Fractional CMO, Veena Vadgama reveals the business value of fractional marketing resources, as well as strategies to get the most out of your fractional team.

I often get asked “What does fractional mean? How is that different from part-time help or a contractor?” It’s a good question. I get asked this so often that… voila! A new article topic.

A full-time CMO might be too expensive

For many growing companies, a full-time CMO is too expensive. Like really expensive. A full-time CMO can make anywhere from $220K to $325K per year. Salary.com says $345K on average. Of course, this depends on the size of the company, location, experience of the individual, bonus plan, etc. This price does not include FTE overhead costs. Seeing this as unaffordable, growing companies oftentimes decide to hire more junior support. They sacrifice experience for affordability. Sure, it may work. There are many rockstar marketing folks out there!

However, CEOs reach out to me because they have realized the junior marketing person can only take the company so far. Fractional CMOs have experience with product-market fit, GTM planning, campaign development, team budgeting, operational management, creation of OKRs, measurements, and, of course, solid execution. To do this right and within budget requires experience and the ability to have leadership level discussions.

Now, enter the fractional CMO

This role is not an FTE, and you hire them for a certain monthly allocation. To make the math simple, let’s talk about this in terms of hours. A fractional CMO might charge $250 per hour. At 40 hours per month, that equates to $120K for the year and no overhead costs. If you can pair the fractional CMO with execution resources, your team can build message clarity, create marketing programs, execute the plan, and create the pipeline. Can they do it as fast as an FTE? Maybe. Maybe not. But once you are ready to pour the gas on marketing, the fractional CMO can help bring in your full-time marketing lead. (We embrace succession planning!)

A good fractional CMO will take ownership of the company’s marketing direction and provide honest feedback to the leadership team and the board with respect to concerns. A fractional CMO can’t have tunnel vision on just marketing issues. They see connections between product strategy, sales processes, and customer success for better messaging, campaign design, and lead funnel flow.

A good fractional CMO has to be highly efficient. They can’t worry about corporate politics or distractions when getting the job done. We simply don’t have time for a lack of collaboration or transparency that may plague other teams. This is a benefit that may not be obvious to many.

How does a fractional CMO work in real life?
I have been working as a fractional CMO long enough to see the pros and cons. If you are a c-suite member and considering a fractional CMO, here is my advice on how to make it work:

1. Be transparent. Be open about your organizational challenges and marketing expectations. Do not hold back. If your concern is messaging – state that. If you need pipeline improvement first and foremost – start with that. If you are not sure what you need – that is fine, just be clear.

2. Be realistic about scope. Rely on your fractional CMO for strategy, ideas, and planning. Have them explain how the execution will happen. You don’t want to pay $250 per hour to have someone set up your LinkedIn page, write social posts, or create a HubSpot landing page. It’s not an efficient use of your money. Make sure they have or that you have the execution resources to help get the work done.

3. Give total access. For the fractional CMO to be effective, they need to have a direct line to your product lead, sales lead, and SMEs throughout the company. A fractional CMO is not coming in to reinvent the wheel. Chances are you have great individuals internally that are acutely aware of the company’s challenges. Give the fractional CMO the ability to work with them.

4. Include the kitchen sink. Throw everything and the kitchen sink at your fractional CMO. They can take it! Let them assess all of your challenges and come back to you with the priority list. Remember, you are hiring an expert. If you see them as a contractor where you must spoon feed the problem and the solution plan, you don’t need a fractional CMO.

5. Start with the end in mind. The fractional CMO should outline key milestones for the project. They are here to create success not an invoice. Work together to set key deliverables at frequent intervals to ensure the work is going as planned. Measure success based on results not how many hours they put in.

“Without a strategy, execution is aimless. Without execution, strategy is useless.” – Morris Chang.

At 512Financial, I’m fortunate that we don’t just offer fractional CMO expertise but execution services as well. We have experienced professionals to see the marketing strategy all the way through and provide active day-to-day management. We also have amazing, proven partners that fill in our marketing gaps to ensure our clients get total support.

Would you like experienced marketing support at half the price of a full-time crew? If your answer is “Yes, please!” contact me to see if we might be the right fit for your company. I have been fortunate to meet many amazing fractional CMOs and full-time CMOs as part of my journey this year. If we are not the right fit, chances are we can find someone who is.

Email me at veena.vadgama@512financial.com

This article first appeared on LinkedIn.com.