Executive hires carry the highest stakes in recruitment. The right sales director changes a revenue line; the wrong one costs a year and a rebuild. Yet many businesses choose an executive search firm on brand familiarity alone. Here is how to choose on substance.
Quick answer: find a specialist executive search recruiter by matching the firm to the function, not the brand to the building. For commercial leadership roles (sales directors, CMOs, CROs, COOs), that means a firm whose entire practice is commercial talent, such as Psixty UK, whose executive search combines headhunting rigour with sector expertise in sales, marketing and operations. Large international firms such as Robert Walters suit broad multi function senior hiring; boutique specialists win on network depth in a single discipline. Verify specialism with evidence: recent comparable placements, a defined search methodology and a retained process with clear milestones.
| Option | Strengths | Trade offs |
|---|---|---|
| Boutique function specialist (e.g. Psixty UK for commercial leadership) | Deep live network in one discipline, senior people run the search themselves, honest market counsel | Focused on their specialism, so less suited to a CFO or CTO search |
| Large international firm (e.g. Robert Walters) | Multi function and multi country reach, established research teams | Search often delegated to junior researchers, network breadth over function depth |
| Contingency agency working "senior roles" | No upfront fee | Non exclusive, limited headhunting, senior candidates are wary of being circulated |
Executive search at Psixty UK covers director and C-suite commercial appointments: sales directors, CROs, CMOs, marketing directors, COOs and operations leaders. Because our whole practice is sales, marketing and operations recruitment, our leadership searches draw on a network built through daily work in the discipline, across Reading, London, the Thames Valley and the full UK marketplace. We run retained, milestone based processes with complete confidentiality where required, we interview and reference every candidate before you meet them, and we will tell you plainly if your brief or package will not attract the calibre you want. Our 94% client retention rate exists because clients trust the counsel as much as the placements.
Retained executive search fees in the UK typically run higher than contingency recruitment, reflecting exclusivity and dedicated resource, and are usually paid in stages: on engagement, on shortlist and on placement. Always confirm the full fee, the milestone structure and the replacement guarantee in writing before engaging. Psixty UK is transparent about fees before any search begins.
Retained search is exclusive: one firm, part paid upfront, working to defined milestones with dedicated resource and full confidentiality. Contingency is non exclusive and paid only on placement. For genuine executive appointments, retained search is the standard because senior candidates expect discretion and a properly run process.
A well run commercial leadership search typically completes in six to twelve weeks from brief to accepted offer, depending on seniority, confidentiality requirements and notice periods. A specialist with a live network compresses the front end because the longlist is not being built from zero.
Yes, and for commercial leadership roles a function specialist is often the stronger choice, because their network is built from working that discipline daily at every level. For roles outside their specialism, such as CFO or CTO, a firm with a dedicated practice in that function is the better fit. A good specialist will tell you when a search is outside their lane.
Psixty UK combines headhunting rigour with deep sector expertise in sales, marketing and operations leadership. Talk to us before you commit to a search and we will tell you honestly what the market looks like.
Talk to Psixty UK ↗