Fractional Commercial Directors: How They Work in a Business
For many small and growing businesses, the leap from founder-led hustle to structured, strategic growth can feel daunting. You know there are commercial blind spots, in pricing, negotiation, risk, or team capability, but the idea of hiring a full-time commercial director can seem out of reach, or simply not the right fit for your business’s current scale. This is where the model of a Fractional Commercial Director (FCD) comes in: a flexible, cost-effective way to access senior expertise without the ‘corporate baggage’.
What Is a Fractional Commercial Director?
A Fractional Commercial Director is a senior commercial specialist who works with your business on a part-time, project, or on-demand basis. Rather than being a permanent employee (with all associated overheads and long-term commitment), an FCD provides high-level input where and when you need it, slotting in to support founders, guide teams, and bring fresh strategic momentum to the board table.
Crucially, this isn’t about ticking compliance boxes or parachuting in during a crisis. Fractional Commercial Directors like the team at Looking Glass Solutions work across the bigger picture: helping you make smarter decisions, set the right priorities, and foster a culture of confidence around contracts and commercial matters.
Why Businesses Are Turning to Fractional Commercial Leadership
The business landscape is changing. Scaling up, pivoting, or just hoping to avoid costly blunders all require commercial expertise that’s seasoned and strategic, yet most early-stage businesses can’t justify a six-figure salary for a commercial director, nor do they want to add ‘another suit’ to their mix. A fractional model offers two distinct advantages:
- 1. Flexibility: You get access to reliable, high-calibre support, but only as much as you need. This might mean a few hours a month, strategic workshop blocks, or ongoing advice as your business navigates new contracts or big decisions.
- 2. Perspective: Unlike full-time in-house staff, a fractional director often works with a portfolio of clients. They can spot patterns, bring market insights from multiple sectors, and keep you moving forward, without the inertia or groupthink that can arise internally.
How Does a Fractional Commercial Director Work in Practice?
Let’s break down how this looks in real businesses:
, Decision Support: Founders and directors use their FCD as a trusted advisor, sounding board, and challenge partner. Need to review a big customer contract, decide on expansion terms, or sense-check your pricing model? An FCD brings calm, unbiased expertise, no panic, no hidden agenda.
, Strategy Development: An FCD helps you move beyond firefighting to forward planning. Strategic away days, margin reviews, profit insight deep-dives, and even board-level workshops can all form part of the remit. The goal is sustainable growth, missed risks caught early, and opportunities seized before they slip by.
, Commercial Team Building: Growing businesses often have capable people wearing too many hats, or junior staff handling commercial tasks without proper training. An experienced Fractional Director can guide, mentor, and even embed themselves into your team, leaving them more confident and capable.
, On-Call Expertise: Commercial queries don’t keep to office hours. With an FCD, founders have a direct line for quick, clear advice, whether it’s an unexpected customer dispute, a new supplier deal, or questions from investors.
Where Looking Glass Solutions Fits In
At Looking Glass Solutions, we’re passionate about making senior-level commercial expertise accessible to ambitious businesses, without the full-time price tag or the layers of corporate jargon. Our Fractional Commercial Director support is:
• Flexible and scalable: You decide how much (or how little) involvement you need.
• Human and jargon-free: We’re here to simplify, translate, and give you the confidence to act, not leave you with more questions.
• Integrated: We fit your style and working pattern, acting as a trusted strategic partner, not an outsider.
• Results-focused: From margin improvements to smoother negotiations and sharper commercial processes, we’re always working toward genuine, measurable impact.
Is a Fractional Commercial Director Right for Your Business?
A fractional model is especially valuable if you:
– Need strategic insight but don’t want a full-time commercial hire.
– Want senior-level support but prefer practical, approachable guidance over heavy process or red tape.
– Are going through change, scaling, restructuring, or planning an exit, and need an experienced hand to steady the ship.
– Want to nurture your team’s commercial capability, not just outsource decisions.
If this sounds like your business, it might be time to explore how a Fractional Commercial Director could unlock your next stage of growth.
Final Thoughts: Commercial Confidence, Without the Corporate Baggage
Choosing a Fractional Commercial Director isn’t a compromise, it’s a strategy. It’s about getting the right expertise at the right moment, boosting your business’s resilience and ambition while protecting your bottom line. At Looking Glass Solutions, we believe every business deserves access to experienced, honest support, without the pressure, pretence, or jargon.
Ready to see what a clearer commercial future could look like for your business? Let’s talk about how flexible expertise could move you forward, one smart decision at a time.