The first 90 days with a fractional CMO

The fear with any senior engagement is six months of workshops before anything moves. That fear is legitimate: it is how much of the industry works.

Here is what the first ninety days should look like instead.

Weeks one and two: the map

Deep discovery, done with you rather than to you. Where you are, where you want to get to, and the honest state of the fundamentals: ideal customer, value proposition, go to market, plan. This is qualitative work in the room, and it is the most important fortnight of the engagement.

Weeks two to eight: the first engines

Strategy becomes machinery. The one or two systems most likely to move your needle get built, trained on your firm, and switched on. Not twelve things at once: the right things, live.

Weeks eight to ninety: evidence

The engines produce, the dashboard reports, and decisions start being made on data rather than anecdote. By day ninety you should be able to point at working systems and early numbers, not a deck.