Commercial impact in practice
Bespoke uPVC Windows and Doors
North West expansion
Commercial support for a Stoke-on-Trent business expanding into the North West.
Manchester
Sales consultancy for Manchester businesses.
Commercial strategy, sales leadership and hands-on business development for manufacturers, construction businesses and B2B companies across Greater Manchester.
Prefer to speak directly?
North West based, supporting businesses across Cumbria and the North of England.
Greater Manchester & the North West
Greater Manchester carries one of the densest concentrations of mid-sized B2B businesses in the UK: manufacturers and their supply chains, construction and building product companies, logistics operations, professional services firms and a technology sector that has grown quickly around the city centre and Salford.
That density cuts both ways. There is a large addressable market on the doorstep, and there is more competition inside it than almost anywhere outside London. Businesses that sell well here usually do so because they have made deliberate choices about which sectors and accounts they pursue — not because they are close to them.
The companies we tend to help in the North West are established, technically capable, and carrying a sales operation that grew organically rather than by design. Revenue is real, but the pipeline is inconsistent and the commercial leadership sits on top of an already full executive workload.
Selected commercial experience
Commercial experience relevant to Manchester & Greater Manchester & the North West
A selection of formal consultancy engagements and commercial-impact relationships with relevance to businesses in and around Manchester.
The businesses below include both formal consultancy engagements and commercial involvement through supply, distribution or market development. The relationship type is shown on each card so the distinction is clear.
Formal consultancy engagement
Crucial Engineering
Two-year consultancy engagement
Bradford engineering business grown into national accounts — directly relevant to Manchester manufacturers.
Formal consultancy engagement
Trade Sliders
National trade-customer development
Yorkshire-based trade customer development programme with national relevance to North West distributors.
Commercial impact in practice
Dortech Direct
Distribution + marketing
Huddersfield-based distributor with sales and marketing activity across the North of England.
The businesses we work with in and around Manchester
Manufacturing & supply chain
Component, sub-assembly and finished-product manufacturers selling into national customers, contractors and OEMs.
Construction & building products
Product manufacturers and specialist contractors selling through specification, main contractors and distribution.
Technology & software
B2B technology businesses moving beyond founder-led selling into a repeatable commercial model.
Professional & B2B services
Considered, relationship-led services where the buying process is long and the sales process is often undefined.
Evans Sales Consultancy is UK based and works with businesses nationally. We do not operate an office or a local team in Manchester — clients get a senior commercial practitioner working in their business on agreed days, not a regional account manager.
What usually holds sales back
01
Competing in a crowded market on price
With multiple credible alternatives within an hour's drive, businesses default to discount rather than making the commercial case for their difference.
02
Pipeline built on inbound and reputation
Enquiries arrive, so proactive business development never becomes routine — until the market softens and there is nothing behind the current quarter.
03
No senior owner of sales
The MD or a technical founder still carries the commercial load, which caps growth at the size of one diary.
Who this is for
Who this is genuinely right for in Manchester
Evans is the right fit for a specific type of Greater Manchester business, not every business with a sales team.
Established manufacturers and supply chain businesses
Companies turning over roughly £1m–£50m with a real product and existing customers, where sales has grown organically rather than by design.
Construction and building product companies
Businesses selling through specification, main contractors or distribution that need a sharper commercial argument than price.
B2B technology businesses outgrowing founder-led selling
Salford and city-centre technology companies where the founder is still the best salesperson and the pipeline depends on their diary.
Professional and technical B2B services
Considered, relationship-led firms that need proactive business development rather than more marketing spend.
This is not the right fit for pre-revenue startups, consumer or retail businesses, or anyone looking for a marketing agency, a recruiter or a single salesperson to hire in.
What we typically do for Manchester businesses
A sales growth assessment covering lead generation, pipeline, conversion and follow-up
Sales strategy: the sectors, accounts and territories genuinely worth pursuing
Fractional Sales Director support as senior commercial leadership without a full-time hire
Business development and project generation into named target accounts
Sales process, CRM and pipeline discipline so forecasting reflects reality
Sales team structure, targets and performance management
How we work
Engagements start with a structured commercial assessment: where opportunities are created, where they are lost, and what the numbers say rather than what the team believes.
From there the work is hands-on — building what is missing and then taking part in using it: sales meetings, target account work, customer visits and pipeline reviews with the people responsible for delivery.
Sectors we know well around Manchester
Sector experience is national rather than local. These pages set out the commercial detail in full.
Sales support in Manchester — straight answers
What does a sales consultant actually do for a Manchester business?
The work covers strategy, structure and delivery: assessing where opportunities are won and lost, deciding which sectors and accounts to pursue, building the process and target list, and then taking an active hands-on part in business development alongside the existing team, rather than producing a report and leaving.
Is a Fractional Sales Director worth it for a business our size?
For many established Manchester businesses it beats a full-time hire on cost and speed, bringing senior commercial leadership without the salary, recruitment risk and ramp-up time of a permanent director. The Fractional Sales Director Cost Calculator gives a realistic comparison against a full-time equivalent for your own numbers.
Our pipeline has stalled — where do you start?
With the data: enquiry sources, conversion rates, quote follow-up and where deals actually stall. In competitive markets like Greater Manchester the cause is usually inconsistent proactive activity rather than the product, so early work often focuses on rebuilding a disciplined target list and follow-up rhythm.
