3 Plays That Separate Great Fractional CMOs From the Rest
In this issue:
Fractional CMOs excel at strategy b/c they bring an “outside perspective”
LinkedIn for Fractional CMOs: From empty profile to full pipeline
Solopreneurs: the untapped market for Fractional CMOs (and how they can help)
1. Fractional CMOs excel at strategy b/c they bring an “outside perspective”
BizBlend, Episode: Strategic Marketing & The Rise of Fractional CMOs: Insights with Angelo Ponzi (Oct. 27, 2025)
TLDR
Most marketing fails because companies confuse execution (tactics like social posts and ads) with strategy (understanding customers and positioning)
A customer-first approach means doing deep research on what customers actually need, not what you assume they want (start with voice-of-customer interviews)
Fractional CMOs succeed by bringing strategic clarity that internal teams can't achieve because they're too close to the product
Angelo Ponzi, a marketing veteran who's transformed brands like AT&T and Johnny Rockets, breaks down why most marketing fails. It's not lack of effort or budget. It's the fundamental confusion between strategy and execution. Companies jump into tactics – social campaigns, ads, email blasts – without first understanding their customers and defining clear positioning. It's like building a house without blueprints.
Strategy vs. execution: understanding the difference
Ponzi defines strategy as the foundational decisions about who you serve, what problems you solve, and how you're differentiated. Execution is the tactical work of campaigns, content, and channels. Most companies skip strategy entirely. They say "we need more leads" and immediately hire an agency to run Google Ads or start posting on social media.
The result: wasted budget and marginal results. You might generate leads, but they're low-quality because your messaging doesn't resonate. You might get website traffic, but it doesn't convert because you haven't clarified your value proposition.
Ponzi uses an analogy: imagine you want to travel from New York to Los Angeles. Execution is deciding whether to fly, drive, or take the train. Strategy is deciding whether Los Angeles is even the right destination, or if you should actually go to San Francisco, Seattle, or stay home.
Most companies are optimizing their route to Los Angeles without ever questioning if it's where they should be going.
The customer-first approach starts with research
Ponzi's strategic process starts with deep customer research. Not surveys or focus groups, but real conversations (“voice-of-customer interviews”). Sit down with 10-15 customers (or ideal prospects if you don't have customers yet) and ask open-ended questions.
What problem were you trying to solve when you found us?
What other solutions did you consider?
What almost made you choose a competitor?
What would make you recommend us to a colleague?
These conversations reveal insights that transform strategy. For example, Ponzi worked with a B2B software company that described their product as "an AI-powered workflow automation platform." Customers didn't use any of those words. In interviews, they said things like "it helps me stop doing the same thing 47 times" and "I can go home at 5pm now instead of 7pm." The customer-first positioning became "Get your time back by automating repetitive work."
Fractional CMOs excel at strategy b/c they bring an “outside perspective”
Internal marketing teams struggle with strategy because they're too close to the product. They've lived with it for months or years, attended every product meeting, heard every internal debate. They've lost the ability to see it with fresh eyes. They assume prospects understand context that actually requires explanation. They use jargon that makes sense internally but confuses externally.
Fractional CMOs bring outside perspective. They ask the naive questions: "Why is this feature important?" "Who cares about this?" "How is this different from competitors?" These questions feel basic but often reveal strategic blind spots.
The fractional CMO isn't emotionally attached to past decisions or internal politics, so they can be honest about what's working and what isn't.
Common strategic mistakes companies make
First: trying to serve everyone. Companies say their product is for "small to medium businesses" or "anyone who needs better workflow." This isn't positioning, it's the absence of positioning. The fear is that narrowing focus means leaving revenue on the table. The reality is that trying to appeal to everyone means resonating with no one.
Second: leading with features instead of benefits. Websites and sales decks packed with "we have this feature and this feature and this feature." Prospects don't care about features until they understand the outcome those features enable. Lead with the problem you solve and the result customers achieve, then explain how features deliver that result.
Third: copying competitors instead of differentiating. Companies look at what successful competitors are doing and say "we should do that too." So everyone ends up with similar messaging, similar positioning, similar tactics. Ponzi pushes clients to find their unique angle: maybe it's a different ideal customer segment, maybe it's a different benefit they emphasize, maybe it's a contrarian approach. Differentiation is uncomfortable but essential.
