Should I hire a head of sales or a fractional CRO first?

Why

There are only three ways an agency grows. More leads, higher sales conversion, and greater client lifetime value. A head of sales is hired to drive the second one. But if there's no pipeline, no stages and no numbers, they spend their first months building the system instead of selling. That's an expensive way to build a spreadsheet.

What a fractional CRO does first

01. Maps the pipeline. Every stage, from first conversation to signed contract.

02. Measures every stage. Where deals stall. Where they die. What a good month actually looks like.

03. Sets the weekly question. Are we on target, off target, or ahead of target?

What you measure, you can improve.

When to hire the full-time head of sales first

If you already have a documented process, steady leads and clean numbers, hire the seat. They'll walk into something that works. If you don't, build the system first. Then hire into it. Your head of sales will thank you.

Hope that helps.