If you’re not familiar with the term “move the needle” as it relates to businesses, it’s usually employed when the idea is that you want to get more sales or spread awareness of your brand. If your growth has been stagnant, then it might be time to make some changes, and bringing on a fractional CMO could make all the difference for you.
But how do you know if a fractional CMO is going to be the right fit for your business? You’ve taken a lot of time to build up your infrastructure, and you might be hesitant in believing that fractional consulting will get you the results that you’re craving. To ease your mind, try asking these questions of your potential fractional CMO before you hire them.
Do You Specialize in Certain Industries?
The best individuals for fractional consulting are likely to specialize in specific areas. If the candidate at which you are looking hasn’t had any previous experience in your industry, then you should be hesitant to hire them.
Fractional consulting often requires someone who knows about regulations, laws, and a general workflow that is unique to your industry alone. This is not a spot where you want a jack-of-all-trades, but rather someone who can point to experience working for some other companies that closely resemble yours.
What are Some of Your Most Successful Prior Projects?
When you ask this, the candidate will have the chance to tell you about some situations into which they were brought where they were faced with challenges similar to what your company is asking them to do. If they can tell you in detail about what they did to overcome those challenges then you might have found the right fit for your fractional CMO position. Don’t be afraid to ask for some references to verify their claims in this area.
Are You a Full-Time Fractional CMO?
Some individuals become fractional CMOs as a matter of temporary convenience, while they still have another career on the back burner. This sort of person is probably not going to be suitable for the job.
You might not be planning to retain their services long term, but you still need to be sure that the responsibilities that you are bestowing upon them have their full attention. That’s not likely if they have some other means of income that is taking time away from their work for you.
Fractional consulting is something that’s not suitable for just anyone. It takes a rare kind of personality and skill set to be able to take over the marketing for a company and direct your efforts in that area on a purely temporary basis. Make sure that you’ve found the right fit before you hire or you might end up with a worse situation than before you filled the position.