Fractional CMO and Marketing Consulting
Fractional CMO and Marketing Consulting for B2B SaaS
Your marketing team is executing. Campaigns are running. Content is publishing. But pipeline is flat, and nobody can connect the activity to revenue. The problem isn't effort. It's that there's no strategic layer tying the work together.
I provide fractional CMO leadership and marketing consulting for B2B SaaS companies that need senior marketing strategy without a full-time executive hire. Remote-first, embedded in your team, and measured by pipeline impact.
Why do B2B SaaS companies struggle to connect marketing activity to revenue?
The pattern is consistent. A marketing team of 2-5 people runs campaigns across multiple channels. They produce content, manage social, run ads, send emails. The activity metrics look productive. But when the CEO asks "how much pipeline did marketing generate this quarter?" the answer is vague or missing entirely.
The root cause is a leadership gap, not a skills gap. Most small marketing teams have capable executors who can write, design, and publish. What they lack is someone who can step back and build the system: which channels should we prioritize given our deal size and sales cycle? What content actually influences deals versus what just generates traffic? How do we measure marketing's contribution to revenue in a way that holds up in a board meeting?
This gap gets filled in one of three ways. Some companies hire a full-time CMO at $250K-$400K total compensation. Others hire an agency that manages channels but doesn't own strategy. A third group does nothing, and the marketing team continues executing without strategic direction, producing activity that never connects to pipeline.
The fourth option is fractional CMO leadership: senior marketing strategy embedded in your team on a part-time basis, measured by pipeline and revenue, and structured to build the strategic layer your team is missing.
What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive who works with a company on a part-time, contract basis. They provide the strategic leadership, team direction, and revenue accountability of a full-time CMO without the permanent salary commitment.
Teams rely on a fractional CMO when they need executive-level marketing leadership but lack the budget, scale, or readiness for a full-time hire. It's common in B2B SaaS companies between $1M and $20M in revenue that have a working marketing team but no senior leader setting strategy and connecting execution to revenue outcomes.
Most fractional CMOs work on monthly retainers ranging from $5,000 to $15,000, depending on scope and time commitment. That compares to $250K-$400K in total compensation for a full-time CMO. Companies typically save 50-60% versus a permanent executive while gaining strategic leadership that activates in weeks rather than quarters.
What makes this approach to fractional CMO and consulting different for B2B SaaS?
Most fractional CMOs come from agency backgrounds and default to a playbook: audit, strategy deck, quarterly review. The strategy lives in a document. The team executes in a separate reality. The two rarely connect.
Embedded operator, not external advisor.
I work inside your tools, attend your team meetings, and build systems your people actually use. The strategy doesn't live in a deck. It lives in your HubSpot workflows, your content calendar, and your team's weekly priorities. At Explorance, I managed the end-to-end build and launch of an in-house AI tool used daily by 6-10 marketers, driving 70%+ reductions in task time. That's not advisory work. That's operational leadership.
Pipeline attribution from day one.
Every engagement starts with connecting marketing activity to revenue outcomes. If your current reporting can't answer "how much pipeline did marketing source this quarter?", that's the first thing we fix. I build demand generation systems that trace from first touch to closed deal, because the only metric that justifies marketing spend is pipeline influence.
Content systems that compound.
I don't just tell your team to "do more content." I build the architecture: SEO-optimized pillar content that drives organic inbound, email sequences that nurture leads through the funnel, and conversion copy that turns traffic into qualified conversations. Each piece serves a specific role in the pipeline path. At Explorance, this content architecture drove 7x organic visibility growth and $1.92M in sourced pipeline within 12 months.
AI workflow integration.
Most fractional CMOs recommend tools. I build and deploy them. I managed the implementation of an OpenWebUI-based AI stack that reduced GTM timelines by 70-80% for a marketing team. That operational efficiency is built into every fractional engagement I run.
What results does fractional CMO leadership actually deliver?
7x
Organic search visibility growth at Explorance. 21.2M global impressions year-over-year. Built by connecting content strategy to pipeline outcomes from day one.
$1.92M
Pipeline sourced directly through organic at Explorance. Organic clicks grew 3.75x to 198K annually. AI-platform sessions grew 5.5x year-over-year.
$5.8M
Pipeline at Fortra from product marketing and content strategy that included persona research, competitive positioning, and full-funnel content from case studies through landing pages.
660%
Blog traffic growth at Mindville in 12 months from an SEO-optimized content system built from scratch. The company was acquired by Atlassian.
These results come from the same approach applied to every fractional engagement: pipeline-first strategy, content systems that compound, and measurement tied to revenue.
What does fractional CMO and marketing consulting include?
