Executive recruitment insights
Deciding on an executive appointment
Written for employers, boards and founders weighing a leadership appointment — what each role should own, how it differs from the role beside it, and which engagement model fits the situation.
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The questions employers ask before they recruit
By theme
Decisions that sit above any single role
Choosing executive leadership
What executive recruitment is, when it applies, and how to choose a partner.
- When Should a Business Use an Executive Recruitment Firm?
- When Should a Business Recruit an Operations Director?
- When Should a Business Hire a Finance Director?
- When Does an SME Need a Managing Director?
- When Should a Business Hire a Chief Revenue Officer?
- What Should a Company Look for in an Executive Recruiter?
- What Salary Should You Expect to Pay a Sales Director in the UK?
- What Makes a Senior Executive Genuinely Suitable for an SME?
- Should You Hire Internally or Recruit Externally for a Senior Leadership Role?
- How Should a Senior Sales Leader's Package and Incentives Be Structured?
- How Much Does It Cost to Recruit a Sales Director?
- How Much Does Executive Recruitment Cost in the UK?
- How Much Does a Commercial Director Earn in the UK?
- How Much Does a Bad Senior Leadership Hire Really Cost?
- Head of Sales vs Sales Manager: Which Does a Growing Business Need?
- Executive Search vs Contingency Recruitment: What Is the Difference?
- When Should a Business Hire a Head of Sales?
- Chief Revenue Officer vs Sales Director: What Is the Difference?
- Chief Revenue Officer vs Commercial Director: Which Suits a Mid-Sized Business?
- CFO vs Finance Director: What Is the Difference?
- CEO vs Managing Director: What Is the Difference?
- How to Choose an Executive Recruitment Partner
- Executive Recruitment vs Executive Search: What Is the Difference?
- What Is Executive Recruitment and When Should a Business Use It?
Permanent, interim and fractional
Which engagement model fits the leadership requirement in front of you.
- When Is Interim Leadership Better Than Permanent Recruitment?
- When Does a Business Need Fractional Leadership?
- What Is an Interim Executive?
- What Is a Fractional Executive?
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Leadership: Which Costs Less?
- How Quickly Can an Interim Executive Realistically Add Value?
- How Do You Run a Fractional Executive Engagement Well?
- Fractional Executive vs Consultant: What Is the Difference?
- Fractional Commercial Director vs Permanent Commercial Director
- When Should a Fractional Executive Become a Permanent Hire?
- Interim vs Fractional Executives: What Is the Difference?
- When Does Fractional Executive Leadership Make Sense?
- When Should You Use an Interim Executive?
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Executive Leadership
Board, succession and leadership change
Planned succession, founder transition, sudden departures and periods of change.
Executive hiring process and assessment
Briefing, assessment, confidentiality and what a strong shortlist looks like.
- What Should You Look for When Recruiting a Sales Director?
- What Should You Look for When Recruiting a Managing Director?
- What Should You Look for When Recruiting a Commercial Director?
- How Should a Business Write a Brief for a Senior Leadership Hire?
- How Do You Recruit a Senior Executive Without an Expensive Mistake?
- How Do You Recruit a Sales Director Who Can Actually Build Growth?
- How Should You Onboard a New Sales Director in the First 90 Days?
- How Long Does Executive Recruitment Take?
- How Do You Recruit a CEO for a Growing Business?
- How Do You Assess Commercial Leadership Candidates Properly?
- How to Brief an Executive Recruitment Partner
Growth and international leadership
What senior leadership a growing or internationally expanding business actually needs.
- When Should a Growing Business Hire a CFO?
- When Should an International Company Recruit Locally Rather Than Manage the UK Remotely?
- How Do You Build a UK Commercial Team When Entering the Market?
- How Should an Overseas Company Recruit Its First UK Sales Director?
- How Do You Recruit Your First UK Country Manager?
- Country Manager vs Sales Director for UK Market Entry
By role
Authority content for individual executive roles
General Management
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Should a Business Hire a CEO?
- What Should a CEO Actually Own?
- How Should a Board Structure a CEO Appointment?
- CEO vs COO
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional CEO
- What Good CEO Performance Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a CEO
- Founder to CEO Transition: When Does Leadership Need to Change?
- How Do You Recruit a CEO for a Growing Business?
Managing Director
Managing Director recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a Managing Director?
- What Should a Managing Director Own?
- Managing Director vs CEO
- Owner to Managing Director: Handing Over Day-to-Day Control
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Managing Director
- What Good Managing Director Performance Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a Managing Director
- What Should a New Managing Director Deliver in the First Year?
- CEO vs Managing Director: What Is the Difference?
- Interim Managing Director vs Permanent Managing Director
- Should a Founder Remain CEO or Recruit an Experienced Managing Director?
