My Fractional CMO Engagement Process

I’ve been working as a fractional CMO for a couple of years now. And while every company I work with is different, the engagements have taken on a similar shape over time. I’m wrapping up two of them right now, which is a bit bittersweet. I really like these companies and the people but I’m leaving them in a much better position than I found them, which gives me a great sense of pride. We've made so many improvements and fixed so much and they’re on a great trajectory!

My engagements typically are broken down into three phases:

Phase 1: The Assessment

I’ll spend 4-6 weeks doing a deep dive into all things marketing for the company. I look at the creative, website, analytics, media mix, CRM tools, customer communications, etc. At the end of the period I deliver a report (typically a 60-70 page slide deck) that outlines everything I’ve found and what I believe needs to be done to fix it. Each of these items is ranked by level of difficulty to address and potential business impact. I’ll also have a spreadsheet that breaks the items down into distinct projects also ranked by difficulty/impact. This is usually a separate statement of work (SOW), and the company can choose to take the report and fix the items themselves or they can hire me to help in the next phase. So far, every client who received the assessment has also hired me to address the next phase.

Phase 2: The Implementation

This operationalizing the plan that was built in phase 1. This usually takes 5-7 months. And as with any plan, the scope usually grows with additional discoveries and uncovered opportunities. Typically, we’re running tests within the first 2-4 weeks to take advantage of some of the low hanging fruit identified in the assessment. The results from these tests help to reinforce the resolve to take on the bigger, more difficult changes. At this stage I’m also usually pulling in resources from my network to operationalize the plans. These could be for search engine optimization, ad buying, development, creative, security, etc. I make sure the financial relationship with those resources is direct with the client because those relationships may outlive my engagement with the company. I also don’t do referral fees, as I don’t like the ethical implications (personal preference).

As we get 2/3 of the way through this phase, we start the recruitment process to find a permanent marketing leader to replace me. The goal is to get someone in place to take the reins and maintain the momentum that we’ve created. The recruitment and hiring typically takes about 2 months.

Phase 3: The Transition

There are typically two different transition types. Either I’ll roll off completely or I roll down and take on an advisory role. So far half of the engagements have become advisory with the other half having me roll off completely. But even when I roll off, I’m still available for the occasional question/trouble shooting. As I mentioned earlier, I really like these companies and I want to see them succeed.

The transition usually involves a 2-4 week overlap with the new marketing director to make sure they understand what’s happened, what’s in flight and what’s next. While I want them to maintain the momentum, there’s no expectation that they’ll just be running the playbook I’m leaving for them. They need to make it their own and adjust the plan as results role in and opportunities come up.

While I’ve had client engagements that don’t fall into this framework, most have. I’ve been asked by friends why I wouldn’t want to make the fCMO gigs more permanent. The simple answer is that most of these companies are going to be better served by having a permanent, full-time marketing leader and that’s not a job I want at this stage of my career. I really like building things and making dramatic improvements and this structure really ticks those boxes for me.