Decision Guide
A permanent senior commercial leader is a multi-year commitment that sets the trajectory of your sales function. An interim or fractional commercial leader is a different operating model for a defined window. This guide sets out the conditions under which each is the right answer for an intralogistics vendor.
When to use this guide
Use this guide when you have decided you need senior commercial leadership but are not sure whether a permanent Sales Director or Commercial Director is the right call right now.
Any figures, fee bands, salary ranges or percentages quoted on this page are indicative narrative guidance from Evara's operator-led practice in 2026, not a formal benchmark or audited statistic.
An experienced commercial leader engaged on a part-time or fixed-term basis to lead the sales function through a defined period.
Best for
Watch out for
A permanent, full-time, board-level commercial leader owning the sales function end to end.
Best for
Watch out for
Side by side
| Dimension | Interim or fractional commercial leader | Permanent commercial leader |
|---|---|---|
| Commitment | A defined window, with optional renewal | Permanent, embedded in the leadership team |
| Operating cadence | Part-time or fixed-term, with defined deliverables | Full-time, owning the commercial function day to day |
| Best business stage | Smaller or transitioning vendors not yet ready for a permanent leader | Established vendors with multi-channel commercial complexity |
| Decision rights | Defined at engagement start; usually plan, hire and forecast | Full ownership of the commercial function |
| Risk of mis-fit | Lower; the engagement can be ended cleanly at the end of a window | Higher; senior leadership exits are slow and costly |
| Time to value | First operating decisions in the opening weeks | First period usually a listening and planning phase |
Our take
The wrong question is interim or permanent. The right question is what stage your business is at and what level of leadership it can absorb. Many smaller and transitioning intralogistics vendors are better served by an interim commercial leader who installs the operating model, then run a permanent search behind that as the business scales. Hiring a permanent senior leader too early is one of the most expensive mistakes a vendor business makes.
FAQs
Sometimes, but it is the exception. An interim leader is often committed to a portfolio model rather than a single permanent seat. The more common path is an interim leader who installs the operating model, then helps run the search for the permanent successor.
Against the engagement scope. Typical measures: forecast accuracy, pipeline coverage, win-rate trend, the time it takes new hires to become productive, and the quality of the permanent commercial team you are left with at the end of the engagement.
No. Whether you go interim or permanent, a clear view of the commercial talent in your market makes the eventual hire faster and better targeted. Many vendors commission a market map alongside the interim engagement so the permanent search starts from a strong position.
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Email Rachel Lunn to scope a short conversation on whether an interim or permanent commercial leader fits your stage.
Email Rachel LunnSpecialist commercial search for the intralogistics industry. We reply within one working day.
Email Rachel Lunn