Frequently Asked Questions

Fractional marketing means bringing on an experienced, senior-level marketing professional on a part-time or as-needed basis, rather than hiring a full-time employee. It gives your company access to strategic marketing leadership and hands-on execution — planning, messaging, launches, and program management — without the cost or long-term commitment of a full-time hire. Sometimes this role can also be referred to as a Fractional CMO (Fractional Chief Marketing Officer).

A marketing consultant is typically brought in for a defined project or specific piece of advice — an assessment, a campaign, a planning session — with a clear start and end point. Fractional marketing is a broader, more embedded engagement: you get ongoing, senior-level marketing leadership and execution on a part-time basis, functioning as an extension of your team rather than an outside advisor. In practice, many engagements blend both — a project-based consulting session is often a natural starting point that can evolve into fractional support once priorities are identified.

You get experienced, senior-level marketing thinking and execution without the overhead of a full-time salary, benefits, and ramp-up time. The consultant is paid as a 1099 independent contractor. The fractional support flexes with your needs — scaling up during a launch or planning cycle and scaling back once priorities shift — while bringing an objective outside perspective that can be hard to find internally.

A few common business situations point to the need for fractional support: your company doesn't yet have dedicated marketing leadership; growth has plateaued and existing programs need a fresh look; you're preparing for a product or service launch; your marketing leader is transitioning out; or you simply want an outside perspective on programs already in place, without the budget impact of a full-time hire.

Small B2B companies benefit from cost-effective access to senior-level experience, specialized knowledge of longer B2B sales cycles, and the flexibility to bring in support only when and where it's needed. Because a fractional consultant has already worked across other B2B organizations, there's little to no ramp-up time — the impact starts early in the engagement.

Yes — this is a perfect opportunity for a fractional marketing leader to step in and support your company and team without losing any momentum. A fractional CMO can maintain continuity on existing programs, keep initiatives moving, and provide a steady hand while you take the time to find the right long-term fit. 

This is exactly the kind of situation fractional marketing is built for. A fractional marketing consultant can step in to lead the day-to-day marketing execution of the launch — messaging, content, sales enablement materials, and coordination across teams — so your VP of Sales can focus on building out the sales organization. The result is a launch that stays on track and on message, without pulling sales leadership in two directions at once.

My background makes me well-suited to provide fractional marketing expertise to small B2B companies. For over 25 years I've helped small B2B companies successfully implement integrated marketing programs that align with business objectives, communicate value differentiation, and generate revenue. My hybrid skill set of marketing, PR, and business development connects marketing with sales to achieve business goals. My specific B2B industry experience is concentrated in technology products and services, including software, embedded systems and IP-based platforms, geospatial imaging, and medical devices.

I've been fortunate to work for a number of exciting technology companies. A few of the more memorable highlights include helping a medical device manufacturer realign marketing and business development efforts, contributing to a 90% increase in product sales over five years; initiating and driving the launch of a new embedded computing system that resulted in 18 press appointments at a major industry event; and playing a key role in a start-up's sustained growth, averaging 50% year-over-year for five consecutive years. More info can be found on my LinkedIn profile. 

A facilitated marketing planning session is a great starting point. I work with executive teams to review business goals, identify marketing opportunities that support those goals, and outline a set of priorities and initiatives for the year ahead. It's a focused way to get everyone on the same page before the new fiscal year begins, and it can lead into ongoing fractional support if you'd like help carrying the plan forward.

Yes. Small companies may not have the financial bandwidth for a full-time hire; but would still want a trusted advisor they can turn to periodically. This kind of arrangement can take the shape of regular check-ins, review of existing marketing materials and campaigns, and strategic guidance on an as-needed basis. It's scaled to fit your budget while still giving you ongoing access to experienced marketing input.

Beyond start-up environments, many established companies find they can benefit from bringing in — on a limited, short-term basis — an outside marketing perspective who can help revitalize and refocus existing programs already in place. My background includes working in both start-up companies as well as with companies that have been in business for many years.

Just like other business services, be they product design, outsourced manufacturing, website UX design, IT, database, or video production costs, the cost for marketing consulting services varies with the program scope and design. This approach gives your company control with flexibility that best meets your specific requirements. This includes project duration, type of engagement such as small retainer or project-based services, and fee structure.

It starts with a conversation. If you're evaluating how to strengthen your marketing efforts — or need experienced support during periods of change or growth — I'm open to a brief, exploratory conversation. We'll talk through where your marketing stands today, what's prompting you to look for support, and what success would look like. From there, we can work together to create a simple scope of work outlining the focus areas, time commitment, and approach, so we're aligned before any work begins.

 Engagements are shaped around your specific needs rather than a one-size-fits-all package. Some clients need a defined number of hours each week for ongoing strategic guidance; others need more concentrated support around a specific initiative, like a product launch or a planning cycle. In either case, the engagement is built around clear priorities, regular check-ins, and defined deliverables. 

It depends on the need. Project-based engagements — a launch, a planning session, a messaging overhaul — are short-term engagements. Optional ongoing advisory or leadership support can be developed on a month-to-month or quarterly basis for as long as it continues to add value. There's no set minimum commitment. 

As a prerequisite, I would want to first understand how their current sales and marketing operations are set up. This includes: what are their business goals, how is their marketing currently handled, who are the company's customers, and what is their current sales cycle and average sales price. It then makes sense to review how their website presents their brand compared to their typically larger competitors. Regardless if a company is a startup or has been in business for years, a website is the first thing a potential customer sees once they decide to check directly with a company and its products or services. The website sets the foundation for a customer's first direct interaction with a company. If it's outdated or, as is sometimes the case, overlooked as everyone is too busy to keep it current or updated, the firm may be missing opportunities to more quickly advance the sales cycle. Having a world-class looking brand starting with your website allows your company to add on other matching marketing content and channels that provide a uniform, consistent brand message and representation across multiple media for your buyers.

This is not an uncommon situation. Most of the companies I have worked for had below industry levels of marketing resources. The key is to identify the most effective channel and programs that best suit your budget, implement, and evaluate. Then as your sales increase you can introduce more marketing programs into the mix. One of my introductory consulting programs, Jump Start, provides a quick review of some of the more effective ways you can consider gradually implementing low-budget, high-impact marketing tactics that grow with your business over time.

Good question. Public relations is a natural extension of external marketing programs with a high concentration on finding industry media outlets that create interview opportunities for your company's executive team and Subject Matter Experts. This can include local media placements, industry interviews, published articles on successful customer installations, as well as finding speaking engagements at conferences and trade shows. A well-established PR program can increase the amount of organic digital media coverage your company can achieve to reach potential buyers along their buyer's journey.

In my opinion it's employee engagement. Typically, small B2B companies are so busy acquiring customers, building and sustaining products, as well as customer service, that this can inadvertently get overlooked. My background includes working for a rapidly growing startup company whose product was software for employee communication programs at Fortune 100 companies. I learned first hand how employee engagement is vital for company success. In addition, a Forbes article in 2024 shared that Gallup studies indicated that the global cost of low employee engagement is over $8.8 trillion annually. Small B2B company marketing personnel can easily and cost effectively help improve employee engagement at their organization through the very marketing programs they are doing to reach external customers. By keeping employees up-to-date and informed of what the company is working on and building, employees become more engaged in the company's success. And let's face it, they ARE your brand ambassadors once they leave the building. As part of my approach, I like to learn about the company culture of a client in order to provide any insights on ways to improve employee engagement. Keeping employees connected to the pulse of the company builds better brand ambassadors.