Your sales leader has left, or is about to, and the fiscal year is not over. Customers and employees need continuity, and some decisions cannot wait.
This is how we advise companies to handle the first 30 days and the choice between an interim leader and a direct replacement. The right approach is individual to the business.
What to do in the first 30 days
Our first recommendation is to put an interim leader in place, so customers and employees have continuity while the company works out its next steps. Someone needs clear responsibility for the team, for key accounts and for the decisions that cannot wait.
Then we work with the company on three things:
- Customers. Identify the customer relationships, active opportunities and commitments that need immediate attention.
- The team. Speak individually with each member of the sales team to understand their concerns, spot any retention risks and make clear who will support them.
- The interim leader. Decide who this is and what authority and support they will have.
If the interim leader comes from inside
An internal interim appointment can be a chance to develop a future leader. If the company intends to recruit externally for the permanent role, it should say so to that person from the start. Explain why their contribution matters, what authority and support they will receive, and what the opportunity offers them through development, exposure or compensation. They should know whether they are being considered for the permanent position.
Interim leader or direct replacement?
We generally recommend interim leadership to provide stability while the company defines what it needs from the permanent appointment. That does not stop the company from starting an external search right away.
An interim appointment is particularly useful when:
- the business has been through restructuring;
- the responsibilities need to be reassessed; or
- there is an internal person who could grow into the role.
A direct permanent appointment makes sense when the company has a clear understanding of the role and a suitable successor who is ready to take it on.
If the company hires externally, we first clarify the capabilities needed and the contribution expected. The right background depends on the job. A CEO appointment may benefit from someone with broader experience in operations, finance and logistics. A customer-facing National Sales Leader or General Manager may need much deeper knowledge of the market, the customers and the sales model. We have seen leaders from outside a therapeutic area succeed, but their transferable skills have to match what the company actually needs.
The biggest mistake we see
One of the biggest mistakes is restructuring without considering the intellectual capital being lost, or who will provide leadership in the future. Restructuring can also trigger more turnover, including the departure of people who could have become future leaders.
Restructuring can lose the people who hold the knowledge. A company that cuts or reshuffles without recognizing who carries the industry knowledge risks losing both a potential future leader and the expertise any new leader will depend on.
Our advice is to assess the capabilities already within the business before deciding what to recruit externally. A good outcome depends on the company, the industry and what the leader needs to deliver.
A short checklist for the first month
- Name an interim leader and give them clear responsibility.
- List the key accounts, active opportunities and commitments that need attention now.
- Talk to each salesperson individually.
- If the interim leader is internal, be open about whether they are a candidate.
- Define the permanent role before you decide where to look for it.
- Assess what you already have inside the business before you recruit outside it.
What to do next
If you are replacing a sales leader and want a second view on the interim question or the profile of the permanent role, we can talk it through. You can read about our executive search for medical device and dental companies, look at what a VP of Sales is typically responsible for, or book a hiring consult to discuss your situation in confidence.