The exact questions to ask when evaluating a fractional CMO - from strategy and experience to references and red flags.
The most important questions to ask a fractional CMO: How do you diagnose a marketing problem? What's your first 90-day plan? How do you measure ROI? Can you provide 3 references from similar companies? How many clients do you work with simultaneously? These questions reveal whether a candidate has the depth and discipline to actually move your business forward.
1. What industries and company stages have you worked in? 2. What's the biggest marketing turnaround you've led - what was broken and what did you fix? 3. Have you built a marketing function from scratch? What did that look like? 4. Walk me through a go-to-market launch you led end-to-end. 5. What's the largest team you've managed? These questions reveal whether they have the depth to handle your situation.
6. What does your first 30-60-90 day plan look like for a new client? 7. How do you diagnose what's wrong with marketing before recommending solutions? 8. How do you balance strategic planning with execution? 9. How do you handle disagreements with the CEO on marketing direction? 10. How do you manage multiple client relationships without conflicts of interest? Process questions reveal how they operate, not just what they've done.
11. How do you measure success and what KPIs do you track? 12. What's your communication cadence - how often do we meet and what do you deliver? 13. How do you handle it when a strategy isn't working? 14. What deliverables will you produce in the first 90 days? Strong candidates have clear answers here. Vague responses about 'being flexible' without specifics are a yellow flag.
15. Can you provide 3 references from companies similar to ours? Red flags to watch for: candidates who jump to tactics before understanding your business, who can't clearly articulate what they've built vs. advised on, who work with 10+ clients simultaneously (too thin to provide real value), or who struggle to give specific examples of results they've driven.
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