Fractional CMO for owner-led B2B services firms
Marketing, fully owned. So you can go back to running your company.
You built a $5M to $20M services firm on referrals. Lately they've slowed, and you're still the one bringing in most of the work. I own the marketing plan above your coordinator or agency and tie every piece of it to new revenue, without the cost and risk of a full-time hire.
Sound familiar?
Referrals got you here. Then they slowed down.
Owners of firms your size usually describe some version of these three things.
Referrals used to be enough. Lately it's crickets.
We've paid agencies for years and can't point to the revenue.
I'm still the one bringing in most of the work.
Your coordinator or agency is doing what they were hired to do. The plan above them has no owner, so pipeline has no owner. That's the seat I take.
Proof
Marketing-sourced first meetings doubled in year one.
ASLAN Training & Development is a 30-year global sales training firm, named a Top Sales Training Company by Selling Power 14 years running. Here's my first full year running their marketing.
That's the key thing we're measuring. Are we getting meetings with the right people? That tells you the quality of leads.
Tom Stanfill, CEO and Co-FounderRead the full ASLAN case study →
From the CEO
Tom Stanfill on what changed when marketing came off his desk.
"The way I think about you is: I'm spending time running ASLAN and you're running marketing. Before, building a marketing engine was the number one thing on my whiteboard. Now I'm focused on how do we scale ASLAN, not how do we fix marketing. That's a huge lift for me."
Tom Stanfill, CEO and Co-Founder, ASLAN Training & Development
How it works
One person owns marketing. Everyone else works to one plan.
About 10 hours a week inside your business. Instead of managing four or five vendors, you work with one person. Most engagements run 3 to 12 months.
Own the plan
We set quarterly priorities tied to new revenue. Then two-week sprints, so your team always knows what's next and what can wait.
Lead the people you have
Your coordinator, agency and contractors get clear work orders from me. I check the work and hold the line on priorities. I lead the team you already have.
Report what moved
A weekly scorecard. Every number comes with what it means and the next action, so you can make the call in 5 minutes.
Is this for you?
Built for owner-led services firms that grew on referrals.
- You own or run an independent B2B services firm in the US or Canada: an MSP or IT consultancy, or a staffing, accounting, engineering or architecture firm.
- You're at $5M to $20M in revenue, with roughly 20 to 150 staff.
- Referrals built the business, and they're slowing.
- You have a coordinator or an agency, and pipeline still has no owner.
Meet your fractional CMO
Before I led marketing, I sold.
I've knocked doors, made the cold calls and built my own pipeline. Then I spent over a decade running marketing inside expert-led firms, where the sale is a person, a long cycle and a big contract.
That's the shape of your sale too. It's why the work carries over.
Questions
What owners ask before the first call.
What does a fractional CMO actually do?
I lead marketing inside your firm for about 10 hours a week. I set the plan, give your coordinator and agencies clear work orders, and report weekly on what moved new revenue. You get senior leadership without a full-time executive's salary.
How do I know it's the right time?
Referrals are slowing, you're still the main source of new work, and you've paid for marketing you can't tie to revenue. If two of those are true, it's probably time.
Do I keep my coordinator and agency?
Yes. Most firms already have capable people doing the work. What's missing is someone setting direction and checking results. I give them one plan, clear priorities and a weekly scorecard.
Have you worked with firms like mine?
My background is expert-led services: over a decade running marketing inside sales training and revenue consulting firms. What carries over is the shape of the sale: big contracts, long cycles, a person closing every deal, and referrals doing most of the work.
Will you work with my competitors?
You name them at kickoff. That list goes in our agreement, and I don't work with anyone on it while you're a client. For anyone outside the list, you hear the name from me before I sign.
What happens in the first 90 days?
We set quarterly priorities tied to new revenue, fix how leads get captured and tracked, and start a weekly scorecard. At ASLAN, the first lead they could trace to marketing came in 27 days after I started.
How long do engagements last?
Most run 3 to 12 months. Some firms need a sprint to build the plan and the system. Others keep me on until they're ready to hire a full-time marketing leader.
How much does it cost?
Engagements start at $10,000 a month for about 10 hours a week of senior leadership. That's a fraction of a full-time CMO's salary, benefits and recruiting risk. I'll give you an exact number once I know what you need.
Let's talk
Find out in 15 minutes if this fits.
Tell me what's working and what isn't. You leave with a short list of what I'd fix first, whether we work together or not.
Alonso Chehade
I read every request myself.