Fractional CSO
A senior sales leader.From week one.Without the full-time cost.
Two days a week inside your team. I lead your sales, own the forecast, and build what your next sales leader inherits.
Start in week one. Decide after 30 days. Keep everything either way.
Maximum 2 clients at a time.
Full-time CSO · your year-one cost
€217,000+
- Salary at German median€153,288
- Employer social contributions€18,107
- Headhunter fee (30%)€45,986
Before bonus, car, benefits and onboarding. Example based on gehalt.de, 2026 social security rates and typical headhunter fees of 25 to 35% (Karrierebibel).
Two days a week. Investment depends on your setup, discussed on the call.
Is this you?
Six moments when a Fractional CSO pays off.
The pipeline has no owner, and the search will take months.
The founder or CEO still runs sales on top of everything else.
You need senior leadership, not a senior salary.
You can’t afford a second wrong choice.
The quarter can’t wait for a recruiting process.
Sales has to run without depending on one person.
The empty seat
Every month without a sales leader, your target has no owner.
- Up to 7 monthsStatutory notice periods in Germany, before a new leader can even start. § 622 BGB
- 25 to 35%of the annual salary goes to the headhunter. Karrierebibel
- 56%of B2B companies saw their growth rate fall in the first full year after changing their revenue leader. SBI research, Harvard Business Review, 2024
Your numbers
of your target runs without a sales leader.
Simple arithmetic: annual target ÷ 12 × months. Your numbers stay in your browser.
What a new hire does in 90 days. What I do.
A new leader spends 90 days learning your business. I spend them fixing it.
Listening tour, one-to-ones, a report on the current state
Every deal scored, the real number for this quarter, your forecast accuracy measured
Works out what “good” should look like
Rules already proven, adapted to how your buyers decide
First pilots with one or two reps
The whole team on one process, and your first evidence-based board forecast
Starts from zero, inside your politics
Arrives with the tools, the standard and an outside view
New leaders need just over six months on average to break even. Michael Watkins, The First 90 Days (CIO).
How it works
Two days a week. Full ownership.
Monday · With your team
Pipeline and forecast review. Which deals are real, and what moves this week.
Wednesday · With your people
Live deal coaching, rep and manager development, your update. Blockers removed.
The other days · Your team executes
Against clear rules and a forecast built on buyer evidence.
What I take on
- Lead your sales team and the weekly pipeline review
- Own the forecast you take to your board
- Set the qualification rules and the sales process
- Coach reps and managers on live deals
- Stop margin leaks from quarter-end discounts
- Help you hire your full-time sales leader, when the time is right
Your first 90 days
Six months of ramp‑up, compressed into 90 days.
Notice period, up to 7 monthsRamp-up to break-even, about 6 months
Notice periods: § 622 BGB. Ramp-up: new leaders need just over six months on average to reach break-even, Michael Watkins, The First 90 Days (CIO). Before search time.
- Days 1 to 30 · DiagnoseSee what’s real.
No changes before facts. I sit with every rep and every open deal.
- Every open deal reviewed one to one with its rep
- Every deal scored 0 to 100 for buyer evidence
- Forecast accuracy of the last four quarters measured
- Where deals stall: conversion and time per stage
- Live customer calls with your team
Day 30 · you haveThe real number for this quarter, what’s dead, and your forecast accuracy as a baseline. - Days 31 to 60 · BuildSet the core rules.
The minimum your team needs to run from day 61, written down with your team.
- Stages rebuilt around buyer decisions, with exit criteria
- One qualification standard: 10 tests a real deal passes
- A fixed rhythm: weekly pipeline review, monthly forecast call
- Discount and approval rules that protect your margin
- CRM set up to match the new stages
Day 60 · you haveOne process, one forecast rhythm, and every rep working on it. - Days 61 to 90 · RunLead it live.
The rules meet real deals. I run the reviews and coach where money is at stake.
- Weekly reviews run by the rules; no evidence, no commit
- Coaching on your top 10 live deals
- Your managers trained to run the review themselves
- The first forecast for your board built on evidence
- A plan for months 4 to 6: targets, coverage, hiring needs
Day 90 · you haveA forecast you can defend, a team on one process, and a clear plan for the next three months.
Months 4 to 6 · The full playbook. Discovery questions, objection handling and onboarding for new reps, while the rules become habits. Then we decide together: continue, step down, or hand over.
Results you can expect
forecast accuracy, without a full-time hire
of your deals run on one process, with clear rules
Results are targets, not guarantees. They are based on Suresh Babu’s 21+ years in enterprise B2B sales and depend on your starting point.
