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 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 right time is usually when effort stops translating into growth. Your Atlanta team is working, the invoices are getting paid, and the numbers still are not moving — because no senior operator owns the plan. Add an approaching raise or an undefendable budget, and the case for a fractional CMO makes itself.
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.
How much does a fractional CMO cost? Engagements are billed as a flat monthly retainer — no equity, no long-term lock-in, and no surprise invoices. The retainer is scoped to how much leadership you need, and as a rule of thumb runs about 30–50% of what a full-time CMO would cost in total compensation. For most Atlanta, Georgia companies that means senior marketing leadership that pays for itself in pipeline.
Brennen has run marketing from the operator’s seat, owning outcomes rather than opinions. For a Atlanta company that means senior judgment applied hands-on, a team and system left behind that keep producing, and a leader who treats your number as his own — not a consultant chasing the next deck.
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.