How to hire a fractional CMO in the UK

(What to look for, what it costs, and the common traps)

I like to think that hiring a fractional CMO is like hiring a builder. Lots of people can do a bit of plastering, but fewer can look at your whole house, spot what’s wrong and stop you wasting money on a new kitchen when there’s a leaking roof. And I use that analogy from personal experience 😭

The point of a Fractional CMO isn’t about throwing another pair of hands at the problem, its to bring senior marketing leadership into the team without a full-time commitment, cost or expensive recruitment risk.

I’ve written a guide on how to hire one properly in the UK, what you should expect to pay and the traps that catch founders, CEOs and MDs over and over again.

What a fractional CMO actually is (in plain English)

Lets start with the basics, a fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who works with your business part-time, usually 1–3 days per week, either:

• to fix what’s broken,
• to build a marketing function, or
• to scale what’s already working.

They’ll sit closer to the leadership team than an agency or contractor would, and they should be accountable for outcomes, not just output.

I’ve started to see lots of “Fractional CMOs” pop up on LinkedIn who have had zero experience in the post or at board level. These are freelance marketers with creative LinkedIn headlines.

I’ve posted a more in depth explainer on what a fractional CMO is here

When you should hire a fractional CMO (and when you shouldn’t)

Hire one if…

• You’ve got marketing activity, but no clear strategy (or 3 competing ones).
• Leads are coming in but sales says they’re rubbish and nobody knows the truth.
• You’ve outgrown the “smart generalist” and need proper leadership.
• You want to hire a junior/mid marketer but need someone to lead them.
• You’re spending money on agencies but you can’t answer: “What are we buying, and is it working?”

Don’t hire one if…

• You just need execution and you already know the plan. You just need a great doer, or a specialist.
• You’re hoping they’ll “sort marketing” without access to leadership, numbers, or decision-making. Believe me when I say that marketing can’t fix organisational chaos with a Canva subscription.

The outcomes you should expect in the first 30–60 days

A good fractional CMO doesn’t start by rebranding you. Or redesigning the website. Or launching “a campaign”.

They start by getting you back in control.

Within the first 30–60 days, you should expect:

1. Clarity on your ICP and offer (not a 60-page deck, an actual decision)
2. A measurable funnel (lead → qualified → revenue, not “conversions”)
3. Channel diagnosis (what’s working, what’s noise, what’s missing)
4. A prioritised plan (what to do now, next, later, and why)
5. A sensible cadence (weekly actions, monthly review, quarterly aims)

If you don’t get those foundations, you’re basically paying senior rates for vibes.

What to look for in a fractional CMO (the shortlist)

1) They can show you how they think (not just what they’ve done)

Case studies are fine, but what you want is judgement.

Ask:

• “Talk me through a time you inherited a mess. Where did you start?”
• “What did you ignore?”
• “What did you measure first?”

Great fractional CMOs have a repeatable way of finding the truth quickly.

2) They’re comfortable saying “no”

You’re hiring someone to protect you from expensive nonsense so if they agree with everything you say in the first call, you’re not hiring leadership, you’re just getting expensive reassurance.

3) They can operate at board level and downshift to delivery

The job often sits between CEO/Board translation and marketing execution.

If they can’t get into the detail when needed, plans stay as plans, and if they can’t talk commercially then your marketing stays in a corner.

4) They build capability, not dependence

A fractional CMO should leave you stronger:

• better reporting
• better processes
• better people
• better decisions

If the only way marketing works is when they’re in the room, you’ll end up with brain drain at the end of the engagement.

5) They care about measurement, but don’t worship it

You want someone who can tell the difference between:

• activity metrics (clicks, form fills, “engagement”) and
• commercial metrics (pipeline quality, conversion to revenue, CAC, payback)

A fractional CMO should tighten the link between marketing and money .

What it costs to hire a fractional CMO in the UK

From talking to other Fractional CMO’s here in the UK it varies, and anyone giving you a single number is guessing.

But here are common UK ranges you’ll actually see:

Typical UK pricing models

Day rate: ~£750–£1,500/day

• Often used for audits, short sprints, or clear deliverables.

Monthly retainer (1–2 days/week): ~£3,000–£10,000/month

• Depends on experience, complexity, and what’s included.

3-month “fix and build” engagement: ~£7,500–£30,000 total

• Common format: audit + plan + quick wins + team/channel reset.

What changes the price

• Are you B2B, B2C, SaaS, ecommerce, multi-location, regulated?
• Is there a team already, or is it a blank sheet?
• Are you expecting leadership only, or leadership + hands-on delivery?
• Are you asking them to manage agencies, hire, and build reporting?

The most useful way to think about it is this:

You’re not paying for time. You’re paying for reduced mistakes.
One avoided bad hire, wasted website rebuild, or 6-month “brand refresh” that does nothing will cover the cost and not put your plans back by a year.

The common traps (and how to avoid them)

Trap 1: Hiring a fractional CMO when you really need an executor

If what you need is “someone to run the ads, do email, and keep the website updated,” hire a strong marketing manager or specialist.

A fractional CMO should be doing the stuff you can’t buy from Upwork:

• strategy, focus, prioritisation
• leadership and stakeholder management
• funnel clarity and measurement
• hiring and agency direction

Trap 2: Expecting them to fix marketing without access to the business

I’ve worked with businesses that can’t give you access to data, and if you can’t see:

• sales data
• pipeline stages
• conversion rates
• average order value / LTV
• lead sources
• CRM reports

…then you end up with some pretty expensive guessing.

Trap 3: Confusing “brand” with “new logo”

A proper fractional CMO will talk about:

• positioning
• category and competitors
• distinctive assets
• mental availability
• messaging discipline
• consistency

If the first solution is “let’s rebrand,” be very careful.Sometimes you will need a brand refresh, but most often its quicker, cheaper and more efficient to clean up your working funnel.

Trap 4: Letting agencies run the show without an owner on your side

Agencies aren’t evil. But they are suppliers.

If you have multiple agencies and nobody internally owns:

• strategy
• prioritisation
• targets
• measurement

…you end up dancing to the agencies tune, and believe me, they have growth targets on their clients. A good fractgional CMO will fill that black hole in the middle and make sure everyone is affecting the same numbers and business objectives.

Trap 5: Hiring someone who can’t make decisions

The best fractional CMOs should be decisive, so if every answer is “it depends” and you leave calls with a longer to-do list and no decisions, you’re just paying to stay stuck.

The questions to ask before you hire a fractional CMO

Use these as your interview script:

1. “What would you do in your first 30 days here?”
2. “What numbers would you want access to?”
3. “How do you decide what we don’t do?”
4. “What does success look like by 90 days?”
5. “How do you work with founders and sales teams?”
6. “How do you handle agencies?”
7. “What do you typically leave behind when you exit?”
8. “What’s your approach to reporting and dashboards?”

And here’s the killer one:

1. “Tell me about a time you told a client not to do something.”
   If they can’t answer that, you’re not hiring leadership.

A simple way to choose the right fractional CMO

If you’re deciding between a few options, score them (top level) on:

• Commercial thinking
• Clarity and decisiveness
• Ability to diagnose quickly
• Comfort with numbers
• Ability to lead stakeholders
• Evidence of outcomes
• Fit with your pace and culture

Don’t overthink it.

So to sum up…

A good fractional CMO will brings focus, commercial discipline, and momentum, without the baggage of a full-time hire.

And if they’re any good, you’ll feel it quickly because there will be fewer meetings, clearer decisions, better numbers and less chaos.