Hiring for Commercial Impact — Not Just to Fill Seats

One of the biggest hiring challenges & mistakes I see for SME and scale-up brands is balancing short-term delivery needs with long-term capability building. 

This is particularly prevalent in sales and marketing, where commercial outcomes hinge on the quality of leadership and the clarity of direction.

We recently partnered with the founders of a high-growth FMCG business at a critical inflection point:

• Significant revenue targets (c.£2million - £10million ambition).

• Strong brand expansion ambitions 

• And a commercial structure that wasn’t yet designed to scale

Rather than reactively filling gaps like they or others may have done before, we worked backwards from the business plan:

•  Start with the 12-month commercial objectives

•  Identify future capability requirements

•  Align structure with growth, not headcount

•  Build roles enabling both momentum now & sustained performance later

This resulted in three focused, future-proofed commercial hires.

 ✔️ Two secured (1 of which, 3 months, in has secured 2 significant distribution wins with retail)

 ✔️ One in progress

 ✔️ And last night I was informed that next week, we’re sitting with the full board & investors to advise on the broader commercial organisation design as an external partner.

The benefit?

For the business:

• Stronger ROI on talent

• More aligned commercial delivery

• A structure built for growth, not reaction

For candidates:

• Clearer mandates

• Strategic, impactful roles

• A longer runway for success and career progression

For the EVP:

• Roles with meaning and purpose, not firefighting

• A hiring process that reflects strategic maturity

• A culture that respects clarity, ambition, and individual contribution

This is what strategic talent consulting looks like.

It’s not just about hiring, it’s about building the team that will take your business to where it needs to be next.

If you’re leading a brand through scale and want your commercial team to drive growth not just respond to it let’s talk. Simple CV sending is dieing, its time to scale up with the right supplier relationships.

This article was first published in LinkedIn, click here to see original post.