Short, direct answers to the questions founders and CEOs actually ask before booking a call.
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who runs your marketing function part-time and embedded in the team, typically one to three days a week over six to eighteen months. Same job as a full-time CMO, fewer days, no headcount and no recruitment cycle.
Fractional CMOs are priced as a monthly retainer, a day rate or a project fee. In Europe, senior retainers typically sit between roughly €6,000 and €25,000 per month, depending on cadence, scope and company stage. Day rates are typically €1,500 to €3,500. A real quote needs a short call.
A fractional CMO is an ongoing, part-time member of the leadership team. An interim CMO is full-time but only for a fixed period. A consultant produces analysis and a plan. An agency executes channels. Only fractional and interim actually own the marketing function and are accountable for the number. The same distinction applies at CEO level: see interimceo.it or ceoadinterim.it for interim CEO mandates, and temporarymanager.work for broader temporary management briefs.
One to three days a week is the typical cadence. One day suits an advisory mandate or a small team that needs leadership oversight. Three days is closer to a real operating CMO role with full ownership of the team and the demand engine.
Six to eighteen months is the sweet spot. Long enough to fix the foundations, build the engine and hand it over to a permanent team. Shorter than that is usually a project, longer than that is usually a full-time hire.
When the company needs marketing leadership, not more execution. Common triggers: growth has plateaued, the founder is still acting as CMO, the team has outgrown its current leader, there is a PE value-creation clock, or a raise or GTM reset is coming up in the next six months.
Yes. SaaS and PE-backed scale-ups are the most natural fit because both need defensible attribution, a credible board narrative and a demand engine that compounds. Fractional gives you that leadership without burning the equity story on a €350k full-time hire too early.
Looking for the equivalent at CEO or GM level? See interimceo.it, hireinterimceo.it, ceoadinterim.it, direttoregeneraleadinterim.it or temporarymanager.work.
Next step
Twenty minutes on a call. You describe the growth problem and the timeline. I tell you straight whether renting a fractional CMO is the right move, and what it would look like.
Book an intro call