Commercial Development

Develop commercial strategies, capabilities and exciting new concepts, to rapidly grow profitable earned income and sustainable impact

Proven models

Whatever your starting point, Martyn will help you develop not just the propositions, the programmes, and the strategies you need, but also the capabilities and competencies that your people will need to properly deliver them.

Ideas and opportunities

generating, evaluating, and sifting a wide set of concepts

Zones of potential

consolidating opportunity zones around anchor propositions

Testing and refining

prototyping, reshaping, proving concepts and routes to scale

Investing for scale

investing in capabilities and management to successfully grow

A tailored approach

Some non-profit organisations are starting from scratch when it comes to developing commercial, or “earned” income, but many already operate various forms of social enterprise, deliver commercial contracts or run commissioned services.

  • Whether your ambition is to expand your established services, or to significantly improve their profitability and performance.
  • Whether it’s about developing an integrated commercial strategy or revising the portfolio to dramatically shift the performance overall.
  • Whether it’s about innovation and entrepreneurship, developing new opportunities or developing entire new models of commercialisation.
  • Or whether it’s just about getting started on the journey.

Martyn’s expertise can meet you wherever you are and help you get where you want to be.

A developmental mindset

Martyn’s intentionally collaborative approach means that he will work with your own people to co-create new concepts and trial designs orto evaluate existing business or new opportunities.

Throughout every process there is a constant transfer of insights and expertise, from marketing and selling, to commercial modelling and management, enabling your people to take the lead wherever possible, drawing in insights from stakeholders and other organisations, and developing ownership, understanding, engagement and momentum, throughout the journey.

Whether facilitating the process and leading the discussions, or simply advising and coaching your own commercial leads behind the scenes, the aim is not simply to provide you with recommendations and plans, but to help you build the engagement, capabilities, and the sense of ownership you need to ensure they will be delivered.

Person sketching the word "LEARN" in block letters on a notebook with a pencil and ruler, surrounded by a keyboard, pens, and a tea bag.
Martyn Drake smiling with his book "The Commercial Charity" displayed beside him, featuring the subtitle "How business thinking can help non-profits grow impact and income" on a blue cover.

The benefit of experience

We wrote the book on this stuff, literally.

You can find out more about our approach along with a wealth of case studies and examples, in Martyn’s seminal book on earned income for non-profits, The Commercial Charity.

Martyn’s insights from 20 years spent in blue-chip business environments has since been honed through a further 15 years of helping nonprofit clients succeed with their own commercial aspirations.

This enables him to  anticipate and help address the unique challenges of bringing commercial thinking into a charity culture.

These challenges can be overcome with the right approach, and it’s this unique combination of experience, expertise and contextual understanding, that sets Martyn apart.

What clients say

Don’t just take our word for it. This is what clients have said.

“The impact for Sense has been massive. Martyn has helped us to change what we believe is possible, and to really push our aspirations and our belief in the difference we can make for the people that we support.” “If you’re looking to understand how you can increase the impact and the reach of your organisation, and how you can bring your people together to unite behind that, you should reach out to Martyn”

Chris Jarrett
Group Engagement Director, Sense and Sense International

“Martyn took us on a journey to develop a strategy that we are now all confident in and compelled by, and we all feel like we own. The Board accepted the recommendations more quickly and more fully than we could have possibly imagined, and said that this was the best, most cohesive, and well thought-through strategy they had seen.” “I would absolutely recommend Martyn and be very happy to work with him again.”

Irene Sobowale
CEO, Disabilities Trust Group

“We were able to successfully identify commercial concepts and develop them into propositions, but more than that, we were able to take a group of leaders into an exploratory space that has broadened their thinking in the way they are now designing services.” “Martyn has enabled us to think differently about the changes we will require to sustain our services in the long run. This has been a very powerful and enabling process, that is now setting the framework for the future of our charity”

Nicky Shaw
Operations Director, Blind Veterans UK

“The impact Martyn had, was to get the whole team to understand and recognise the key challenges that we face, and how we should all work together differently to tackle them” “Any organisation that recognises it’s got a need to change, to be more sustainable and fit for the future, and has people who are prepared to be challenged and open minded, will have a really successful working relationship with Martyn. And he’s good fun!”

