Home/Fractional Commercial Director

How it works

Director-level commercial work.
Exactly when you need it.

You already know what fractional leadership is. This page covers how we work in practice: the structure, what you get, and whether it fits where you are right now.

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The engagement structure

Three phases. One clear direction from week one.

Every engagement follows the same arc. The early weeks are about understanding the commercial reality fast, not producing a report. Everything after that is execution.

Phase 01
Commercial Diagnostic
Weeks 1 to 4

A structured review of your market position, pipeline, pricing, relationships and blockers. The goal is a clear, honest picture of the commercial situation before any strategy is decided.

  • Commercial position summary
  • Prioritised opportunity map
  • Key blockers identified
  • Recommended next 90 days
Phase 02
Active Engagement
Months 2 to 6 (or longer)

Hands-on commercial execution alongside your team. Mark works the pipeline, develops relationships, shapes proposals and moves deals. This is not advisory at a distance.

  • Pipeline built and progressed
  • Customer relationships developed
  • Commercial materials created
  • Weekly rhythm with your team
Phase 03
Transition or Continuity
Agreed at review

At natural review points, you decide whether to continue, reduce, extend or move to a handover. If you bring a permanent hire in, Mark supports the transition so nothing is lost.

  • Full pipeline handover
  • Playbooks documented
  • Hiring brief supported
  • Continuity if you want it
What actually gets built

Concrete outputs, not advisory opinions.

Mark works in the business, not above it. These are the things that exist at the end of an engagement that weren't there at the start.

A live, qualified pipeline

Real opportunities, properly qualified, with named contacts, clear next steps and realistic conversion timelines. Not a spreadsheet of names.

Customer and partner relationships

Introductions made, relationships built and maintained. Conversations that were stuck, moving again. New routes into sectors and accounts that were closed.

Commercial architecture

Pricing structures, commercial frameworks, partnership models and contracting approaches designed to hold up as you scale. Not just for this deal.

Materials that do the work

Proposals, briefing documents, pitch decks and qualification frameworks built for how your buyers actually make decisions. Tested in real conversations.

A repeatable commercial playbook

The process for finding, qualifying and closing the right customers, documented clearly enough that someone else can run it. This is what stays when Mark leaves.

Clarity on what to stop doing

The markets not to pursue, the partnerships not worth the time, the pricing approach that is leaving money on the table. Commercial focus is as valuable as new activity.

Is this the right fit

Honest criteria. No time wasted on either side.

You have a product that works but the pipeline is not consistent. The team is good but commercial momentum is not where it needs to be. You need someone to own the commercial motion, not advise on it from outside. If that sounds familiar, read on. We work with a small number of businesses at any time, so getting the fit right at the start matters to us too.

This works well when
  • ✓You have a product or service that works, and need to build the commercial engine around it
  • ✓You are in EnergyTech or PropTech, or an adjacent sector with similar commercial dynamics
  • ✓You need someone who will work in the business, not just review it
  • ✓Leadership is willing to move fast when the right opportunities present
  • ✓You want to build something repeatable, not just close the next deal
Less likely to be the right fit if
  • –The product is still pre-market and needs significant iteration before customers will engage
  • –You need a full-time, embedded commercial leader available five days a week
  • –The business needs regulated financial, legal or engineering advice as the primary input
  • –Sector is entirely outside energy, property, infrastructure or related B2B technology
How engagements are structured

Three ways to work together.

A typical ongoing engagement costs significantly less than a third of a permanent commercial hire once you account for salary, employer NI, recruitment fees and notice periods. And it starts in days, not months. All engagements are governed by Learel's Standard Services Terms. Specific scope, fees and duration are agreed in an Order Form before work begins.

Diagnostic
Four weeks, fixed scope

A bounded commercial review with a clear output: an honest assessment of where you are and a recommended direction. Useful if you are not yet sure a longer engagement is right, or if you need an independent commercial view before a funding round or board decision.

Defined scope and fee agreed in advance.
Most common
Ongoing Engagement
Monthly retainer, minimum commitment agreed

A sustained commercial leadership commitment across a defined period. Mark works alongside your team, runs the commercial motion and drives the pipeline. The right choice when you need consistent, senior commercial presence over months, not weeks.

Minimum commitment, review points and notice period set in the Order Form.
Project
Fixed fee, defined deliverable

Scoped around a specific commercial task: entering a new vertical, building a partnership model, developing a channel strategy or preparing for a particular transaction. Clear start, clear end, clear output.

Scope and milestones agreed before work begins.
About Mark
Mark Winn, Fractional Commercial Director
Mark Winn
Fractional Commercial Director, Learel Ltd

I have spent the past decade doing the commercial work that determines whether technically strong businesses actually grow: building pipelines where there were none, opening markets that felt closed, and creating the commercial architecture that lets a team replicate what works.

The businesses I work with are usually at a genuine inflection point. The product is real. The team is good. But the commercial motion is not yet working consistently, and a full-time hire either cannot be justified yet or is not the right first step. That is where I come in.

I work with a small number of clients at any time. That is deliberate. The work I do requires real attention, not a standardised playbook applied from a distance.

The first step is small. Tell us where you are.

Two sentences about your situation is enough to start. No preparation, no pitch, no commitment. Mark reads every message personally and responds within one working day.

1
Tell us where you are in two sentencesThe form takes two minutes. Or email directly if you prefer.
2
30-minute call with Mark directlyNo slides, no agenda, no account manager. Just an honest conversation about whether this makes sense.
3
A clear answer either wayIf it is not the right fit, we will say so. If it is, we agree scope and start when you are ready.

Prefer email? mark.winn@learel.co.uk

Mark reads every message personally and responds within one business day.

✓
Message sent.

Mark will be in touch within one business day.