Could we grow beyond the North West and into Europe eventually?
Often, yes. Once the domestic sales operation is working reliably, international market development is a natural next step for manufacturers and technical businesses with a proven UK proposition, and it is planned as a deliberate phase rather than an opportunistic one-off.
Evidence
Client results
Business Development · United Kingdom → Scotland and the North of England
Opening up Scotland and the North of England for a major UK supplier
A major UK balustrade supplier was well established elsewhere in the UK but thin on the ground across the northern territories. Growth there needed direct commercial activity.
Sales Growth · Bradford, West Yorkshire → United Kingdom — national
Taking a regional engineering business from £1.5m to £3.2m turnover
Crucial Engineering wanted to expand beyond Bradford and build a genuine national sales operation. We helped develop larger Tier 1 and Tier 2 opportunities, strengthen business development and establish a profitable new automation revenue stream.
£1.5m → £3.2m Turnover in approximately 18 months
Sales Growth · Sheffield, South Yorkshire → United Kingdom
Growing an established business from £6.8m to £11.5m
BM Architectural wanted to expand its balustrade sales and create its next stage of growth. We helped win new customers, establish a dedicated architectural division and develop additional product opportunities including glass canopies.
£6.8m → £11.5m Turnover in 24 months
Commercial impact in practice
Commercial involvement in and around Manchester
Alongside formal consultancy, Tom Evans has supplied, distributed and advised businesses relevant to Greater Manchester & the North West.
These businesses are not consultancy clients. They benefited from Tom Evans’ commercial involvement through supply, distribution, market development, marketing or commercial advice. Formal consultancy engagements are published separately as case studies.
Commercial impact · Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Bespoke uPVC Windows and Doors
Broadening a Staffordshire installer's geographic reach into the North West, supported by SEO and paid search.
North West expansion
Commercial impact · Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Dortech Direct
A Huddersfield supply relationship that grew into distribution, customer acquisition and marketing development.
Distribution + marketing
Commercial impact · United Kingdom
Glass Tech / HGW Solutions
Glass and balustrade supply alongside advice on commercial and operational matters.
Supply + operational advice
How engagements work
What happens if a Manchester business gets in touch
Work in Manchester is taken on a fractional, retained or project basis, agreed after the initial sales growth assessment rather than sold as a fixed package. Scope and the number of days a month depend on what that assessment finds, and fees are agreed against that defined scope.
- 01
An initial conversation
A direct discussion about where revenue comes from today, what has stalled and what you want the business to look like commercially in twelve to twenty-four months.
- 02
A commercial assessment
A structured look at lead generation, pipeline, conversion, follow-up, pricing discipline and sales management — based on your numbers rather than assumptions.
- 03
A recommended route
You receive a clear view of what should change, in what order, and whether that is best delivered as a defined project, fractional sales leadership or focused business development.
- 04
Delivery, then handover
Most engagements run over several months at one or two days a week — long enough for new habits to hold, with the intention that your own people carry them afterwards.
Tools
Useful before you call
Three ways to get a clearer commercial picture before committing to anything. Each one is genuinely useful on its own.
Build my UK sales growth plan
Answer a few questions about how sales are run today and receive a short, personalised plan: what is holding growth back, the sales structure that fits and a practical first 90 days.
Sales growth assessment
A structured commercial review of lead generation, pipeline, conversion and follow-up, with the findings and the recommended route set out plainly.
Fractional Sales Director cost calculator
Compare the true cost of a full-time Sales Director with fractional commercial leadership, using your own salary, package and on-cost assumptions.
Practical reading
Thinking relevant to Manchester businesses
Evans Opportunity Engine
Looking for live commercial opportunities in Manchester?
The Evans Opportunity Engine identifies businesses where current events — investment, projects, contract awards, appointments or supplier changes — create a genuine reason to approach, with the buyer identified and the approach written.
Explore Opportunity Engine
From £995 + VAT / month
Manchester — common questions
No. We are a UK business based in Cumbria with no local office or team in Manchester or anywhere else. Engagements are delivered through a planned mix of on-site days in the business and structured remote working, so distance is managed by design rather than assumption.
No. The deepest experience is in manufacturing, construction products and technical B2B, but the same commercial principles apply to any business selling a considered product or service to other businesses.
Yes. Territory expansion within the UK is common work, and where it makes commercial sense we also support European and North American market development.
Pricing reflects the scope and time commitment agreed, typically a set number of days per week over several months rather than a single fixed fee. It is scoped after the initial assessment so it matches what the business actually needs, not a standard package.
Yes. There is no Evans office or resident team in Manchester, and a senior practitioner works on an agreed number of on-site days combined with structured remote working, which is how every location on this list is served.
Typically once the business needs senior commercial leadership and accountability but the workload, budget or hiring risk do not yet justify a full-time salary. It is common to start fractional and move to a permanent hire later, once the role and the pipeline it should run are properly defined.
Yes. Component and finished-product manufacturers selling into national customers, contractors and OEMs are among the businesses we most commonly work with in the North West.
Entering the UK from overseas?
This page is for established businesses trading in the UK. If you are an overseas manufacturer or business looking to establish a commercial presence in Britain, that is a different piece of work.
More opportunities. Better conversion. Stronger sales. More revenue.
If your business could sell more than it currently does, the fastest way to find out why is to look at the numbers together.
Prefer to speak directly?