2. LinkedIn for Fractional CMOs: From empty profile to full pipeline
Fractional CMO School with Jess Shirra, Episode: LinkedIn for Fractional CMOs: From Profile to Pipeline with Mandy McEwen from Mod Girl Marketing / Luminetics (Oct. 6, 2025)
TLDR
Your LinkedIn headline should immediately tell prospects what you do and who you help, not generic titles like "Marketing Leader" or "Fractional CMO"
Post 3-5 times weekly with a mix of educational content, personal insights, and client success stories to build authority and attract inbound leads
Engage authentically in comments on others' posts before pushing your own content – relationship-building happens in conversations, not broadcasts
Mandy McEwen is a LinkedIn strategy expert and breaks down exactly how fractional CMOs can turn LinkedIn from a digital resume into a client acquisition engine that generates consistent inbound leads.
Optimize your profile for clarity, not creativity
Most fractional CMOs waste their LinkedIn profile with vague headlines like "Marketing Leader | Strategic Thinker | Passionate About Growth." McEwen calls this profile malpractice. Your headline has one job: immediately tell prospects what you do and who you help. Specificity converts curiosity into clients.
Better headlines follow a simple formula: "[What you do] for [who you help] | [Key benefit or differentiator]."
Examples: "Fractional CMO for B2B SaaS Companies | Building Predictable Pipeline from $5M to $50M ARR" or "Marketing Strategy for Healthcare Tech Startups | Navigating Regulatory Complexity to Drive Growth."
The About section continues this clarity. Don't write a career chronology or philosophical manifesto. Write to your ideal client.
Start with the problem they face: "You're a B2B founder who knows you need strategic marketing, but hiring a full-time CMO isn't realistic yet."
Then explain how you solve it: "I work with 5-7 companies as their fractional CMO, bringing senior marketing leadership without the $250K+ salary commitment."
And include specific results: "My clients typically see 40-60% pipeline growth within the first six months."
The content strategy that builds authority
McEwen's content framework for fractional CMOs: post 3-5 times per week with a strategic mix.
Educational content (40% of posts): share frameworks, processes, and insights that demonstrate expertise. These are "how-to" posts: how to build a demand generation engine, how to fix broken messaging, how to navigate a rebrand. You're teaching your ideal clients, positioning yourself as the expert.
Personal insights (30% of posts): share what you're learning from client work, observations about industry trends, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of fractional work. These posts humanize you and create connection. For example: "Had a client call this morning where we debated whether to focus on LinkedIn or trade shows. Here's how we decided..." This content shows your thinking process and makes you relatable.
Client success stories (30% of posts): share results you've helped clients achieve (with permission and anonymized if needed). These are proof points. "Worked with a B2B services company that was spending $15K monthly on Google Ads with zero ROI. We shifted budget to LinkedIn and content marketing. Six months later, they're generating 30 qualified leads monthly at $200 cost per lead." Success stories do the selling for you by demonstrating capability.
The warm outreach strategy that converts
Once you've built profile credibility and content presence, McEwen teaches a warm outreach approach. Don't cold pitch in DMs. That's LinkedIn spam and it doesn't work.
Instead, provide value first. If you see an ideal prospect posting about a challenge you can help with, engage publicly in comments, then send a DM referencing the conversation: "Saw your post about struggling to get marketing and sales aligned. I've helped several companies solve exactly this. Would you be open to a 15-minute call where I could share what's worked?"
The key is relevance and timing. You're reaching out because they've expressed a specific problem you solve. You're offering help, not pushing services. This converts at dramatically higher rates than generic "I'd love to connect" messages. McEwen sees fractional CMOs land $10K monthly retainer clients from these warm outreach conversations.
Another warm outreach angle: share relevant content directly. If you've written a post or article about a problem your prospect is facing, send it with context: "I saw you're dealing with [specific challenge]. I wrote about this exact issue last week – thought it might be helpful. [Link]."
Turning LinkedIn presence into pipeline
McEwen's clients who treat LinkedIn as a core business development channel generate 40-60% of their leads from the platform. But this requires consistency and patience. You can't post twice, get no immediate clients, and give up.
The flywheel takes 90 days to gain momentum:
In the first 30 days, you're building profile credibility and content library.
