What Does a Fractional CMO Actually Do? A Real-World Look at My First 60 Days

I met Lisa Doyle, CEO of Galt, at a Women Impact Tech event in New York City in September. We clicked immediately. The kind of conversation where you're both leaning in, nodding, and already thinking three steps ahead together. We kept talking after we got back home, and by October, I was on board as Galt's fractional CMO.

Galt is an 18-person nonprofit staffing company with a powerful mission: placing people with disabilities in the workforce. They needed marketing leadership but weren't even considering hiring a CMO. That's where I came in.

So what does a fractional CMO actually do? Let me walk you through it.

Month One: Getting Embedded (While Keeping Things Moving)

The first month was all about immersion. I embedded myself in leadership team meetings, spent significant time with Lisa, and had one-on-ones with every key stakeholder. I also met with all their marketing vendors to understand what was working, what wasn't, and where the gaps were.

This foundational work is critical. You cannot build a marketing strategy and execution plan that aligns with business needs without deeply understanding the organization first.

But here's the thing: while I was doing all that strategic groundwork, the business didn't stop. I was immediately pulled into the day-to-day.

• Building an ad for an upcoming event they were sponsoring
• Writing an email Lisa could send to all staff
• Setting up a marketing email alias
• Defining goals and metrics for an upcoming staffing and HR event
• Being the point person reviewing all work from the agency and marketing vendors
• Editing a new board member's bio for the website

All of these things are critical to maintaining forward momentum and giving the CEO what they need. But the key is how you deliver it.

The Silver Platter Principle

Everything I hand to Lisa needs to be bite-size and digestible. I'm not sending play-by-play updates of every little thing I do. I'm not overwhelming her with long digests.

I make it simple, easy, and clear. She should be able to quickly understand what I'm asking, validate that she agrees with my recommendation, and then easily take action. Everything should feel like a no-brainer and make her life easier.

That's the job.

Month Two: Building the Strategy (While Still Handling the Daily Priorities)

By the second month, I had a solid foundation for understanding the business needs. I started building out the overall marketing strategy: high-level goals aligned to the business and the top priorities marketing should focus on to achieve those goals.

That's the strategy. Once I have that, I get buy-in to make sure we're directionally aligned. Then I dig into the execution plan.

But I'm still keeping the business moving forward.

• Responding to a media inquiry, vetting the opportunity, and providing talking points to Lisa for her interview with a reporter
• Giving feedback on an email sequence being sent to existing customers
• Pulling together top-level marketing highlights for the upcoming board meeting

After getting validation that the marketing strategy is sound, I start building out the programs, processes, and tools for each of the top priorities. This takes effort and deep thinking. But it's where the real impact happens.

Going Beyond the Contract

The job doesn't begin or end with the marketing strategy and execution plan. Even if something doesn't fall in the top priorities, if it's something I can influence during the engagement and it will make the business better, I do it.

For instance, if the brand guide needs to be modernized and I can quickly give direction and get the agency working on it, I'll do it. Even if that's not specifically called out in the contract.

That's what fractional leadership looks like in practice.

Handing Off the Plan in Bite-Size Chunks

I like to hand off the plan as I go, breaking it into digestible pieces. Within the first month at Galt, I handed off the first toolkit: how to maximize event ROI.

Events are a huge lead generation driver for staffing and talent acquisition companies. But how do you make sure you're getting the most out of each event? How do you hold yourself accountable, measure results, and evaluate whether to attend again?

I built a repeatable process that could be embedded in the business through a quick training. That's the kind of thing that keeps delivering value long after the engagement.

The Control Panel: Understanding Which Marketing Levers to Move

When you don't have marketing expertise inside your organization, it's easy to get drowned in marketing requests and tactics. Your agency might tell you that you need to create more blog content or post more on social media. But do you? Is that the best use of your time?

I like to think of all marketing activities (cold outreach, blogs, social media, SEO, events, etc) like a control panel. These are levers you can move up or down.

The question isn't usually whether you should do something or not do something. It's about whether you need to turn the dial up or ratchet it down to get the best outcome.

A fractional CMO provides that guidance.

It's also easier for someone from the outside looking in to see what's a good or bad use of your time. When you're in the weeds and basically in survival mode, it's hard to differentiate which things are more important, especially if you don't have marketing expertise inside the organization.

Why Would a Small Organization Hire a Fractional CMO?

It's a perfect solution for companies that don't have the budget to bring in a head of marketing, VP of marketing, or full-time CMO, yet they crave marketing expertise and leadership to drive the business.

Maybe you have a small budget with a small marketing team or agency doing the work. A fractional CMO brings a wealth of experience and knowledge for a fraction of the cost of hiring someone full-time.

It's a way to level up and leapfrog trying to do it yourself.

I've worked for two Series A startups, a nonprofit staffing company, an MSSP, and a boutique consulting firm. Before that, I spent years at Apple, Motorola, Salesforce, and a number of tech startups. That's the kind of breadth of experience you get access to without the full-time commitment.

A fractional CMO can quickly cut through the noise and help you prioritize what your organization should focus on. We've seen the patterns. We know what works and what doesn't. And we help you avoid the expensive mistakes that come from not having that experience in-house.

How Long Does a Fractional CMO Engagement Last?

It depends on what the organization needs and what the budget allows.

Some organizations bring in a fractional CMO for a longer timeframe, typically one to two years. Others bring one in for a shorter engagement, usually three to six months.

Both can have significant business impact.

In a shorter engagement, you might focus on helping the organization prioritize the most important marketing activities, providing templates and repeatable processes that allow the business to scale and move faster.

In a longer engagement, you're providing ongoing marketing leadership and direction. You're there to see things through, to build the team and the marketing function. You're helping the internal team and external vendors deliver what the business needs. You're there as the business evolves and priorities shift.

The timeframe matters less than the outcomes: clarity on priorities, systems that scale, and leadership that moves the business forward.