Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)

Our clients vary widely. A family business handing over commercial leadership for the first time. An investor with a value creation plan that has to pay off within five years. A corporate that wants a business unit to grow faster than the market. The question is always the same: who is going to own this commercial result?

Why companies look for a CCO now

It usually starts with the feeling that you have lost your grip. Sales, marketing and customer success all do their best, yet the whole does not become more predictable. The forecast slips every quarter, and you cannot say exactly where things go wrong.

In private equity, time pressure comes on top of that. If revenue does not accelerate after the acquisition, the investor quickly wants a different leader at the helm. In a family business something else is at play. The owner wants a heavyweight, but not a corporate type who takes over the culture. And in a corporate, HR and the board have to agree on one profile, and they need a partner who quickly brings forward the right candidates.

Each of those situations calls for a different CCO. Someone who excels for an investor may be gone from a family business within a year.

CCO Benchmarking

Sometimes the question is closer to home. Results lag behind ambition, the collaboration chafes.

We first help you get clear on what is going on. An assessment shows you objectively where your current leader stands. If a successor turns out to be needed, we search in full confidentiality.

How we find your CCO

We work with Development Driven Search®. The method starts from a simple fact: the best CCOs are not looking for a job. They only move when a role takes their development as a leader further. So we search from two questions at once. What does your organisation need to grow? And for which top candidate is exactly this assignment the logical next step? Where those two meet, the candidate says yes, and stays.

1. Role analysis. We talk to you, the owners or the board, and the team where needed. Together we define what the CCO must have achieved after 12 and after 24 months. That profile is sharper than a job ad and becomes the yardstick for every candidate.
2. Search in our network. We approach CCOs, CROs and CSOs we have often known for years. When the profile calls for it, we deliberately look outside your sector.
3. Assessment. We test for the factors that research shows best predict success in sales. CV and chemistry count, but they are never enough. For each candidate you receive a substantiated recommendation, including where he or she will need support.
4. Decision and start. We guide the final interviews, the references and the offer. Candidates get time to test honestly whether the role suits them. That prevents a departure after six months. After the start, we stay in touch.

From intake to signed contract this takes 8 to 12 weeks on average. If the vacancy is urgent, we bridge the gap with an interim or fractional CCO while the search continues.

Discuss your CCO vacancy with SalesQuarters. Call +31 20 226 90 00 or email info@salesquarters.nl. A first conversation commits you to nothing. Would you like to hear how it went for others first? We will put you in touch with a client as a reference.

The evidence behind it

Talent is not normally distributed. Research by O'Boyle and Aguinis (2012) shows that a small group of top performers delivers a disproportionate share of results. In a role with final commercial responsibility, that gap is at its widest. That is why we work evidence based. Bart Dietz holds a PhD in sales leadership and wrote a book on attracting top talent.

We recently found the CCO of BrandWise Group. For Boehringer Ingelheim we searched for a Head of Strategic Business Unit with a similarly broad mandate. Kars ten Have, General Manager of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Netherlands: "SalesQuarters gave us real insight into the dynamics of key account management in our market."

We also know the role from the inside. Berend Kistemaker, CCO of Enviolo, on his advisory sessions with Bart: "It felt like having a co-pilot for a while."