Most businesses at the $5M to $30M mark don't have a revenue problem. They have a commercial leadership problem. The founder is still the commercial engine. Everything - every deal, every negotiation, every major pitch - runs through them. And at a certain point, that becomes the ceiling.
A Fractional CRO changes that. Not an external advisor on a monthly call. Not a consultant with a slide deck. The person in the role - attending meetings, driving pipeline, building the commercial architecture from inside the business - retained monthly at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
"The business needs commercial leadership. It doesn't need another salary on the books to get it."
What a Fractional CRO actually does
The title changes depending on what the business needs. Sometimes it's Commercial Director. Sometimes it's Sales Manager. Sometimes it's the person who sits alongside the CEO and owns everything commercial - pipeline, positioning, partnerships, pricing, proposals.
What it always means is this: Jeff is inside the business, not outside it. He attends the meetings that matter. He reviews the proposals before they go out. He sits in on the pitches. He works with the team - not just the founder - so that the commercial capability builds over time and doesn't walk out the door when the engagement ends.
The work starts with a deep-dive session to understand where the business is, where it wants to go, and what the commercial bottlenecks actually are. Then it moves into operation - not planning, operation.
Who this is for
This engagement fits when
What it is not
It is not a coaching program. It is not a strategy document delivered at the end of a retainer. It is not advice from the outside looking in.
The Fractional CRO model only works when the engagement is real - when Jeff is genuinely inside the business, empowered to drive commercial outcomes, and accountable to results. Businesses that want someone to attend a monthly check-in and review a spreadsheet are not the right fit for this model.
How it works in practice
Every engagement is structured around what the business actually needs, not a fixed template. Some clients need Jeff in two meetings a week. Others need a fortnightly session plus availability on-demand for proposals and decisions. The structure is built at the start and adjusted as the engagement progresses.
What doesn't change is the methodology: Clarity first - understand the true commercial position and where the gap actually is. Then Strategy - build the plan that matches the ambition. Then Implementation - execute with the team, track what works, change what doesn't.
Real result - Energy Technology
Full Australian commercial build from scratch. Tier one supplier signed. 5 new deals. 6 months.
A European energy technology company entered the Australian market with a world-class product and no commercial infrastructure. Fractional commercial leadership built the positioning, the channel strategy, the partner relationships and the pipeline from the ground up. A tier one national supplier agreement was signed. An exclusive arrangement with a tier one construction company - 150 homes annually - was secured. Five new commercial deals were closed. A major remote mining infrastructure project was landed. Six months.
Currently at capacity
Fractional CRO engagements are limited by definition. The model only works when the engagement is genuine - and genuine engagement requires genuine time and attention. Jeff takes a small number of fractional clients at any one time.
If you're thinking about this now, the conversation is worth having sooner rather than later. The best time to put this in place is before the commercial pressure becomes critical - not during it.