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The Rise of Fractional Leadership: Part 2.
This chapter is coming to you a little bit earlier than usual.
Because...well...Qantas cancelled my flight this morning, so...I'll say no more. 😂
If you joined me for Part 1, we discussed:
- Why Fractional is the Future of Leadership
- Fractional Leadership Is Now a Global Movement with Harvard Business Review and Boston Consulting Group championing it.
- We defined what it is and what the business case is.
In this chapter, I dig a bit deeper. So here we go.
What Does a Fractional CMO Actually Do?
So, you’re not ready (or willing) to hire a full-time marketing leader. You’re also done wasting money on scattered freelancers, disconnected agency activity, or junior staff with no direction.
That’s where a Fractional CMO comes in. But what exactly do they do?
Spoiler: they don’t just give you a strategy and walk away. They own it. And they lead it.
A Strategic Leader. Not a Contractor
Let’s get clear on the difference:
- A consultant gives you a plan.
- An agency creates content and runs campaigns.
- A freelancer delivers tasks.
- A Fractional CMO leads your marketing function.
They sit at the executive table. They work closely with sales. They guide direction, manage delivery, and are responsible for outcomes attributing to revenue.
A true Fractional CMO brings clarity, structure, and strategic thinking to your business, without the need to build a big internal team first.
What They Actually Deliver
Here’s what a Fractional CMO takes off your plate:
- Marketing Strategy Define a clear path for growth, aligned to your commercial goals. Here is what you can expect from a strategy.
- Sales & Marketing Alignment Bridge the gap between sales and marketing. Make sure your funnel converts and your messaging matches what your sales team is saying. This is why the departments should merge and how we would unite them.
- Team Leadership Manage freelancers, agencies, or internal marketers. Create accountability, not chaos.
- Campaign Oversight Guide your content, digital, brand, and lead generation efforts - so they work together.
- Tech & Tool Stack Recommend and implement the right systems to track, automate, and measure marketing performance.
- Performance & Reporting Set up KPIs. Track what’s working. Kill what’s not. Make data-driven decisions without the guesswork. Here are the three metrics to prove your sales and marketing are working synergistically.
What If I Don’t Have a Marketing Team?
No problem. Many of Ask Marketing’s clients come to us with no team. Just a business that’s ready to grow, but lacking direction and time.
In those cases, a Fractional CMO will:
- Build the plan.
- Identify gaps
- Source and lead the right delivery partners
- Set up the reporting framework
- Guide the rollout step-by-step
You get structure, not overwhelm. Strategy and action.
An Ask Marketing Example
A B2B services client came to us with:
- No in-house marketing
- A history of “random acts of marketing”
- A Founder/Director doing everything from sales to socials
We stepped in as Fractional CMO and within nine months:
- Built a clear marketing plan
- Aligned sales and marketing messaging
- Managed the development of a new website which truly reflects the offering
- Set up performance tracking
- Led a team of two freelancers to execute the work
- They increased their leads by 120% and they increased their proposal to signed client rate by 30%. This equated to just over $1,200,000 in incremental revenue.
They didn’t need a team of five. They needed one strategic lead who knew how to make the most of their budget, timeline, and growth goals.
Here are some more case studies.
What You Don’t Get
- No bloated strategy deck that never gets used
- No agency or retainer waste
- No disconnected activity
- No internal time wasted managing marketers when you don’t have capacity to lead them
Your Business Is Ready for Strategy. You Just Don’t Need It Full-Time.
If you’ve been hesitant to hire senior marketing leadership because you’re not “big enough” yet - that’s exactly why the fractional model exists.
You get real leadership, built for your stage of growth.
If you haven't yet read part 1, you can check it out here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rise-fractional-leadership-why-smart-companies-thinking-king-6pmic
Let’s talk
My business, Ask Marketing specialises in leading marketing for founder-led and service businesses through our Fractional CMO model. It’s smart, flexible, and built to deliver.
Hire A Senior Marketer, For A Fraction Of The Cost.
Let's take it from here.
Have a wonderful Tuesday.
Ali
