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

Building Yourself Out of the Job: The Fractional Exit Nobody Plans

That is not how most fractional engagements end. A more common pattern is the slow fade — fewer meetings, more autonomy for the team, a renewal conversation that drifts past its date, and eventually a polite email about wrapping up.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Organization, RecruitingHenning SchwinumAugust 21, 2026Vendux LLCexit, fractional, executive, engagement

The Ownership Structure Problem - PE-backed and Venture-backed

Private equity firms have stopped debating whether fractional executives belong in their portfolio companies. It is standard practice now. Venture-backed founders, by contrast, still treat the same decision as a step down.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Start-up, TeamManuel SalcedoAugust 9, 2026Vendux LLCvc, pe, private equity, venture capital, fractional, executive

Show Your Work: How to Prove the ROI of a Fractional Engagement

He liked working with the executive. His team liked working with her. The pipeline had grown. The conversion rate had improved. The forecast was more honest than it had been when she started. What was on the page was a monthly retainer that. He asked, politely, what he was paying for.

Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and FractionalHenning SchwinumJuly 25, 2026Vendux LLCROI, fractional

Fractional vs. Consultant vs. Recruiter: Which Sales Leadership Fix Fits Your Situation?

Most sales-leadership problems come down to one of three needs: you need advice on what to fix, you need to hire someone permanently, or you need someone to actually lead sales right now.

Change, Fractional Sales Leader, Interim and Fractional, Organization, Recruiting, SalesHenning SchwinumJune 7, 2026Vendux LLCconsulting, recruiter, fractional, executive, sales, leadership, options

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