What to do next
Show the working, step by step
Where I used this
I have led growth full-time, directing Praava Health through multi-year hypergrowth of about 45% a year from 2021 to 2023, and I now work as a fractional CMO. Full-time is right when the job needs someone every day. Fractional is right when it needs senior judgment more than hours.
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When fractional wins, and when it does not
- Fractional wins on judgment. Strategy, hiring the team, fixing the funnel and reporting to the board need senior experience, not five days a week.
- Full-time wins on presence. A large team to manage every day, a role that is mostly execution, or a culture that needs a leader in the room point to a full-time hire.
- Count the whole full-time cost. In US private industry, benefits are about 30% of total compensation, which adds about 43% on top of wages. Add a search fee and the months it takes to hire.
- Fractional can bridge. A fractional leader can set the plan and then hire and hand over to the full-time person when the work outgrows two days a week.
Why more firms ask this question
Marketing leaders now last about 4.1 years on average at the largest US companies, the shortest in years, while budgets sit flat and boards want quarterly proof. A fractional leader gives a smaller firm senior judgment without a full-time salary. In Bangladesh the same logic lets a growing firm bring in an experienced leader one or two days a week, and lets a US firm work with a dual-market operator. More in The shrinking CMO and Fractional CMO in Michigan.
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Deciding between a fractional leader and a full-time hire?
Bring the role and the budget to a free 30-minute call, and I will tell you plainly which one fits your stage.
Questions
Is a fractional CMO cheaper than a full-time CMO?
Usually, as long as you need fewer days than the break-even. A full-time hire carries salary, benefits of about 30% of total compensation and a search fee. A fractional leader is paid only for the days worked. For a $250,000 CMO at 30% benefits plus a $75,000 search fee, a fractional CMO at $1,500 a day and 1.5 days a week costs under a third as much over a year.
How do you compare fractional and full-time cost?
Add up the full-time cost for the months you need the role: salary times one plus the benefits rate, divided by 12, times the months, plus the cost to hire. Then the fractional cost: day rate times days a week times 4.33 weeks times the months. Dividing the full-time total by the fractional cost of one day a week gives the days a week where full-time starts to win.
When should a company hire full-time instead of fractional?
When the role needs someone most days of the week, for example to run a large team day to day, or when the fractional days needed pass the break-even. Many firms start fractional to set the strategy, then hire full-time once the work is steady.