Days 30-60, you're seeing increased engagement and connection requests.
Days 60-90, you start getting meaningful conversations and qualified leads.
Track simple metrics: profile views, post impressions, meaningful conversations (DMs and comments), and qualified leads.
Don't obsess over likes or followers (those are vanity metrics). Focus on whether your LinkedIn activity is generating conversations with ideal clients.
If you're posting consistently and engaging strategically but not seeing inbound interest after 90 days, diagnose the issue: Is your messaging clear? Are you engaging with the right people? Is your content actually valuable or just self-promotional?
3. Solopreneurs: the untapped market for Fractional CMOs (and how they can help)
The Good Enough Mompreneur Podcast with Angela Masciulli, Episode: What Solopreneurs Get Wrong About Marketing with Carly Ries on Fractional CMOs & Strategy That Works (Sept. 30, 2025)
TLDR
Solopreneurs fail at marketing not because they lack effort, but because they're doing tactical work without a strategic foundation
The biggest mistake: trying to be everywhere on every channel instead of dominating one channel that aligns with where their ideal customers actually are
Fractional CMOs can serve solopreneurs and micro-businesses by offering strategic clarity, not hands-on execution
Carly Ries, an expert marketer and fractional CMO, cuts to the heart of why solopreneurs struggle with marketing. They're hustling – creating content, posting on social, launching campaigns – but not seeing results. The problem isn't effort. It's the absence of strategy. And this creates a perfect opportunity for fractional CMOs to serve an underserved market.
The strategy-first framework
Solopreneurs see someone finding success on TikTok and think "I need to be on TikTok." They hear podcasts are big and decide to launch one. They're bouncing between tactics without a coherent plan connecting it all together.
The solution starts with three foundational questions.
Who is your ideal customer? Not "everyone" or "small businesses." Get specific: what industry, what role, what problems are they trying to solve?
Where do these people spend time? If your ideal customers are CFOs at manufacturing companies, they're probably not on TikTok. They might be on LinkedIn, at industry conferences, or reading trade publications.
What's the one channel you can dominate? Pick the channel where your ideal customers congregate and go deep there before expanding.
This framework forces focus. Ries has seen solopreneurs transform their results by stopping 80% of what they're doing and doubling down on the 20% that actually reaches their target market.
One client was spreading herself across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, a podcast, and a blog. Ries helped her identify that her ideal clients (corporate HR directors) were primarily on LinkedIn.
They paused everything else and focused exclusively on LinkedIn content and outreach. Within three months, her pipeline doubled.
The "one channel domination" strategy
Ries advocates for what she calls "one channel domination." Instead of being mediocre across five channels, become exceptional at one.
This means understanding the platform deeply: what content formats perform best, when to post, how the algorithm works, how to engage authentically. It means showing up consistently, testing different content types, and optimizing based on data.
For example, if you choose LinkedIn, that means posting valuable content 3-5 times per week, engaging thoughtfully in comments, reaching out to prospects directly, and joining relevant groups.
It means treating LinkedIn like your primary business development channel, not a side activity. The beauty of this approach: you learn faster, build authority faster, and see results faster than if you're scattered across multiple platforms.
How fractional CMOs can serve solopreneurs
Most fractional CMOs target companies with significant revenue and marketing budgets. Ries sees an untapped market in solopreneurs and micro-businesses. These business owners desperately need strategic marketing guidance but can't afford traditional consulting rates or ongoing retainers.
Ries suggests fractional CMOs can serve this market through different engagement models:
Short-term strategic intensives. A solopreneur pays for a half-day or full-day session where the CMO helps them build their marketing strategy: ideal customer definition, channel selection, messaging framework, and 90-day action plan.
Group programs or workshops. A fractional CMO creates a structured program that takes multiple solopreneurs through the strategic planning process together. This provides value at a lower price point while allowing the CMO to leverage their time across multiple clients. Participants get expert guidance plus peer learning.
Disclaimer
The Fractional CMO Brief extracts key insights from publicly available podcasts for educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal or financial advice; please consult qualified professionals before acting. We attribute brands and podcast titles only to identify the source; such nominative use is consistent with trademark fair-use principles. Limited quotations and references are used for commentary and news reporting under U.S. fair-use doctrine.
