Scaling companies in Atlanta hit a ceiling that more tactics cannot break through. What is missing is senior ownership: someone to set the strategy, decide where the budget goes, and answer for the results. Hiring that person full-time, though, means a $250k salary and a six-month search most teams cannot afford to get wrong.
A fractional CMO turns "we need a marketing leader someday" into "we have one now." You embed a senior operator part-time to own the strategy, build the systems, and lead the people — with accountability for revenue and none of the full-time risk. Most Atlanta companies see it as the smartest first executive marketing hire they can make.
The role covers the whole function, not a slice of it. Brennen sets your positioning and message, builds the demand-generation engine that drives qualified pipeline for your Atlanta business, stands up analytics so you know what is working, and assembles the team and SOPs that keep it all running without him in the room every day.
A clear go-to-market for the Atlanta market and beyond — messaging your whole team can repeat.
Channels and campaigns that produce pipeline, measured to revenue instead of clicks.
The right hires, tools, and SOPs — a marketing department that runs itself.
Honest reporting that ties every dollar of spend back to pipeline and closed revenue.
A marketing budget allocated by someone accountable for the return on it.
Marketing that sales trusts and the board understands — one shared number.
You usually know it is time when the symptoms stack up: a plateau you cannot explain, a budget you cannot defend, a team with no one setting direction, or a raise that demands a believable marketing story. When a Atlanta, Georgia company hits one or more of these, a fractional CMO is the fastest way to get unstuck.
Weeks 1–2: understand your funnel, goals, data, and the gaps holding Atlanta growth back — talk to sales, customers, and the numbers.
Weeks 2–4: lock positioning, choose the channels that fit your motion, and build a 90-day roadmap tied to revenue targets.
Weeks 4–8: install the systems, make or manage the hires, launch the channels, and start producing measurable pipeline.
Weeks 8–12 and on: attribution to revenue, cut what is not working, and double down on what is — then keep compounding.
Each option trades off differently. A full-time CMO delivers dedication but demands $250k-plus and months of hiring risk. An agency delivers capacity but owns none of your strategy or results. A fractional CMO delivers what most Atlanta companies actually need — senior ownership and accountability — part-time and at a fraction of the full-time cost.
Fractional CMO rates work as a flat retainer billed monthly and scoped to your needs. A company that mainly needs strategy pays for fewer days; one that needs building pays for more. Either way it tends to run about a third to a half of a full-time CMO’s cost, which for most Atlanta, Georgia businesses is leadership that comfortably pays for itself.
Brennen brings the judgment of a senior executive and the hands of an operator. Atlanta companies get someone in the pipeline reviews and the hiring decisions, accountable for growth, building systems and SOPs that outlast the engagement — not a strategist who disappears once the slides are delivered.
The best marketing hire we made was not full-time. Brennen owned the strategy and the number from day one.
Client, B2B SaaS — CEO
A fractional CMO is an experienced chief marketing officer who leads your marketing on a part-time, ongoing basis instead of as a full-time employee. You get executive-level strategy, team leadership, and accountability for growth — at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire, and without the long recruiting cycle or equity package.
Yes. Brennen Lesser works with Atlanta, Georgia companies as a fractional CMO — both remotely and on-site as the engagement requires. That includes founder-led startups, funded scale-ups, SaaS businesses, professional-services firms, and established B2B companies across the Atlanta metro.
Most fractional CMO engagements run at roughly 30–50% of a full-time CMO salary, billed as a flat monthly retainer with no equity and no long-term contract. The exact number depends on scope and how many days a month you need. For most Atlanta companies that is a meaningful saving versus a full-time executive who would command $250,000 or more in total compensation.
An agency executes tactics — ads, content, email — usually against a brief you provide. A fractional CMO sits a level above that: they set the strategy, decide which channels to invest in, hire and manage the people (or agencies) who execute, and own the results. Think of it as renting a marketing leader, not renting a marketing vendor.
If you have the budget, the workload, and the revenue to support a $250k+ executive full-time, hire one. If you need senior marketing leadership now but can’t yet justify that cost — or you want to de-risk the decision before committing — a fractional CMO gives you the same caliber of leadership scaled to your stage, and can help you hire your eventual full-time CMO when the time comes.
Most Atlanta engagements ramp in about two weeks. You skip the four-to-six-month executive search entirely — after a short discovery period, Brennen is embedded in your business, auditing the funnel and shipping a strategy while a full-time search would still be scheduling first-round interviews.
Typically seed-to-Series-B startups, SaaS companies, and growing B2B firms in Atlanta, Georgia doing roughly $1M–$50M in revenue — companies large enough to need real marketing leadership but not yet large enough to justify a full-time CMO on payroll.
Clear positioning your whole team can articulate, a demand-generation engine measured to pipeline and revenue, honest attribution so you stop wasting spend, and a marketing team and set of systems that keep producing after the engagement scales down. The goal is a self-sustaining function, not dependence on a consultant.
Both. Brennen works with Atlanta, Georgia teams remotely day-to-day and comes on-site for kickoffs, planning sessions, and key moments where being in the room matters. Modern marketing leadership doesn’t require a desk in your office five days a week.