Beyond the Non-Compete: The Contract Clauses That Actually Burn Fractional Executives

The non-compete, loud as it is, is rarely the clause that actually causes damage later. A few quieter ones do more harm. It's a reason to spend the negotiating capital where it actually matters.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, SkillsHenning SchwinumNovember 7, 2026Vendux LLCnon-compete, ip, liability, indemnification, termination, contracting

Resting on Your Laurels Is Not a Business Model

In a corporate career, someone else owns your development, your employer decides which new skills you need. As a solopreneur, you are on your own. If you don't invest in yourself, nobody will.

Best Practice, Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, SkillsHenning SchwinumOctober 31, 2026Vendux LLCinvestment, learning

Fractional Sales Leadership in 2026: From Explosive Growth to a More Steady State

After years of explosive growth on the supply side, 2026 was a year of moderate, single-digit growth for fractional sales leadership.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, RecruitingHenning SchwinumOctober 22, 2026Vendux LLC2026, growth, supply, demand

The Third Participant on the Call: When AI Vets Your Fractional Sales Leadership Partner

Our discovery calls with fractional sales leaders have acquired a third participant. It never speaks, it does not appear on screen, and it has already formed an opinion before anyone says hello.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and FractionalHenning SchwinumOctober 15, 2026Vendux LLCAI, artificial intelligence, vetting, process, human

The Sound of Silence: Being Ghosted in Fractional Executive Leadership

By the time I present a shortlist, several people have put time into the process. Experienced fractional sales leaders have cleared their calendars, and some have turned down other conversations.

Communication, Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Motivation, Recruiting, SalesHenning SchwinumOctober 8, 2026Vendux LLCghosting, silence, fractional, leadership

Fractional Executive vs. Promoting from Within: The Build-vs-Buy Debate Boards Actually Have

Every board eventually has this conversation: the VP of Sales role is open, and someone points at the top rep and asks, "Why not just promote her?" It's a reasonable question.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Organization, Recruiting, Sales, SkillsHenning SchwinumOctober 2, 2026Vendux LLCpromotion, build, buy, fractional

Leading a Distributed, Multi-Time Zone Sales Team as a Fractional Executive

Anyone who has led a global sales team knows this exact math, and anyone who hasn't will eventually learn it the hard way, usually through the resignation of a good rep who got tired of being the one who always dialed in at midnight.

Best Practice, Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, International, Organization, SalesHenning SchwinumSeptember 26, 2026Vendux LLCfractional, international, expansion, time zones

Crossing the Border Without Losing the Deal: Fractional Sales Leadership for Global Expansion

My career has taken me to more than fifty countries at this point, and the pattern is remarkably consistent: companies treat market entry as a headcount decision when it is actually a hypothesis that hasn't been tested yet.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, International, Leadership, Organization, SalesHenning SchwinumSeptember 18, 2026Vendux LLCinternational, internationalization, border, fractional

The Other Candidate: How a Fractional Executive Competes Against a Full-Time Hire

This happens more often than fractional sales leadership advocates like to admit. A CEO commits to the fractional model in principle, runs a disciplined process, finds the right person — and then a full-time résumé lands on the desk and resets the entire decision to a coin flip.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, RecruitingHenning SchwinumSeptember 11, 2026Vendux LLCfractional, full-time, hiring, recruiting, CEO

Beyond the Day Rate: A Working Map of Fractional Fee Models

The pricing essays on this blog have argued, repeatedly, that pricing yourself is the hardest conversation in this work. They are right. But the difficulty is partly that we keep treating pricing as a single number rather than a small, structured menu.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and FractionalHenning SchwinumAugust 27, 2026Vendux LLCfractional, executive, rates, fee, pay

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