Vercom
Head of Growth and Expansion
Vercom, a SaaS company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, needed a leader to maintain and develop relationships with key enterprise clients, not to acquire new ones. This is a rare profile in the market. Out of 45 candidates in the pipeline, only a handful actually combined C-level relationship experience with a consultative approach. Fast Forward Solutions provided the client with six vetted candidates, and the entire process was completed in three weeks.
Client profile
Vercom S.A. is a technology company listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It provides a B2B digital communication platform—including email, SMS, and push marketing—for companies in the e-commerce and retail sectors in Poland and Europe. The company is experiencing dynamic financial growth and is expanding its partnerships with the largest enterprise clients on the market.
Challenge
Vercom was looking to fill the position of Head of Growth and Expansion. This role focuses not on acquiring new customers, but on deepening and expanding partnerships with existing enterprise clients. Key challenges facing the future leader:
- building long-term business partnerships with C-level executives and board members of the largest organizations in the retail and e-commerce industries,
- increasing adoption, volume, and the scope of platform usage within the existing customer portfolio, without a focus on acquiring new business,
- conducting strategic discussions and value engineering workshops to identify customers' actual needs,
- serving as a trusted advisor who recommends optimizations and implementations tailored to the client's specific needs,
- monitoring metrics such as NRR, churn, adoption, and margin.
A candidate meeting these requirements had to have at least 7 years of experience working with enterprise clients (Customer Success, Key Account, Strategic Account), strong interpersonal skills at the C-level, and experience in the SaaS, CPaaS, telco, or martech industries. Such a profile is rare and difficult to find through job postings alone.
Our Approach: Direct Search
1. workshops with the customer
We began the process with in-depth discussions with the Vercom team. The goal was to gain a precise understanding of the difference between a traditional sales role and one that required nurturing existing relationships. We agreed that the key criterion was not new business results, but rather experience in maintaining and growing the value of long-term enterprise contracts.
2. market mapping
We focused on candidates with experience in Customer Success, Key Account Management, and Strategic Account roles in the SaaS, CPaaS, and B2B technology sectors, with a particular emphasis on the retail and e-commerce sectors.
3. direct search and sourcing
We used a direct search methodology and reached out directly to individuals currently working at competing organizations or in related industries. These individuals were not actively looking for a new job, but were open to discussing a role that would give them a real impact on the development of key client relationships.
4 Selection and evaluation of candidates
We identified 45 candidates in the recruitment pipeline. Very few of them actually combined the required experience working with enterprise clients at the C-level with a consultative approach, rather than traditional, transactional sales. The rarity of this profile explains why the shortlist was relatively narrow compared to the size of the pipeline. After verifying their interpersonal skills, experience working with C-level clients, and approach to developing contracts, six verified finalists joined the Vercom team.
5. consulting and finalization
In addition to the selection process itself, we helped Vercom assess which candidate best understood the long-term logic of building value for the client, as opposed to the transactional approach typical of traditional sales roles. The entire process, from start to hire, was completed in 3 weeks.
Effects
Through this hiring process, Vercom has gained a leader who:
- took on the responsibility for developing and strengthening relationships with key enterprise clients,
- brought to the organization his experience working at the C-level and on the boards of the largest clients in the retail and e-commerce industries,
- introduced a consultative approach—the "trusted advisor" model—instead of traditional, transactional sales,
- began working on NRR, adoption, and churn reduction metrics for the key accounts portfolio.
"I participated in one of the recruitment processes conducted by FFS. The entire process was based on efficient and transparent communication. As a candidate, I received clear and understandable information about each stage. The company acted proactively and effectively, and the entire collaboration was handled professionally—I highly recommend them!"
The above review is from a hired candidate, not from the client (Vercom).
Summary
This recruitment effort highlights an important point: even for a niche role that combines deep interpersonal skills at the C-level with experience in developing (not acquiring) enterprise contracts, a meticulously executed Direct Search process can close the project in three weeks. The client received only carefully vetted candidates, without having to sift through dozens of unsuitable resumes.
If your company needs a leader to develop relationships with key clients—not just to acquire new ones—contact Fast Forward Solutions.
See also other FFS case studies
- Recruiting a Head of Sales for DoxyChain: Building a Sales Department from the Ground Up at a Blockchain Startup
- BDM Recruitment for the French Market on Behalf of Sylius
- Executive Search for an Omnichannel Director at Shoper
- Recruiting a Product Manager for Fitatu
- AI Talent Partner: 29 pharmacists in 5 weeks
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