SaaStr has a widely read post whose URL says it plainly: "a fractional VP of sales almost never works, avoid them." It ranks near the top of Google for "fractional VP of sales." Founders read it and get cold feet. Investors share it as a warning.
I've read it several times. I sell fractional sales leadership, so take my view with that in mind. I think it makes real points that every founder should hear, inside a premise that's too broad. Here's a fair summary, then my response, and you can decide.
What does SaaStr actually argue?
In the September 2025 version of the post (source), Jason Lemkin gives four reasons fractional VPs of Sales rarely work at early-stage startups:
- Early-stage selling needs an all-in leader. When nobody knows the product yet and demand is unproven, process doesn't help. In his words: "Process gets you nowhere at this stage."
- They rarely build the team. Fractional leaders seldom have the time or incentive to recruit great reps, and scaling depends on the team.
- Advice overload. Fractional leaders mostly give advice, and founders can only absorb so much of it.
- It's a band-aid. Hiring one to avoid figuring out sales yourself creates false progress.
His recommendation: founders should sell themselves, or hire one or two strong individual sales reps, to get to roughly $1M to $2M ARR, then hire a full-time Head of Sales. He allows one exception: when the fractional leader is truly great and hands-on, and commits to recruiting the full-time VP of Sales for you. In an earlier 2023 post he named similar conditions: the fractional leader works at least 60% time and truly owns the function and its core KPI, or finds and closes the full-time leader for you.
Where is SaaStr right?
More places than fractional sellers like to admit:
- Before product-market fit, the founder must sell. Agreed. No sales leader can process their way out of a product nobody needs yet.
- Advice alone is nearly worthless. Agreed. A fractional VP who sends a weekly memo and attends one meeting is an expensive newsletter.
- The team matters most. Agreed. If a fractional leader won't recruit, interview and onboard reps, they aren't doing the job.
- Bad fractional VPs are worse than none. The market is full of people who do a 30-day "diagnostic," hand over a slide deck and disappear.
Where does the argument go too far?
It treats every company as the same company. The post is really about the earliest stage, before anyone knows if the product can be sold. That's not who most fractional VPs of Sales work with. The companies I work with typically look like this:
- Around $1M to $3M ARR, still founder-led, no dedicated sales leader
- One to three reps hired without a playbook
- Revenue flat for 6 to 12 months
- Can't justify a $180K to $250K full-time VP yet, or could, but wouldn't give them enough to scale
For that company, process isn't premature. It's the missing piece. The founder has already found the pattern; nobody has written it down so someone else can repeat it. That's exactly the stage SaaStr says to hire a full-time Head of Sales, and plenty of founders do. But many can't find or afford the right one yet, and a part-time builder who is in the deals is a reasonable bridge, not a band-aid.
You don't hire a full-time CFO at $500K ARR. Many companies use a fractional one. Sales leadership can work the same way, if the person actually does the work.
How do you tell a real fractional VP from a consultant in disguise?
| Real fractional VP of Sales | Consultant in disguise |
|---|---|
| Runs your weekly pipeline reviews | Delivers a pipeline framework deck |
| Listens to call recordings and coaches reps 1:1 | Tells you to "implement a call review process" |
| Gets on late-stage calls and helps close | Writes a discovery call template |
| Recruits, interviews and onboards reps | Sends you a hiring profile |
| Owns stage conversion and the forecast with you | Says "results depend on execution" |
| Plans the handoff to a full-time leader | Wants to stay forever |
Notice that the left column matches Lemkin's own conditions for when it works: hands-on, owns the KPI, recruits the team and the eventual full-time leader. We're closer than the headline suggests.
When is SaaStr completely right?
Once you have most of these, hire full-time:
- 8 to 10+ quota-carrying reps
- A proven, repeatable motion
- Strong growth, usually past about $5M ARR
- Budget for a $180K to $250K base salary plus variable pay and equity
At that point you need someone all-in. A fractional VP who built the machine should hand the keys to a full-time VP who scales it. That's the natural off-ramp of a good engagement. I wrote about timing in when to hire your first VP of Sales.
What does a fractional engagement that works look like?
A real example from my own work: I started with QuickManage, a fleet management SaaS company, as their fractional VP of Sales. Month one included a sales hire (three candidates interviewed, offer accepted), a comp plan, HubSpot live, a sales deck and an outbound program. That's recruiting the team, not advising on it. I'm now their Chief Commercial Officer. The details are in the case study.
Before that, I was one of four people who opened the US office of Whip Around and helped build the sales motion through a $100M acquisition. I wasn't a consultant who left after 30 days. I was in the deals. That's the only kind of fractional engagement I think works.
The bottom line
- Hire fractional if you need to build or fix the sales motion, have early product-market fit, and can't yet justify a full-time executive.
- Hire full-time if you have a working motion and a team big enough to need daily leadership.
- Either way, avoid anyone who hands you decks instead of doing the work.
The right question isn't "does fractional work?" It's: is this the right person, at the right stage, doing real work? If you're evaluating options, my honest comparison of fractional VP of Sales providers is a good place to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a fractional VP of Sales actually work?
It works when the person is hands-on, owns the sales number with you, recruits and coaches the team, and the company is at the stage of building or fixing a sales motion. It usually fails when the leader only advises, when there is no product-market fit, or when the company already needs a full-time leader.
What does SaaStr say about fractional VPs of Sales?
Jason Lemkin argues they rarely work at early-stage startups because that stage needs an all-in leader, fractional leaders rarely build the team, they mostly give advice, and they can be a band-aid. He allows an exception when the leader is great, hands-on and commits to recruiting the full-time VP.
When should I hire a full-time VP of Sales instead of a fractional one?
When you have a proven, repeatable motion, roughly 8 to 10 or more reps who need daily leadership, strong growth and budget for a full executive package.
How can I tell if a fractional VP of Sales is just a consultant?
A real fractional VP runs your pipeline reviews, coaches reps on live deals, joins late-stage calls, recruits reps and shares ownership of the forecast. A consultant delivers frameworks, templates and recommendations and leaves execution to you.
Should a pre-product-market-fit startup hire a fractional VP of Sales?
Usually not. Before product-market fit the founder should keep selling until a repeatable buyer pattern is clear. A sales leader cannot fix a product problem.