Strategic marketing leadership
The core function: setting direction, prioritizing initiatives, and connecting execution to revenue. Marketing strategy aligned to revenue targets, quarterly planning with prioritized initiatives, weekly team direction, and board-level marketing reporting that translates activity into revenue stories.
Demand generation and pipeline architecture
Building the system that creates, captures, and converts demand across channels. Full-funnel audit, demand generation roadmap tied to pipeline targets, campaign architecture across organic and paid channels, and pipeline attribution framework connecting marketing activity to revenue.
Team coaching and capability building
Making your existing team more effective rather than replacing them with outside resources. Individual skill development plans, OKR frameworks tied to marketing's pipeline contribution, process design, and hiring support when the team needs to grow.
MarTech and AI workflow optimization
Getting more output from your existing tools and team. Tech stack audit, AI workflow implementation for research and content creation, automation configuration in HubSpot or your existing MAP, and dashboard setup connecting activities to pipeline metrics.
How does a fractional CMO engagement work?
Discovery call
20 minutes to understand your growth targets, team structure, current marketing performance, and where the strategic gaps are. No prep needed from your side.
Marketing audit
Deep assessment of your funnel, tools, content, channels, team capabilities, and measurement infrastructure. Delivered as a prioritized diagnostic document.
90-day roadmap
Strategic plan with specific initiatives, timelines, owners, and pipeline targets. You review and align before any execution changes happen.
Quick-win sprints
High-impact fixes first: pipeline attribution setup, messaging refinement, campaign restructuring, automation repairs. Each sprint has a measurable outcome.
Ongoing optimization
Weekly team direction, monthly pipeline reviews, quarterly strategic adjustments. The engagement matures from building the system to running and improving it. Transition planning available when you're ready to hire a full-time CMO.
How much does fractional CMO and marketing consulting cost?
Pricing is based on time commitment, scope, and team maturity.
Strategic Advisory
Teams with a capable lead who needs senior guidance
8-10 hours/month: strategy sessions, pipeline review, quarterly planning, async support.
From $5,000/mo
Growth Leadership
Companies between CMOs or scaling without senior marketing
15-20 hours/month: full strategic leadership, team coaching, demand gen oversight, reporting.
From $8,000/mo
Embedded CMO
Companies needing hands-on executive marketing leadership
20-25 hours/month: full CMO responsibilities, system building, team management, board reporting.
From $12,000/mo
All packages include weekly team touchpoints and monthly pipeline reporting. For project-based consulting (go-to-market plans, marketing audits, positioning sprints), email hello@afishcalledmatt.com to discuss scope and timeline.
Fractional CMO and marketing consulting FAQs
What's the difference between a fractional CMO and a marketing consultant?
A marketing consultant provides advice and recommendations. A fractional CMO owns outcomes. The difference is accountability: a fractional CMO is responsible for pipeline targets, team performance, and strategic direction the same way a full-time CMO would be, just on a part-time basis.
How long does a fractional CMO engagement typically last?
Most engagements run 6-12 months. The first 90 days focus on building the strategic system and delivering quick wins. Months 4-12 focus on optimization and scaling. Some clients extend beyond 12 months. Others use the engagement to build toward a full-time hire.
When should a company hire a fractional CMO instead of a full-time CMO?
Hire fractional when: you're between $1M-$20M revenue, your marketing team is under 10 people, you can't justify $250K+ total comp for a full-time executive, or you need strategic leadership activated in weeks rather than the 3-6 months a full-time search takes. Hire full-time when marketing is a board-level function requiring daily executive presence and you have the budget to support it.
How do you measure results?
The primary metrics are marketing-sourced pipeline, marketing-influenced pipeline, SQL volume, customer acquisition cost, and sales velocity. Monthly reporting connects marketing activity to these outcomes. Vanity metrics are not success indicators.
Do you work on-site or remotely?
I work remotely and am based in Montreal. I work with clients across North America and Europe. Most engagements run effectively via Slack, email, and weekly video calls.
Do you replace our existing agency?
Not unless they aren't performing. Many clients keep agencies for execution (paid media, design, development) while I set strategy, define KPIs, and hold the agency accountable for pipeline contribution. If the agency isn't delivering, I help evaluate alternatives.
What tools do you work with?
HubSpot, Salesforce, GA4, Google Search Console, SEMrush, and Figma are my primary stack. I also build and deploy AI workflow systems for marketing team efficiency. I work inside your existing tools rather than introducing new ones unless there's a clear gap.
Book a 20-minute call and we'll assess whether your marketing team needs strategic direction, a pipeline architecture, or both. No pitch. Just an honest evaluation of where the gaps are and what it would take to close them.