When it comes to marketing strategy, do you ever feel like you’re just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks?
Hannah Smolinski at Clara CFO Group felt that. She’s a financial powerhouse, strategic with her clients, and runs an optimized “EOS ship” in her business. But when it came to marketing, she felt like she was stuck in the “I should be able to do this myself” trap. She’s got an amazing YouTube channel and organic traffic, but she just wasn’t getting the right leads coming in the door.
She needed to stop guessing and start strategizing. That’s where 8 SIGNAL came in.
We weren’t there to toss more pasta.
During a Fractional CMO trial, we built Clara CFO a kitchen that actually cooks up marketing traction.
Don’t have time to read this post? Watch the video here!
4 Signs You Need a Fractional CMO (Especially If You Run on EOS)
As marketing Integrators, we talk with a lot of business leaders who are absolutely crushing it in their zone of genius. Finance, Operations, Sales… crushing it! But when the conversation turns to marketing, the energy in the room drops.
Because the reality is they feel stuck.
They feel like they’re guessing.
They realize their marketing isn’t keeping up with their growth.
Now, I’m not talking about needing more “ideas.” Those are a dime a dozen. What these business leaders need is a system.
Maybe you’re like Hannah and are wondering if it’s time to bring in strategic marketing leadership. Here are four signs that it’s time for a Fractional CMO:
1. You’re “Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall”
This was Hannah’s exact description of her previous strategy. You might be creating content, posting on social, and sending emails (in other words you’re busy!) but there’s no cohesive strategy tying it all together.
A Fractional CMO brings a Marketing Blueprint. We stop the random acts of marketing and replace them with a deliberate strategy that aligns with your company’s bigger goals.
2. You Have Leads, But They’re the “Wrong” Leads
Hannah had a massive YouTube following and plenty of inbound traffic.
But they weren’t the right fit for her high-level CFO services.
She was getting attention, but not traction.
A Fractional CMO maps out your business’s Customer Value Journey. Getting eyeballs on your brand isn’t enough. You’ve got to take those people on a journey from “Stranger” to “Client.” A CMO helps you clarify your Ideal Client Profile so you stop attracting tire-kickers and start attracting partners.
3. Your Marketing Meetings Are Just “Spitballing” Sessions
If you run on EOS, you know the power of a Level 10 meeting. L10 Meetings are all about structure, issues solving, and accountability.
But for many companies, marketing meetings devolve into loose brainstorming sessions that go nowhere. It’s vital that your marketing leadership speaks EOS and brings that same discipline into marketing. Effective marketing leadership integrates into your operating system. We bring a standardized process, data, and a clear agenda.
4. You’re “Should-ing” All Over Yourself
My leadership coach has a saying: “Don’t ‘should’ all over yourself.” In fact, I thought about calling this post “Stop “Should-ing” All Over Your Marketing.”
As Fractional CMOs, we see this bottleneck all the time. Leaders trapped toiling in their businesses for way too long because “they should be able to figure this out,” or “I should just do this myself to save money.” If this sounds like you (and I mean this with ALL love and respect), stop “should-ing” yourself. In the time it takes to figure everything out yourself, you could have been actually growing your business. Stop being the bottleneck in your own success story.
As Hannah noted, the value of an outside perspective is massive. A Fractional CMO shines a light on problems you’re too close to see. We allow you to fire yourself from the marketing seat so you can get back to being the Visionary or Integrator you’re meant to be.
The EOS Way to Get Marketing Traction
If you recognized yourself in any of these signs, it’s time to stop treating marketing like a side project. You don’t need to hire a full-time executive to get executive-level results. Clara CFO stopped guessing and started strategizing.
