Hiring a full-time CMO takes 4–6 months and a huge salary bet before you see any results.
Engage a fractional CMO on a monthly retainer, ramp in two weeks, and scale up or down as the business needs.
Fractional CMO leadership means one accountable owner for the whole function: positioning that makes your value obvious, demand generation measured to revenue instead of clicks, attribution you can trust, and a team plus SOPs that keep the engine running long after the strategy is set.
Weeks 1–2: understand your funnel, goals, data, and the gaps holding 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.
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.
A clear go-to-market and a message that converts — one 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.
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 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 companies that means senior marketing leadership that pays for itself in pipeline.
Brennen is a builder first. He has stood up marketing teams and demand systems from scratch, and he brings that hands-on — accountable for results and focused on leaving behind a machine that runs without him.
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 owns your marketing strategy, team, and growth systems on a part-time retainer — positioning, demand generation, analytics, and hiring — with accountability for pipeline and revenue, not just tasks.
Typically 30–50% of a full-time CMO salary, on a flexible monthly retainer scoped to your stage. You get C-suite marketing leadership without the $250k+ commitment or the long hiring cycle.
An agency runs tactics and a consultant advises. A fractional CMO takes ownership — sets the strategy, builds and manages the team, and is accountable for the number, operating like a member of your executive team.
Most engagements ramp in about two weeks. You skip the 4–6 month executive search and start making progress on strategy and pipeline almost immediately.
Seed-to-Series-B startups, SaaS companies, and growing B2B firms — typically doing $1M–$50M in revenue — that need senior marketing leadership but cannot yet justify, or do not yet need, a full-time CMO on payroll.
A clear go-to-market strategy, marketing that sales trusts, attribution tied to revenue, and a team and system that keeps producing pipeline after the engagement scales down. The aim is a self-sustaining marketing function, not permanent dependence on a consultant.
If you have the budget, workload, and revenue to support a $250k+ executive full-time, hire one. If you need senior leadership now but want to de-risk the decision, a fractional CMO gives you the same caliber of leadership scaled to your stage — and can help recruit your eventual full-time CMO when the time is right.
It varies by scope. A company that mainly needs strategy and oversight might need a few days a month; one that needs hands-on building needs more. The retainer is sized to the work, and it can flex up or down as your needs change.