MML Marine
Recruiting a commercial Head of Sales for MML Marine — moving from estimating to proactive new-business sales.
Client Overview
MML Marine is a Scottish precision engineering and manufacturing business supplying engineered components and assemblies into OEM customers across the marine, defence and wider industrial markets. Like many specialist sub-contract manufacturers, MML had historically run its commercial function as an estimating and contract management operation, responding to OEM enquiries rather than generating new business. The business needed to shift to a more proactive sales model to win new accounts, grow share of wallet from existing OEMs, and protect margin in a sector where customer demands change constantly.
The Brief
MML Marine wanted to strengthen its sales capability and move away from a reactive estimating function into a proactive new-business sales operation. The Head of Sales would be responsible for identifying new customers, growing existing accounts, getting margin discipline into both new and existing contracts, and bringing leadership to a small commercial team. This was a foundational hire in a function the business was effectively rebuilding from the ground up.
The Challenge
MML Marine is a traditional engineering business, and the profile they needed didn't typically come out of similar businesses. Commercially astute sales leaders with the structure, discipline and adaptability to thrive inside a sub-contract manufacturer dealing with shifting OEM demands are rare. The traditional engineering candidate pool tends to produce estimators and contract managers rather than commercial leaders.
What Sales Recruit UK Did
Sales Recruit UK looked at adjacent precision engineering and sub-contract manufacturing markets where candidates already understood tender-led, contract-led commercial selling. The SRUK Fit Score process prioritised candidates with proven commercial backgrounds in bid management, tendering, new customer acquisition and account development, paired with the structure and resilience to handle OEM-driven cycles. The brief also called for someone who could manage and develop a small team of more junior commercial staff, which narrowed the pool further but was an essential filter.
The Outcome
Sales Recruit UK delivered a shortlist of three strong candidates and one was hired into the Head of Sales position. The candidate has been in post for over a year and is making a material impact on the organisation, building new account pipeline, applying commercial discipline to both new and existing contracts, and developing the small commercial team underneath them.