Mark Lever
CEO, National Autistic Society

“Martyn is the best strategy consultant I have worked with. He goes far beyond facilitating strategy; he challenges, guides and informs the team of other options that we may have never experienced.”

Becky Bristow
Director, Dogs Trust Ireland

“Having Martyn help us develop our selling skills was an amazing investment. It’s already paid for itself 5x over in just 10 weeks.”

Sharron McIndoe
Head of Training and Consulting, National Autistic Society

“The impact Martyn has had, is that we now have a very clear plan of what we need to do, we feel much more confident in the commercial space, we have secured some contracts, we have been earning some income, and I’m really excited about the potential, which is credit to Martyn.”

Henny Braund
CEO, Anthony Nolan

“What really impressed me about Martyn was he had such a deep knowledge of our sector but he also brought real commercial understanding. We’ve seen a financial uplift in a very short space of time, which is incredibly gratifying. We will definitely be engaging Martyn again.”

Madeleine Starr
Business Development Director, Carers UK

“I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Martyn who has supported me in leading this process, and using his excellent facilitation skills, has helped engage so many staff and trustees in the strategic discussion; he has also given me support in preparation for meetings and summarising discussions, which has been an enormous help. Martyn challenged my thinking, he’s confident and hugely experienced and I’ve enjoyed enormously working with him.”

Petra Ingram
CEO, The Brooke

“I cannot believe the progress we’ve made in the last 6 months. Working with you has given me a structure and methodology around which to make confident decisions. It has been brilliant to have a robustly critical friend who isn’t afraid to say when they are not convinced, it has pushed me to do better and to adapt and change when things aren’t working. Your support has put us in a strong position to make thousands of families lives measurably better. Thankyou.”

Elizabeth Archer
Project Director, SENDirect

“I am so grateful for you instigating this learning set, for your wisdom and insights. Thanks for playing such an important role at such a challenging time for all of us”

Matt Hyde
CEO, The Scouts

“Your ability to get us organised; find the right topic for the right moment; provide pithy and thought-provoking input and get us talking has been invaluable”

James Blake
CEO, YHA England & Wales

“Martyn has this ability to unpick things, to hold up a mirror, and to move people on as well as the decisions. We ended up with a piece of work that was really thoughtful, really useful and really energising for people. We couldn’t have done that in a really short timescale without Martyn’s support.”

Oonagh Smyth
CEO, Skills for Care

“We’ve been through a robust process to explore what’s actually possible… it’s ambitious but I feel confident it’s achievable. When it becomes difficult, Martyn is very supportive, but he keeps you on track. I recognise he is the expert.”

Nic Alderson
Operations and Patient Services Director, Anthony Nolan

“Martyn, in three hours we moved light-years forward. Great model and great thinking”

Jan Tregelles
CEO, Royal Mencap Society

“Martyn, great to work with you, and thanks for all your help and guidance”

Gill Morbey
CEO Sense

“Martyn is a very perceptive and a clear thinker. He was able to develop real rapport with people in the organisation so that he got under the skin very quickly. His insight was first rate, and the work he did for us was of the highest order. I would have no hesitation in working with Martyn again or recommending his work.”

Steve Wragg
Chairman, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

“Martyn, thanks for all your help this year. You challenged us and supported us in just the right measure. You shone a spotlight on some important truths and helped us bust some obstructive myths. You made a hell of a difference”

Alistair Graham
Director of Fundraising and Marketing, National Autistic Society

“Martyn has helped us recognise that we can stay true to our values and generate money. There is a place and time when you do need someone from outside the organisation to help you change direction. We knew where we wanted to get to, we thought we knew how to get there, but now I see we didn’t. We do now.”

Sharon Allen
CEO, Skills for Care

“Martyn is not only a wise professional … but also a great teacher. He led our team towards clear objectives, through appropriate activity and with great pace and challenge. He opened our eyes to the bigger picture, so that we would be able to reach better decisions. His ability to simplify and to get to the nub of it was thoroughly impressive.”

Gill Dixon
Head Teacher, Trent College

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