Commercial Direction
I can bring structure, stability, and clearer direction to your training business so growth feels stronger, more resilient, and easier to manage.
Commercial Direction
I can bring structure, stability, and clearer direction to your training business so growth feels stronger, more resilient, and easier to manage.
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
OVERVIEW
Designed for training providers seeking growth that feels steadier, more profitable, and easier to manage.
The work centres on making the business easier to read and easier to run — bringing structure to planning, pricing, and positioning so profitability improves, direction becomes clearer, and risk reduces.
Through close involvement, performance is properly understood, investment is well timed, and the business remains steady as conditions evolve.
The result is a business with greater certainty, clearer priorities, and stronger commercial foundations over time.
📈 Improved profitability over time
🧭 Growth with clear direction
🧩 Alignment across the business
🛡 Reduced uncertainty and risk
🫱🏻🫲🏼 Embedded, practical guidance
Typical monthly investment:
£1,750
/month
Partnership can be customised to reflect your priorities, capacity, and stage of growth.
Interested in find out more?
COMMERCIAL PLANNING & FORECASTING
Clear definition of targets, limits, and what that equates to in net profitability, so scheduling and spend are grounded in reality.
Purpose-built tracking and reporting frameworks, so targets are kept in focus on a daily basis.
MARKET & CATEGORY POSITIONING
MARKET & CATEGORY POSITIONING
MARKET & CATEGORY POSITIONING
Positioning that moves you from blending in to being clearly recognised, helping you become the obvious choice in your category.
Messaging shaped around how prospects actually make decisions, removing friction so choosing you feels clear and straightforward.
PRICING & OFFER STRATEGY
PRICING & OFFER STRATEGY
PRICING & OFFER STRATEGY
Pricing that balances market reality with value perception, helping you maintain pricing power rather than defaulting to lower fees.
Offer framing that helps prospects act sooner, strengthening sales without eroding value or margin.
INTAKE STRATEGY & RISK MANAGEMENT
Clear sense of total demand versus accessible demand, helping shape planning around real opportunity.
Spend aligned with how decisions unfold, protecting intakes from the hidden impact of underspend or poorly timed investment.
ONGOING DIRECTION
ONGOING DIRECTION
ONGOING DIRECTION
Ongoing input that helps teams interpret performance, keep decisions grounded, and avoid gradual drift as conditions change.
Let’s discuss your business 💬
If something in your training business feels unclear, harder than it should be, or not performing as expected, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Let’s discuss your business 💬
If something in your training business feels unclear, harder than it should be, or not performing as expected, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Questions? Find out more below.
Who would benefit most from this level of support?
This is for training providers where the business is active and growing, but not yet fully under control. Often revenue is rising, margins feel tight, results fluctuate, and too many decisions are reactive rather than deliberate. Leads are coming in and the team is carrying a lot, but positioning isn’t clear enough and key commercial decisions — spend, intake timing, and growth — don’t always feel fully joined up. This tends to suit businesses that want steady, embedded direction so the whole commercial picture becomes clearer and more controlled over time.
What will we achieve through this partnership?
You should expect a business that feels clearer, steadier, and more commercially controlled. Results become less erratic, decisions less reactive, and profitability easier to understand and improve. Positioning becomes sharper, so you are easier to choose. Planning becomes more grounded in real numbers — what spend produces, what intakes can support, and where limits sit — helping you commit spend, plan intakes, and make decisions with clearer commercial backing rather than reacting to short-term swings. Over time, the business moves from fluctuating and effort-heavy to more predictable, aligned, and commercially resilient.
How will this strengthen our position in the market?
Your position strengthens as the business becomes clearer and easier to understand — where you sit, how the offer is presented, and how prospects move through the decision. Hesitations and uncertainties are addressed more directly, so you become easier to trust and easier to choose. At the same time, commercial planning and forecasting become clearer, so you understand what different advertising levels lead to in terms of enquiries, sales, capacity, and profit. That clarity allows spend to be increased with confidence, strengthening visibility, taking market share, and improving position without losing control.
How will this help improve profitability and margins?
Profitability improves as the real economics of the business become clearer — what courses truly contribute once delivery load, fixed costs, and acquisition are properly understood. Decisions around pricing, CPA, category mix, and scheduling become grounded in margin rather than assumptions, so margin is managed deliberately rather than shaped by drift or guesswork. With that in place, planning becomes more commercially accurate. You understand how many of the right cohorts the year needs, which categories strengthen profit, and what level of spend can be sustained without weakening margin. That clarity allows growth to be pursued without trading away profitability — improving margins through better alignment, not just cost cutting.
How will this help reduce reactive decision-making?
