The highest-performing commercial leaders across the construction supply chain (from merchants and manufacturers to distributors and hire companies) are not applying to roles, submitting CVs or engaging with public job adverts, because they are too busy delivering results in markets where volatility, margin pressure and shifting customer demand have made experienced leadership more valuable than ever, yet these same individuals are often willing to explore new opportunities when they are approached privately, strategically and with a clear understanding of what they actually want from their next move. They remain deeply embedded in their territories, safeguarding key accounts, growing revenue and stabilising teams, which is why they are invisible to traditional recruitment methods but not inaccessible when the right recruiter initiates the conversation with the discretion and competence they expect.
These performers, the Regional Directors who reshape commercial strategy, the Sales Directors who rebuild declining territories, the KAMs who protect multi-million-pound relationships, the Technical Sales Specialists who unlock growth in highly engineered product portfolios, and the Commercial Directors who drive long-term value across complex routes to market, avoid public job adverts for reasons far beyond preference. They understand that generic job descriptions rarely reflect the commercial realities of their roles, nor do they offer the confidentiality required in a tightly connected sector where news travels quickly between buying groups, suppliers, independent merchants and national chains. Public activity risks disrupting relationships, unsettling teams or signalling instability to customers, which means that for senior, commercially accountable individuals, staying off the radar is not a choice but a professional necessity.
When these candidates do engage, they expect conversations grounded in substance rather than surface-level selling. They want to understand leadership credibility, business stability, strategic intent and the genuine commercial challenges they would inherit, whether that is restoring margin in a squeezed product category, re-energising an underperforming field sales team, navigating a complex distribution model or repositioning a brand in an increasingly competitive market. They are not interested in speculative chats or vague growth statements; they are interested in whether the opportunity aligns with their long-term ambitions and whether the business is serious about hiring someone of their calibre.
This is why trusted specialist recruiters become essential. The passive market does not move through online channels; it moves through relationships. The candidates clients cannot reach (the respected performers who rarely change roles and never apply publicly) will speak openly to a recruiter who understands their world, protects their anonymity and presents opportunities with accuracy, context and commercial intelligence. At teambuild, this is where we operate every day: inside the passive talent pool that drives the commercial engine of the construction supply sector but remains inaccessible to employers relying on traditional methods.
Our candidates choose to work with us because we understand the nuances of their environments, from the pressure manufacturers face to maintain margin while honouring rebate commitments, to the challenges distributors encounter navigating fragmented routes to market, to the pace merchants and hire companies must maintain to remain competitive in a landscape shaped by consolidation, digitalisation and increasingly discerning customers. We represent them discreetly, ensuring that any move they consider is worth their time, their energy and their reputation.
For clients, this means that the talent they most want (the commercially mature, high-performing individuals capable of delivering stability and growth) is not visible, but it is entirely reachable through teambuild. We specialise in placing the people who are not applying: the Regional Directors who change the trajectory of a region, the Sales Directors who build sustainable revenue pipelines, the KAMs who protect strategic accounts, the Technical Sales professionals who influence specification, and the Commercial Directors who bring clarity and direction to complex market environments.
If you are struggling with long hiring processes, inconsistent candidate quality, rising competition for talent or the difficulty of attracting individuals who don’t respond to adverts, the challenge is not the market, it is the method. And that is exactly where teambuild delivers results. To access the calibre of commercial talent your competitors cannot reach, partner with the specialists who operate where the best candidates actually are.