinch, and offer your team the sales stability you need in the meantime.

Even if you manage to get a new sales specialist the next day, they can’t always hit the ground running. By having a fractional sales leader in the meanwhile, you can ensure a smooth transition in your team, and keep your numbers on target.

4. Track down and resolve the weak links in your team. 

Let’s say your fractional sales leader meets with your team once per week. That doesn’t mean that they haphazardly toss your company’s sales reports into their nightstand drawer until next week. Quite the opposite actually.

Fractional sales leaders use advanced sales assessment tools to monitor your team’s status and overall progress even while they’re not meeting with you directly. And trust me, it’s really tough to fit a laptop into a nightstand drawer—I’ve tried. Instead, they’ll work diligently to prepare for each meeting, and stay up to speed.

But when you combine a sales veteran with high-performance analytics software, they can sniff out issues in your sales team within days. 

Okay, they probably won’t want to poke their nose around your office space, but fractional sales leaders will be able to evaluate your team’s performance, removing roadblocks and maximizing your growth.

5. Develop and execute a masterful sales plan in no time.

Since fractional sales leaders are constantly jumping between businesses, they have a knack for analyzing a business’s strengths and weaknesses on the fly. Unlike the plumber I hired last week, they develop plans to fix your pipeline quickly, and won’t track mud onto your carpet.

Fractional sales leaders aren’t able to spend time during the entire week to advise your team, so they make the most out of every meeting. They come prepared with a game plan that gives you a clear course of action to optimize your sales strategy.

You can take comfort knowing that their plan is backed by years of sales experience, too. If you come across an unexpected stall in your pipeline, having a fractional sales leader can get your business back on track in no time—even if you only just recently hired them.

Is it worth it to hire a fractional sales leader?

If you don’t want to shoehorn a full-time sales leader into your budget, a fractional sales leader is the way to go. And even if you do have a full-time sales leader, a fractional leader can offer fresh perspectives. They make for one of the most cost-effective sales solutions available.

If you’re looking for a fractional sales leader to guide your sales team, TPD consulting can lend you valuable advice—and provide you the stability you need. Contact us today to learn how we can ignite sales growth for your organization.