What does a fractional head of sales cost?

Less than the wrong full-time hire, which is the alternative most founders are actually weighing.

How engagements are typically priced

Most fractional sales leaders in Europe work on a monthly retainer scoped to a set commitment, commonly one to three days a week. Some offer lighter coaching-only arrangements: weekly working sessions and accountability rather than hands-on execution. Day-rate work exists but suits audits and short projects better than ongoing engagements, where continuity is the point.

What drives the price up or down: how much execution versus coaching you need, how much of the closing the fractional lead does personally, the state of your existing pipeline and tooling, and how quickly you need the system stood up.

The comparison that matters

A full-time senior sales leader in Germany runs roughly €120k to €180k a year plus equity, and hired before a sales system exists, they fail more often than they succeed: senior sellers are closers who expect a working machine, not builders. The honest comparison isn't fractional versus nothing. It's fractional versus a mis-timed hire, including the six to twelve months it takes to discover the mistake.

A fractional engagement also has a property a hire doesn't: it's designed to end. The deliverables are a playbook, a CRM you can forecast against, an onboarding curriculum, and a hiring rubric. When it works, you graduate out of it.

My pricing

I scope engagements to your stage, from weekly coaching for founders doing their own selling up to hands-on building and closing. Email me where your sales stands and what you can invest, and I'll tell you what I'd propose and whether I think it's worth it for you. If I don't think you need me yet, I'll say so.