Sales Heads who win the accounts that matter.
In technical B2B businesses, the sales leader has to sell engineering, trust and delivery, not a price list. We find Sales Heads, in some companies titled Chief Sales Officer, for businesses where every order is negotiated and every client relationship is long term.
What the role owns
- Order intake and pipeline: tenders, proposals and long sales cycles with global and Indian clients.
- Key accounts: relationships with plant heads, procurement and CXOs at large customers.
- Pricing and margin: commercial terms, risk in contracts and collections.
- Market expansion: new geographies, export markets, channel partners and distributors.
Where we hire it: across 18+ industries, including CDMO and CRDMO, specialty chemicals, EPC and EPCM, bulk material handling and process equipment, electrical equipment, water treatment, automotive components and industrial services, in India, the GCC, Asia Pacific, Africa and the US.
What usually triggers this search: a key account wobbling after a sales head resigns. A founder who has carried every big client personally and knows it cannot last. A shift from distributors to direct, or from products to solutions. A new market, region or sector that needs someone to open doors.
Sales leaders can sell themselves; our job is to check the numbers behind the pitch. We validate order books and win rates, and let the results do the talking.
Hiring challenges
- Strong technical sellers are rare: many sales leaders know relationships but not the engineering, and many engineers cannot close.
- Long sales cycles make results hard to verify from a CV, so referencing matters more than in most roles.
- Client relationships often sit with a few individuals, so competitors guard them with retention bonuses and counter-offers.
- Export and Country Manager roles need leaders willing to travel or relocate, which narrows the pool.
How we assess fit
- Track record: order intake, win rates, key accounts won and kept, and margins, verified by referencing.
- Cultural fit: how sales works with engineering, projects and the promoter on pricing and commitments.
- Behavioural fit: persistence, honesty in forecasting, and how they handle a lost bid.
- Aspiration and personal goals: P&L ambition, international exposure, incentive structure, travel and family needs.
Ownership and Sales Head fit
| Ownership type | What the Sales Head role looks like | What we test for |
|---|---|---|
| Indian family or promoter business | Promoter often holds key client relationships and pricing calls. | Promoter trust, independence in deals, growth beyond the founder's network. |
| MNC subsidiary | Global products, structured CRM and pricing rules. | Process discipline, global account coordination, reporting. |
| Large listed company | Large order books, tender-driven sales, strict governance. | Tender success, contract risk control, team scale. |
| PE-backed company | Aggressive growth targets and new markets. | Pipeline building at speed, new logo wins, incentive appetite. |
Our process: a brief with the CEO or business head, a mapped market of sitting sales leaders and their accounts, discreet outreach, assessment and referencing with customers where possible. Typically 2 to 3 weeks (passive job seekers) from brief to offer, depending on location and how narrow the brief is.
Frequently asked questions
Do you hire for technical and engineered sales?
Yes. This is our core: CDMO, EPC, process equipment and industrial sales.
Can you find Sales Heads for overseas markets?
Yes, across the GCC, Asia Pacific, Africa and the US.
Do you verify sales numbers?
Yes, through structured referencing, as sales results are easy to overstate on a CV.
How confidential is the search?
Fully. Outreach to sitting sales leaders is discreet, and the client is named only to the shortlist.
See every leadership role we search for on our CXO hiring page, or explore our industry practices.