Reactive decisions usually come from misreading short-term signals — confidence rising too quickly in strong periods, or caution taking over too early when performance softens. I work with you to ground decisions in a clearer commercial view, so short-term movement is interpreted properly rather than triggering premature changes in spend, pricing, or direction. This keeps the business steady when performance inevitably moves. Purpose-built tracking and reporting keep the right targets in focus day to day, so decisions follow the underlying economics of the business rather than short-term swings, false confidence, or fear-driven overcorrection.
How does this differ from hiring a marketing consultant?
This isn’t focused on marketing in isolation. Marketing is one part of the system, but performance is shaped just as much by positioning, pricing, planning, category mix, and how the business is structured behind the numbers. The partnership looks at the full commercial picture — how enquiries turn into sales, how cohorts contribute to profit, how capacity and risk are managed, and how decisions connect over time. Marketing activity sits within that wider view, so growth is driven by stronger commercial alignment rather than just more promotion.
How is this different from hiring a fractional director?
This isn’t about stepping in to run a function or replace an existing role. The focus spans the wider commercial landscape — often sitting at the intersection of marketing, operations, and planning — helping ensure decisions connect and reflect how the business actually performs. Rather than managing a team or department, the work centres on strengthening how the business operates commercially. It works alongside your existing structure, adding a layer of commercial direction without duplicating internal roles.
How flexible is the scope? What’s not included?
The scope is flexible and shaped around your stage, capacity, and priorities. We move at a pace that suits the business, and focus shifts depending on where the most value sits — positioning, planning, forecasting, pricing, or risk management. Most partnerships touch all areas over time, but not always equally. For some, it makes sense to include more hands-on support — for example shaping and running paid activity alongside the commercial direction. For others, the focus stays purely strategic. It depends on your internal resource, what the business needs most, and how you want the partnership to work.
How involved are you on an ongoing basis?
The level of involvement varies depending on what the business needs and how you prefer to work. In some partnerships I stay close to performance — checking numbers, maintaining trackers, and guiding decisions as they happen on a daily basis. In others, the structure is lighter, with clear monthly outputs and a focused session to review direction and priorities. If it’s useful, I can also spend time working alongside you and your team in person. The approach is adaptable, but the aim is always the same — keeping the business commercially clear, steady, and well-directed as it moves forward.
How long does this partnership typically run for?
The first phase is about getting a clear handle on the numbers and the reality of the business, and putting the right trackers and planning in place. That usually takes the first month to complete properly. Once your requirements and priorities are clear, I map out the direction and sequence of work — from positioning and messaging through to planning, risk management, and commercial alignment — so each stage builds on the last. In practice, around six months is typically the minimum for this to take shape and begin showing up properly — not as a fixed commitment, but because meaningful change needs time to embed.
How does this compare to hiring internally?
Hiring internally can work well, but it’s usually a larger and slower commitment — salary, time to hire, and the risk of not finding the right fit. In the training sector in particular, it’s not easy to hire someone who genuinely understands cohort delivery, intake planning, capacity constraints, and how marketing links to profitability. It also avoids the common problem of hiring someone strong in one area but not across the commercial picture. Instead, decisions stay joined up across planning, performance, and growth — helping you get more from your existing team, rather than adding another layer inside it.
How is pricing structured? Is it flexible?
Pricing reflects the scope and level of involvement required. Most partnerships run on a monthly basis, with the structure shaped around your stage, priorities, and how closely you would like me involved. Because the work itself is adaptable, pricing can be reviewed and adjusted over time as the partnership evolves — for example if the focus shifts, involvement changes, or more hands-on support is included. The aim is to keep the structure aligned with the value and level of support the business actually needs, rather than forcing a fixed package.
Who would benefit most from this level of support?
This is for training providers where the business is active and growing, but not yet fully under control. Often revenue is rising, margins feel tight, results fluctuate, and too many decisions are reactive rather than deliberate. Leads are coming in and the team is carrying a lot, but positioning isn’t clear enough and key commercial decisions — spend, intake timing, and growth — don’t always feel fully joined up. This tends to suit businesses that want steady, embedded direction so the whole commercial picture becomes clearer and more controlled over time.
What will we achieve through this partnership?
You should expect a business that feels clearer, steadier, and more commercially controlled. Results become less erratic, decisions less reactive, and profitability easier to understand and improve. Positioning becomes sharper, so you are easier to choose. Planning becomes more grounded in real numbers — what spend produces, what intakes can support, and where limits sit — helping you commit spend, plan intakes, and make decisions with clearer commercial backing rather than reacting to short-term swings. Over time, the business moves from fluctuating and effort-heavy to more predictable, aligned, and commercially resilient.
How will this strengthen our position in the market?
