Sonia joined Atelerix as a fractional commercial adviser, working closely with Alastair, Steve and the commercial team remotely and on site. Her involvement extended beyond formal commercial support: she collaborated with colleagues across the wider business and became a trusted part of the Atelerix team.

Atelerix already had an established rhythm of weekly sales meetings. Sonia built on this foundation by giving each discussion a sharper commercial focus. Monday meetings concentrated on the opportunities that could realistically be secured and invoiced that week, while Friday meetings examined whether earlier-stage opportunities had meaningfully progressed.

The team also identified barriers, agreed the next action and considered whether anyone across the wider business could help remove a barrier or move the opportunity forward. At both meetings, the team considered:

• the customer’s underlying scientific and commercial need;
• the technology’s impact compared with the customer’s current workflow, and whether it offered a sufficiently significant benefit to justify change;
• the evidence that an opportunity remained active;
• the decision-makers and stakeholders involved;
• the barriers preventing progression;
• the next meaningful customer commitment; and
• whether the likely value justified further investment of the team’s time.

This helped the team focus more deliberately on credible later-stage opportunities while maintaining the thoughtful, scientifically led customer engagement for which Atelerix was already known.

Sonia also delivered tailored mentoring and practical training for the sales-focused colleagues in value communication, pricing, concessions and objection handling. Product samples, discounts and other concessions were linked to a defined purpose—such as enabling technical evaluation, progressing a qualified opportunity or securing an appropriate customer commitment—helping the team protect the product’s value while continuing to reassure first-time users.