60 sec · 1-page printable · Decision tree included
Team Upgrade 30-Day Plan
Hire a CMO? Hire a fractional? Boost in-house? Three paths, a 5-question decision tree, and a 30-day plan per path.
Hire a CMO? Hire a fractional? Boost in-house? The 30-day decision plan.
Your marketing team isn't working as it should. Before you hire, decide which of these three states you're in — because the right next move is different for each.
The 3 states your team is in today
| State | What it looks like | Cost of inaction |
|---|
| A — Foundational gap | No senior owner. Decisions stall. Reports show activity, not outcomes. Pipeline depends on you. | High. Your engine never gets built. |
| B — Mature but stuck | Mid-level team. Tactics work, strategy doesn't. Messaging is stale. Board reporting is weak. | Medium. You plateau on revenue. |
| C — Specific gap | Engine runs. One area is broken — channels, attribution, or board metric. | Low if fixed fast. Compounds if ignored. |
The right next move per state
A — Foundational
6 months · €2,499–€3,990/mo
Fractional CMO. Build foundations, decide on full-time hire by month 4.
B — Mature but stuck
60–90 days · €1,995–€7,990 fixed
Senior expertise on specific workstreams. Messaging, channels, board reporting. Project-shaped.
C — Specific gap
30 days · €1,995–€3,500 fixed
30-day project boost with a senior operator. One outcome, fixed time.
Why not hire a full-time CMO right away? A B2B CMO costs €120–180K a year plus benefits plus 6 months of onboarding. If you're in State B or C, that's a €100K+ overspend. State A is the only state where a full-time hire makes sense — and even then, fractional first is the lower-risk path.
The 5-question decision tree
Answer yes/no to each. Count your yes's.
- Does anyone senior own GTM strategy today? (no = +1 toward State A)
- Can you list who owns ICP, messaging, channels, RevOps? (no = +1 toward State A)
- Does your team report outcomes (pipeline, ratio, cycle) — not just activity? (no = +1 toward State B)
- Is one specific workstream visibly broken (attribution, content, board reporting)? (yes = +1 toward State C)
- Would you say your team needs strategy more than execution? (yes = +1 toward State A or B)
Tally your score:
• 4–5 toward State A → Fractional CMO is your move
• 2–3 toward State B → Senior project expertise is your move
• 1–2 toward State C → 30-day boost is your move
Your 30-day plan (per chosen path)
Path A — Fractional CMO
- Week 1: Scope your fractional engagement (workstreams, hours, deliverables)
- Week 2: Sign + onboard. Documented ICP, channels, current metrics handed over
- Week 3: First weekly pipeline review installed
- Week 4: First board-ready KPI dashboard delivered
Path B — Senior project expertise
- Week 1: Pick your top 1–2 workstreams (e.g. messaging + channels)
- Week 2: Brief senior operator. Fixed scope, fixed price, fixed timeline
- Week 3: Mid-project review. Adjust if needed
- Week 4: Output delivered + handed to your team to run
Path C — 30-day boost
- Week 1: Define the one specific gap and the success metric
- Week 2: Senior operator embeds, fixes the gap
- Week 3: Test outputs, document
- Week 4: Handover + you own the fix from day 30