What you get
Everything you need to say yes.
- 30days01Decide after 30 days.
If the diagnosis doesn’t convince you, you stop, and you keep everything it found.
- Forecast Actual02A one-page report every month.
In German or English. Forecast vs. actual, real vs. reported pipeline, what changed.
- 03Everything stays yours.
Scorecard, qualification standard, stages and playbook. Nothing is rented.
- 24h04Reachable between our days.
A reply within 24 hours when a big deal is at risk.
- €005No headhunter fee for your successor.
€45,986headhunter feeWhen it’s time, I run the selection of your full-time sales leader with you.
- Maximum 2 clients06Never more than 2 clients.
Your team gets full attention, not a slot in a crowded calendar.
Before Smart Sales Partners
The pipeline looked full. The revenue didn’t come.
European B2B solutions providermid-sizedenterprise customers across DACHmy role: enterprise sales
On paper, the pipeline was healthy. In reality, deals stalled, every forecast was too optimistic, and management couldn’t tell which deals were really moving.
Not a lead problem. A quality problem.
Many high-value deals had no executive sponsor, no agreed business case and no clear buying process. They were forecast to close anyway.
- Deal ASponsorBusiness caseBuying process
- Deal BSponsorBusiness caseBuying process
- Deal CSponsorBusiness caseBuying process
- Deal DSponsorBusiness caseBuying process
- Deal ESponsorBusiness caseBuying process
- Deal FSponsorBusiness caseBuying process
Illustration of the pattern, not the original deal list.
- Find the leakEvidence, not confidence
Every deal qualified by what the customer had done, not by how the seller felt.
- Fix the engineOne weekly question
Strategic deals reviewed every week: what has the customer actually done?
- Keep the revenueNext step before next stage
Executives involved earlier. No deal moved forward without an agreed next customer action.
The result
- Reliableforecasts management could plan with
- Visiblethe real pipeline, deal by deal
- Focusedteam time on deals that could close
“For the first time, we know which deals are real and which ones are just conversations.”
Management team
Same method. Now for your company.
Book a 30-minute callFractional or full-time?
The same seat. Less risk.
A senior leader from week one
Search, notice period, onboarding
Two days a week
€217,000+ in year one, before bonus
Decide after 30 days, 6 months to make it stick
Permanent contract with notice periods
Low. See the work first
High if the hire doesn’t fit
Rules, process and a team your next leader inherits
Depends on who stays
The exit plan
When it’s time, I help you hire your full-time sales leader, and hand over a team that already runs.
Who does the work
You work with me.
Not with a junior team.
Author of Revenue Reality Order on Amazon →Experience includes
Why I do this
Why I do this
For twenty years I was a king for 30 days.
Then back to zero on day one of the next month.
Always judged on this quarter. Never given the time to fix what was broken underneath.
So I built the seat that isn’t.
Read my storyWhat does it cost?
It depends on your setup: how many customer groups you sell to, the size of your sales team and your locations. You get a clear price before anything starts.
What if it’s not the right fit?
You decide after 30 days. If you stop, you keep the scored pipeline and the report.
Why only 2 clients at a time?
Two days a week each. That leaves full attention for your team, not a share of a crowded calendar.
How long is the commitment?
You decide after 30 days. If you continue, six months in total, because that’s how long new rules take to become habits. Then we decide together.
Remote or on-site?
Both. Most work runs remote. On-site depends on your team size, locations and how complex your sales are.
Do you work in German or English?
Both. Meetings, reviews and reports in the language your team works in.
Is this confidential?
Yes. We sign an NDA before you share a single number, a deal or a document.
What happens when we hire a full-time leader?
I run the selection with you, with no headhunter fee, and hand over the rules, the process and the team.
Do you replace my sales leader?
No. If you have one, I work with them and make them stronger. If the seat is empty, I lead until your new leader starts, and I help you choose the right one.
What size of company is this for?
B2B companies with their own sales team and complex sales: several decision makers, deals that take months. Whether it fits you, we check in the first call.
Honestly
When I’m the wrong choice.
Better you know now than after 30 days.
- You want
More leads.I make the leads you already have count. For more leads, you need marketing.
- You want
A new CRM.I work with the CRM you have. I don’t sell or install software.
- You sell
Fast, small deals.My work pays off where deals take months and several people decide.
- You want
A one-day training.Then a workshop fits better. See workshops
None of these? Then let’s talk.
30-minute call
Your sales seat, filled from week one.
We look at your situation together, and I tell you honestly whether a Fractional CSO is the right move.
Book a 30-minute callNo obligation. Maximum 2 clients at a time.