Growth-stage Atlanta companies frequently have the pieces of a marketing function — a few marketers, some agencies, a budget — but no one holding them together or on the hook for pipeline. Bringing in a full-time CMO would fix the ownership problem while creating a cost and timing problem most teams are not ready for.
A fractional CMO is built for exactly this situation. You get executive-level marketing ownership — strategy, budget, hiring, and results — without the full-time salary or the six-month search. For a growing Atlanta, Georgia business, it means senior leadership in weeks, not quarters, at a cost that fits your stage.
A fractional CMO owns marketing end to end. First comes positioning: who you serve, what makes you different, and why Atlanta buyers pick you. Then demand generation — the channels and campaigns that produce pipeline measured to revenue — followed by honest attribution and the hiring, tooling, and process work that turns marketing into a system rather than a scramble.
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.
The triggers are consistent across Atlanta companies: a growth plateau nobody owns, marketing spend with no clear return, a busy-but-directionless team, or a raise that needs a real growth narrative. Hit any of them and it is time to stop adding tactics and start adding leadership.
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.
Compare them honestly and the fit becomes clear. A full-time CMO is dedicated leadership you may not yet need at full cost. An agency is execution that never answers for strategy or revenue. A fractional CMO is the executive ownership a growing Atlanta company needs, delivered part-time and scaled to the stage you are actually at.
Fractional CMO fees are straightforward: one flat monthly retainer, no equity, no long-term commitment, no surprises. It is scoped to how much leadership the business needs and usually falls between 30% and 50% of a full-time CMO salary — a fraction of the cost for the same caliber of ownership a Atlanta company would otherwise have to hire full-time.
The difference with Brennen is ownership. He does not parachute in with recommendations and leave; he embeds in your Atlanta, Georgia business, builds the engine, leads the people, and answers for pipeline. You end the engagement with a marketing function that stands on its own.
Brennen operates like a founder — he owned the number, built the team, and the pipeline followed.
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.