The short answer
What fractional CMO services are, and what they cost
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who works for you part time and answers for one revenue number. Retainers run $3,000 to $25,000 a month. The cheap end buys advice. The top end buys a leader and the team that does the work.
The strongest fractional CMOs are often hired into full-time roles at full CMO pay, a US average salary of $191,521 (Payscale, 2026). At the top of large public companies the figure is far higher: CMOs among the five best-paid officers at S&P 500 companies had median total pay of $5,003,000 (The Conference Board, 2024 edition). The ones who stay fractional work as independent contractors, paid on a 1099 in the US, so you get the same judgment without a salary, benefits, payroll taxes or severance.
Ours comes with the team that does the work, and Timur owns the mandate himself. The cost page compares a fractional CMO with a full-time hire, using your own salary and fees.
What you get
Five things a fractional CMO should own
| Owns | What it means | What changes for you |
|---|---|---|
| Own the number | One revenue target, agreed in writing, with the leading numbers that move it. | You stop asking four people why the quarter is soft. |
| Set the plan | Where the next dollar goes, which channel is cut, what waits. | Budget follows signed revenue, not the loudest vendor. |
| Lead the people | Your team and every agency work to the same mandate and report to one person. | Vendors stop grading their own homework. |
| Build the system | CRM stages, lead follow-up, measurement the ad platforms learn from, AI behind approval gates. | The fixes keep working after the meeting. |
| Report every week | One page: enquiries, reply time, quotes, signed revenue, cost per signed job. | Monday starts with a decision, not a debate. |
The mandate map
One mandate should not be translated across four teams
Without one owner, every team optimises its own number.
Decision rights and commercial context.
Shared priorities and handoffs.
Work connected to the mandate.
Evidence leadership can use.
How to choose
Fractional CMO, full-time CMO, agency or head of marketing
| Hire | When this is true |
|---|---|
| A fractional CMO | Growth crosses teams, vendors and the CRM, and nobody owns the whole path. You need senior judgment now, not after a six-month search. |
| A full-time CMO | Marketing is a large, steady budget with a team big enough to need a leader every day, and you can wait three months to hire and three more to ramp. |
| An agency | One channel needs a specialist and someone inside will judge it by signed revenue, not by the agency's own report. |
| A head of marketing | Strategy is settled and you need someone to run the calendar, the content and the events well. |
The yearly cost of each option, from government pay data and agency surveys, is on in-house team or agency.
The 90-day scorecard
What you should see by day 90
| When | Stage | What you hold in your hand |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1 to 2 | The diagnosis | A written map of where revenue leaks, from your own CRM and ad accounts, with the cost of each leak. |
| Weeks 3 to 6 | One constraint, one plan | The constraint that costs most, the plan to fix it, the number it should move and by when. |
| Weeks 7 to 12 | The fix and the readout | The fix running, the number read against the target, and the next constraint named. No readout means no work. |
Each checkpoint in detail: a fractional CMO's first 90 days.
Before you sign
Six red flags in a fractional CMO proposal
- They cannot name the number they will answer for in the first meeting.
- The proposal lists activities (posts, campaigns, audits) and no revenue target.
- Their reports come from the ad platforms only, never from your CRM.
- They sell a stack of tools before they have seen your data.
- They will not say who should not hire them.
- The contract runs a year with no 90-day readout and no exit.
One of these is a question to ask. Two is a reason to walk away.
Fractional CMO, team included
Senior enough to make the call. Close enough to lead the build.
Timur runs the diagnosis himself, then leads the team that fixes the first constraint and holds it before the next. You get one weekly page and one person to ask.
4 questions, about a minute. No cost. Timur replies himself.signed in one quarter, up 109%. Home improvement
lower cost per booked appointment at 12,000+ a month. Health insurance
more enquiries, year on year. Specialty retail
Questions owners ask
Fractional CMO services, answered
What do fractional CMO services include?
Ownership of one revenue number, the plan and budget behind it, leadership of your team and agencies, and a weekly report. Ours also include the team that builds the system: CRM, follow-up, measurement and AI agents behind approval gates.
How much do fractional CMO services cost?
Retainers run $3,000 to $25,000 a month. The low end buys advice. The top end buys a leader and the team that does the work. The full comparison with a full-time hire is on the cost page.
Is a fractional CMO an employee or a contractor?
Usually a contractor. A fractional CMO works as an independent contractor, paid on a 1099 in the US, so the company pays no salary, benefits, payroll taxes or severance. Many of the strongest are hired into full-time roles, so a good fractional CMO is senior judgment you could not otherwise hire part time.
How many hours does a fractional CMO work?
Hours are the wrong unit. Judge the engagement by the number it owns and the weekly readout. Expect senior time every week, with more in the first six weeks while the diagnosis runs.
When should a company hire a fractional CMO instead of a full-time CMO?
When growth crosses teams and vendors, nobody owns the whole path, and you need senior judgment this quarter. A full-time hire fits a large, steady budget with a team that needs a leader every day.
What should a fractional CMO deliver in the first 90 days?
A diagnosis by week 2, one constraint and a plan by week 6, and the fix running with a readout by week 12. If there is no readout at day 90, stop.