Why founders hire a fractional VP of Sales

Most founders who call me aren't looking for a salesperson.

They have a product that works, a handful of customers who love it, and a pipeline that lives in their head. They're still the best closer in the company. And they're tired of being the only one.

What they ask for, in different words, is the same thing: someone senior on their side of the table. Someone who has done this before, will tell them the truth, and will carry the revenue number with them.

That's the job. Here's what it actually covers, and why more founders are choosing to start fractional.

The gap nobody hires for

Companies between 8 and 80 people hit a predictable wall. Founder-led sales got you here. It won't get you to the next stage, because the founder can only be in so many rooms.

The usual fixes are a rep or a full-time VP of Sales. A rep without a defined motion burns through pipeline (Your first sales hire: a leader or a rep?). A full-time VP is a big, slow bet, and when it goes wrong you lose a year (Your VP of Sales didn't work out. Now what?).

A fractional VP of Sales sits in between: senior leadership, sized to what the business needs right now.

What founders actually get

1. Expertise you don't have to build from scratch. I've spent 30+ years selling complex, multi-stakeholder software to very large organizations. The deals with a CFO, a security review, a procurement team and a champion who can't sign. I know where those deals stall and what moves them. You get that pattern recognition on day one, instead of learning it one lost deal at a time.

2. A Go-To-Market that matches how your deals close. Most early GTM plans describe the deal the founder hopes for. I build around the deals you actually win: a sharp ICP, a value proposition in the buyer's words, qualification criteria, and stage gates that mean something. Pricing and packaging get tested against real deal feedback, not a spreadsheet.

3. Leadership for the team you have. If you have reps, I run them: weekly deal reviews, coaching inside live opportunities, and a forecast you can trust. If you need to hire, I write the profile, run the interviews, set the comp plan and sequence the hires. If someone isn't working out, I'll tell you, and help you fix it.

4. A right hand to the CEO. This is the part founders value most. A partner who thinks about revenue every day, so you don't carry it alone. Someone to test ideas against, who will push back when a plan is weak. I also decide when you belong in a deal. The founder isn't a better salesperson; you're a different instrument. You should be in the room for the first real conversation with the economic buyer and for the final commercial terms, not for every demo and status call (When the founder should show up).

5. Hands in live deals. I don't hand over a deck and leave. I work inside the pipeline, run complex closing processes, build partner channels, and get you to the right meeting at the right moment. And I turn sales performance into a story your board and investors can believe.

What it isn't

It isn't a consultant who delivers a report. It isn't a contract rep chasing commission. And it isn't meant to be permanent. The goal is a sales function that runs without heroics: documented, staffed and measured. When the time is right, a full-time leader takes over a working machine instead of a mess.

How it works

Most engagements start at a day a week and scale with the work. We scope it together on the first call, based on what's broken and what you're trying to hit. For more on the day-to-day, see What a fractional VP of Sales actually does.

Is this you?

You're likely a fit if:

• You're still closing most deals yourself.
• Your pipeline lives in your head, or in a CRM nobody trusts.
• You've hired a rep (or a VP) and it didn't stick.
• You're selling into larger, more complex organizations than you used to.
• Your board is asking for a revenue plan you can defend.

Let's talk

I'm based in Scottsdale and work with founders across Greater Phoenix and nationally.

Grab 30 minutes, bring your sales problem, and then leave knowing how I'd tackle it with you. Book a 30-minute call.