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When the Founder Is the Rainmaker: How to Scale Without Losing the Spark
In many founder-led businesses, the founder isn’t just the leader—they’re also the best (and often only) rainmaker. They land the big deals. They have the trusted relationships. They know the pitch inside and out because they are the pitch.
It works—until it doesn’t.
As the business grows, this model creates a bottleneck. Every new opportunity depends on one and only person. And it’s the same person every time. But there’s a downside. When that person is also responsible for running the business, mentoring the team, and shaping the vision, something eventually gives.
When to Hire a Fractional CMO, Part 3
Wed, Jul 21, 2021 — Find Your Fit: Five Qualities to Look For Of all the partnerships in our lives, few have the “break-up” potential of the full-time Chief Marketing Officer, and the company they’ve pledged their allegiance to. The most recent stats on the matter bear this out: Last year, the average tenure for a CMO was just 40 months – an 11-year low, according to headhunting firm Spencer Stuart. The survey also noted the lowest-ever median tenure (25.5 months in 2020) – a sign that could point to increasing pressure for quick results for newly-minted CMOs, or, like completing a puzzle, finding that piece that’s the right fit.
Winning the Job Seeker Sweepstakes: Use Marketing Strategies to Attract and Retain Employees
Thu, Jul 15, 2021 — There’s a new battle being waged today – one that is not being fought with elbows, firearms, or words. Instead, it’s a battle over human resources – an all-out war to attract employees, in one of the most robust “seller’s” markets we’ve experienced in our professional lifetimes. The implements being used in this skirmish – hiring bonuses, perks, and ever-swelling salaries.
When to Hire a Fractional CMO, Part 2
Wed, Jul 14, 2021 — Do I need a CMO, In-House Team, or Agency? For this blog, I am going to start with a very controversial statement: You may not need ANY marketing help. Though it may seem blasphemous for someone like me to make this statement - someone whose career has been built on marketing success - I would be remiss if I didn’t come clean about this fundamental truth.
Recruiting and Retaining Employees in a Post-COVID World
Mon, Jul 12, 2021 — Of all of the likely impacts of the COVID pandemic, it’s hard to imagine that business owners envisioned this – a labor shortage, the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. In fact, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, there were 8.1 million open and unfilled positions in March 2021 (the last month for which data is available). Even worse, the number of employees available for every open job reached a 20-year low this spring – and continues to plummet.
When You’re Behind on Sales
Wed, Jun 30, 2021 — With the first half of 2021 coming to a close for companies with calendar year financial statements, there’s a topic on many business leaders’ minds. “Will we meet, beat, or miss our 2021 sales goal—and by what percentage?”
What's Up With Fractional CMO Demand?
Tue, Jun 29, 2021 — Demand for Fractional Marketing Executives is Exploding Chief Outsiders Fractional CMOs have been helping companies build their engines for growth since 2009. Recently, we sponsored a study with The CMO Council to uncover stakeholders' satisfaction with their marketing organizations, and where fractional CMOs are the best fit. The full study can be found here. This C-Suite Scorecard from the CMO Council brings compelling insight to a growing phenomenon in enterprise-class marketing organizations. Not everything is getting done. With an internal Net Promoter Score of -46 from C-Suite marketing stakeholders (extrapolated from Q2), it’s no wonder the fractional CMO solution is exploding to fill the gaps and holes of critical expertise and leadership. Demand for our firm alone from enterprise businesses has shot up over 150% this year.
Your Strategic Marketing Plan: Five Gotchas to Avoid
Mon, Jun 28, 2021 — Written by: Paul Sparrow, Area Managing Partner & CMO, and Don Lee, Partner & CEO, both of Chief Outsiders The city of Las Vegas is an interesting study in best intentions -- resplendent with people hoping that the flip of a card or the roll of the dice will produce luck-driven riches. About 150 percent of the time, our protagonists leave with empty pockets and dashed hopes. If luck is so evasive in Sin City, what makes anyone think it’s the foundation for any serious effort? Unfortunately, we see it all the time – a well-meaning entrepreneur or CEO employing instinct and a mega-watt smile, hoping to achieve Bezos-like success.
Marketing in an Inflationary Environment
Fri, Jun 25, 2021 — In case you hadn’t noticed by the amount of extra cash you’ve had to spend at the gas pump, in stores, or with your vendors, inflation is back – with a vengeance. According to U.S. Labor Department stats just published, inflation pushed up to 5 percent for the 12 months ended May 31 – a 13-year high. For many marketers who have spent the past 18 months riding a stomach-turning economic roller coaster, this news may seem hard to understand – or to put into context.
When to Hire a Fractional CMO
Tue, Jun 22, 2021 — Introduction: Greening Your Garden - How a Fractional CMO Can Accelerate Your Growth In the world of botany, there are only a fortunate few who have the expertise to produce green, healthy, and thriving plant life every time they put a seed in the ground. For the rest of us – well – we generally need MiracleGro or some other catalyst to make the garden grow. As a CEO, you, too, are invariably looking for your own version of MiracleGro – that evasive ingredient you need to help catalyze growth and turn your brown landscape a verdant shade of green. The good news? A confluence of trends, including the rise of the “gig economy” and the COVID-19 pandemic, have supported the notion of the fractional Chief Marketing Officer – essentially, a gardener supreme who brings the plant food, seeds, and water in a bid to help you sow success.