GUIDE
What is a fractional CMO?
Senior marketing leadership, scoped to your stage. Here's how the model works, when it fits, and how it compares to the alternatives.
What a fractional CMO is
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who works with your company part-time or for a defined period, instead of as a full-time hire. You get the judgment and experience of someone who has run marketing before, without the cost and lead time of a full-time executive search.
When it makes sense
The model fits companies at an inflection point: you're hiring your first marketer and need the story and strategy set first, you're between marketing leaders and can't afford to lose momentum, or you're entering a new stage — a launch, a pivot, a move to AI agents — and need senior direction before you commit to a permanent hire.
What a fractional CMO actually does
The work is leadership, not extra hands. Setting positioning and the company narrative, deciding which marketing leader to hire next and helping you hire them, building the team plan of people and AI agents, leading launches, and being a sounding board for pricing and go-to-market decisions.
How it differs from an agency
An agency executes work you brief. A fractional CMO decides what the work should be, leads your team, and owns the outcome. Agencies are good at production; a fractional CMO is accountable for direction.
How it differs from a full-time hire
A full-time CMO search takes months and costs a full executive package. A fractional CMO can start in days, set the foundation, and — when you're ready — help you hire and hand over to the permanent leader. Many companies use the fractional stage to learn what they actually need before they hire.
What it costs
Engagements are typically structured as a monthly retainer for a set level of involvement, or as a defined project with a clear start and finish. Either way, it's a fraction of a full-time executive's cost, scoped to what your stage actually needs.
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Three AI agents built on the same method I use with clients. Use them before a call — each one leaves you with something you can act on.
Position to Hire coach
Work through eight steps of positioning and get a profile of the marketer you need, plus a team plan of people and AI agents.
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