- What Should You Look for When Recruiting a Managing Director?
- When Does an SME Need a Managing Director?
Commercial & Revenue
Chief Revenue Officer
Chief Revenue Officer recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a Chief Revenue Officer?
- What Should a CRO Own?
- CRO vs Sales Director
- CRO vs Commercial Director
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional CRO
- What Good Revenue Leadership Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a CRO
- Is a CRO Right for a B2B Business?
- Chief Revenue Officer vs Commercial Director: Which Suits a Mid-Sized Business?
- Chief Revenue Officer vs Sales Director: What Is the Difference?
- When Should a Business Hire a Chief Revenue Officer?
Sales Director
Sales Director recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a Sales Director?
- What Should a Sales Director Actually Own?
- Sales Director vs Head of Sales: What Is the Difference?
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Sales Director
- What Good Sales Director Performance Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a Sales Director
- Do You Need a Sales Director or Better Sales Management?
- What Should a Sales Director Deliver in the First 12 Months?
- Country Manager vs Sales Director for UK Market Entry
- How Much Does It Cost to Recruit a Sales Director?
- How Should a Senior Sales Leader's Package and Incentives Be Structured?
- How Should an Overseas Company Recruit Its First UK Sales Director?
- How Should You Onboard a New Sales Director in the First 90 Days?
- How Do You Recruit a Sales Director Who Can Actually Build Growth?
- What Salary Should You Expect to Pay a Sales Director in the UK?
- What Should You Look for When Recruiting a Sales Director?
- When Should a Business Hire an Interim Sales Director?
Commercial Director
Commercial Director recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a Commercial Director?
- What Should a Commercial Director Own?
- Commercial Director vs Sales Director
- Commercial Director vs Managing Director
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Commercial Director
- What Good Commercial Leadership Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Defining the Commercial Director Role
- Should a Commercial Director Own Pricing, Partnerships and Revenue?
- Fractional Commercial Director vs Permanent Commercial Director
- How Do You Assess Commercial Leadership Candidates Properly?
- How Much Does a Commercial Director Earn in the UK?
- What Should You Look for When Recruiting a Commercial Director?
Head of Sales
Head of Sales recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Should You Hire a Head of Sales?
- What Should a Head of Sales Own?
- Should a Head of Sales Report to the Managing Director or a Sales Director?
- Head of Sales vs Sales Manager
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Head of Sales
- What Good Head of Sales Performance Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a Head of Sales
- Is Your Business Ready for a Head of Sales?
- When Should a Business Hire a Head of Sales?
- Head of Sales vs Sales Manager: Which Does a Growing Business Need?
Finance
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a CFO?
- What Should a CFO Own?
- CFO vs Finance Director
- CFO vs Financial Controller
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional CFO
- What Good CFO Performance Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a CFO
- When Should a Growing Business Move from Finance Director to CFO?
- CFO vs Finance Director: What Is the Difference?
- When Should a Growing Business Hire a CFO?
Finance Director
Finance Director recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a Finance Director?
- What Should a Finance Director Own?
- How Should a Finance Director Support Commercial Decision-Making?
- Finance Director vs Financial Controller
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Finance Director
- What Good Finance Leadership Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a Finance Director
- What Should a Finance Director Deliver in a Growing Business?
- When Should a Business Hire a Finance Director?
Operations & Technical
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Operating Officer recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a COO?
- What Should a COO Own?
- COO vs Managing Director
- COO vs Operations Director
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional COO
- What Good COO Performance Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a COO
- When Growth Creates an Operations Leadership Problem
- COO vs Operations Director: What Is the Difference?
Operations Director
Operations Director recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Should a Business Hire an Operations Director?
- What Should an Operations Director Own?
- How Should Operations and Sales Work Together in a Growing Business?
- Operations Director vs Managing Director
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Operations Director
- What Good Operations Leadership Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring an Operations Director
- When Operational Complexity Requires Senior Leadership
- When Should a Business Recruit an Operations Director?
Technical Director
Technical Director recruitment — permanent, interim and fractional.
- When Does a Business Need a Technical Director?
- What Should a Technical Director Own?
- Technical Director vs CTO
- Technical Director vs Engineering Director
- Permanent vs Interim vs Fractional Technical Director
- What Good Technical Leadership Looks Like
- Common Mistakes When Hiring a Technical Director
- How Technical Leadership Changes as a Business Scales
Executive recruitment
Eleven executive roles, three engagement models
Evans Sales Consultancy recruits permanent, interim and fractional executives across general management, commercial and revenue, finance, and operations and technical leadership.
Discuss an executive requirement
The conversation starts with what the appointment has to deliver, not with a job title.
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