A Fractional CMO is what you get when a senior marketing executive works with multiple companies part-time, usually 10 to 20 hours a week per client, instead of being locked into one full-time role. You get the strategic firepower of a CMO. You skip the $250K to $400K base salary, the year of recruiting, and the four months of ramp.
For most service businesses, that math is a no-brainer.
Honestly... most service businesses I talk to.
Solo practitioners who finally have something worth marketing and no idea how to do it. Practice owners with one in-house marketer who is in over their head. Founders of small companies trying to scale without a budget that justifies a full-time hire. CEOs of mid-sized companies who already have a team and need someone senior to actually run it. Leaders of $50M plus operations who want strategic oversight without the cost or political weight of another C-suite hire.
What ties them together is not revenue. It is the same problem.
Marketing is happening. Activity exists. But nobody on the team is asking the questions a real marketing leader would ask, and the work is drifting because of it.
If that sounds familiar, this is what fractional leadership fixes.
• Weekly strategic review with you (or your leadership team), and monthly performance deep dives
• Oversight of any internal marketing team you have, plus any external agencies, vendors, or freelancers in the mix
• Hiring support when the time comes... role definitions, candidate evaluation, onboarding
• Quarterly strategic planning, plus board-ready or investor-ready reporting if you need it
• Direct involvement in channel strategy, budget allocation, and vendor decisions, not just advice from the sidelines
• On-call access for the high-stakes decisions that come up between scheduled sessions
This is the question I get asked first, every time. Here is how I actually think about it.
Best when you need senior strategic leadership but cannot justify a full-time hire yet, or you want someone running the show before you commit to recruiting. Annual cost runs $96K to $180K depending on hours per week. Strategic ownership is high. Ramp time is two to four weeks because there is no recruitment cycle. Best fit: businesses without a senior marketing leader in seat, at almost any size.
Best when you have grown past the point where part-time leadership can keep up with the workload, usually around $50M and growing. Annual cost lands at $250K to $400K plus benefits and equity. Strategic ownership is highest. Ramp time is three to six months. Best fit: companies large enough that the full-time salary is a rounding error and the executive needs to be deep inside the building.
Best when you need execution. Ads, content, design, SEO. Annual cost runs $60K to $500K plus depending on scope. Strategic ownership is low... they execute against your strategy, they do not own it. Ramp time is four to eight weeks. Best fit: any company that needs a specific channel run, regardless of stage.
The configurations that work best are usually not either-or. A fractional CMO setting strategy and holding an existing agency accountable is a powerful combination, and that is how most of my engagements actually run.
Q: How quickly can you start?
A: Two weeks from a signed agreement. The first two weeks are discovery and immersion. Real output begins in week three.
Q: Do you work with companies outside Boston?
A: Yes. Roughly half of my engagements are remote across the United States. Boston-area clients typically include one in-person monthly session.
Q: Can you work alongside an existing agency?
A: Yes, and that is often the most effective configuration. The fractional CMO role is to provide strategic oversight and accountability for the agency's work, not to replace it. Most agencies I have worked alongside actually become better at their jobs when there is a senior counterpart asking the right questions.
Q: Is there a minimum company size?
A: No. I have worked with solo practitioners, small practices, and companies in the tens of millions. The hours per week and pricing scale to the business. The principles do not change.
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