Your position strengthens as the business becomes clearer and easier to understand — where you sit, how the offer is presented, and how prospects move through the decision. Hesitations and uncertainties are addressed more directly, so you become easier to trust and easier to choose. At the same time, commercial planning and forecasting become clearer, so you understand what different advertising levels lead to in terms of enquiries, sales, capacity, and profit. That clarity allows spend to be increased with confidence, strengthening visibility, taking market share, and improving position without losing control.
How will this help improve profitability and margins?
Profitability improves as the real economics of the business become clearer — what courses truly contribute once delivery load, fixed costs, and acquisition are properly understood. Decisions around pricing, CPA, category mix, and scheduling become grounded in margin rather than assumptions, so margin is managed deliberately rather than shaped by drift or guesswork. With that in place, planning becomes more commercially accurate. You understand how many of the right cohorts the year needs, which categories strengthen profit, and what level of spend can be sustained without weakening margin. That clarity allows growth to be pursued without trading away profitability — improving margins through better alignment, not just cost cutting.
How will this help reduce reactive decision-making?
Reactive decisions usually come from misreading short-term signals — confidence rising too quickly in strong periods, or caution taking over too early when performance softens. I work with you to ground decisions in a clearer commercial view, so short-term movement is interpreted properly rather than triggering premature changes in spend, pricing, or direction. This keeps the business steady when performance inevitably moves. Purpose-built tracking and reporting keep the right targets in focus day to day, so decisions follow the underlying economics of the business rather than short-term swings, false confidence, or fear-driven overcorrection.
How does this differ from hiring a marketing consultant?
This isn’t focused on marketing in isolation. Marketing is one part of the system, but performance is shaped just as much by positioning, pricing, planning, category mix, and how the business is structured behind the numbers. The partnership looks at the full commercial picture — how enquiries turn into sales, how cohorts contribute to profit, how capacity and risk are managed, and how decisions connect over time. Marketing activity sits within that wider view, so growth is driven by stronger commercial alignment rather than just more promotion.
How is this different from hiring a fractional director?
This isn’t about stepping in to run a function or replace an existing role. The focus spans the wider commercial landscape — often sitting at the intersection of marketing, operations, and planning — helping ensure decisions connect and reflect how the business actually performs. Rather than managing a team or department, the work centres on strengthening how the business operates commercially. It works alongside your existing structure, adding a layer of commercial direction without duplicating internal roles.
How flexible is the scope? What’s not included?
The scope is flexible and shaped around your stage, capacity, and priorities. We move at a pace that suits the business, and focus shifts depending on where the most value sits — positioning, planning, forecasting, pricing, or risk management. Most partnerships touch all areas over time, but not always equally. For some, it makes sense to include more hands-on support — for example shaping and running paid activity alongside the commercial direction. For others, the focus stays purely strategic. It depends on your internal resource, what the business needs most, and how you want the partnership to work.
How involved are you on an ongoing basis?
The level of involvement varies depending on what the business needs and how you prefer to work. In some partnerships I stay close to performance — checking numbers, maintaining trackers, and guiding decisions as they happen on a daily basis. In others, the structure is lighter, with clear monthly outputs and a focused session to review direction and priorities. If it’s useful, I can also spend time working alongside you and your team in person. The approach is adaptable, but the aim is always the same — keeping the business commercially clear, steady, and well-directed as it moves forward.
How long does this partnership typically run for?
The first phase is about getting a clear handle on the numbers and the reality of the business, and putting the right trackers and planning in place. That usually takes the first month to complete properly. Once your requirements and priorities are clear, I map out the direction and sequence of work — from positioning and messaging through to planning, risk management, and commercial alignment — so each stage builds on the last. In practice, around six months is typically the minimum for this to take shape and begin showing up properly — not as a fixed commitment, but because meaningful change needs time to embed.
How does this compare to hiring internally?
Hiring internally can work well, but it’s usually a larger and slower commitment — salary, time to hire, and the risk of not finding the right fit. In the training sector in particular, it’s not easy to hire someone who genuinely understands cohort delivery, intake planning, capacity constraints, and how marketing links to profitability. It also avoids the common problem of hiring someone strong in one area but not across the commercial picture. Instead, decisions stay joined up across planning, performance, and growth — helping you get more from your existing team, rather than adding another layer inside it.
How is pricing structured? Is it flexible?
Pricing reflects the scope and level of involvement required. Most partnerships run on a monthly basis, with the structure shaped around your stage, priorities, and how closely you would like me involved. Because the work itself is adaptable, pricing can be reviewed and adjusted over time as the partnership evolves — for example if the focus shifts, involvement changes, or more hands-on support is included. The aim is to keep the structure aligned with the value and level of support the business actually needs, rather than forcing a fixed package.