39 Questions to Help You Hire the Very Best FCMO

Summary: In this article, I share 39 questions, starting with 19 common (but limited) questions every company asks when engaging an FCMO. I don’t really get into why you should hire an FCMO, if you want to know more about that, check out this post on Fractional CMOs filling the leadership gap. In my experience, the first 19 questions simply aren’t enough to gauge whether your FCMO is a fit and can build the bridge you need between corporate strategy and tactical marketing growth, so I share 20 additional deep dive questions that are significantly more insightful and better indicators of success. These are at the end, so if you want to skip my personal intro and the detail as to WHY you want all this, just scroll to the end. 

Hire to Bridge the Gap Between Business Strategy and Tactical Marketing Growth 

Fractional Leadership and consulting is changing the landscape of many industries, particularly in marketing.

Personally, I’ve been in the consulting game since I graduated in the 90s. 

I freelanced a bit, but my first corporate job was for a Pharmaceutical Consulting firm in Cambridge, MA. Many of the assets of that firm were “acquired” by a much larger firm in Chicago (I was one of a handful of people to go along there), and in turn that firm was acquired by a global firm headquartered in California. The first firm specialized in best practices in Pharma, and the second firm specialized in finance, and the last firm was in tech (sort of). 

The years that I spent with these firms taught me a lot about what success as a consultant looks like. 

And there are some HARD truths about consulting, including: 

• Employees and sometimes even management may be set in their ways, fearing that optimization could lead to job losses or increased workloads.
• A consultant's ability to adapt to and work within the client's organizational culture is critical. 
• Implementing new processes can lead to short-term disruptions and a temporary dip in productivity.
• Each organization's processes are unique, shaped by its culture, industry, and specific operational challenges. As such, consulting cannot offer a universal solution; strategies must be tailored to each client's specific needs, which requires deep understanding and customization.
• Measuring the success of optimization efforts can be complex. While some outcomes, like cost reduction, are easily quantifiable, others are more difficult to measure.
• The success of consulting heavily depends on the expertise and experience of the consultant. 

So, when I was approached early on to be a consulting CMO for a small firm, I knew what needed to be done, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to add the work to my already full plate. 

I passed on that opportunity, but the idea stuck with me, and much of how I built my agency is created upon what I learned in those early days supporting consulting for pharma. 

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Talented FCMOs

Fast forward to today, and the FCMO role is blowing up. FCMOs are everywhere.

On my end, I have a number of businesses where I operate as a Fractional CMO, and I have a number of friends that also provide some level of FCMO / marketing leadership. 

If you need an FCMO and don’t like my style or approach, you can check out a few talented FCMOs here: 

David Iannetta - I worked with Dave many years ago, and we’ve continued to support each other along the way. He’s an absolutely brilliant consultant in Commercialization and developing creative solutions to big market and business challenges. 

Brigitte LaMarche - I met Brigitte a number of years ago almost by accident, and realized there are no accidents. We’ve partnered on numerous projects since. Brigitte is a talented and insightful CMO / consultant and a CRO and Analytics ninja. 

Samrat (Sam) Vasisht - I was introduced to Sam, in the first years of the agency, and he consulted on a few of our projects and brought a number of new accounts to my team. He brings a wealth and depth of tech startup experience to the table, and any start-up founder would be lucky to have Sam in their corner.

The reality is that many companies are turning to Fractional leaders, and an FCMO can be a big win, if you hire and utilize them right. 

Hiring a(n) FCMO

Honestly, hiring a Fractional CMO can be just as challenging as hiring a full-time CMO. 

I watched one early stage company hire a CMO that had no experience in that level of leadership and it was a disaster. 

That’s because being a successful in-house CMO demands a unique blend of strategic vision, tactical expertise, leadership ability, and adaptability to rapidly changing market conditions. 

An in-house CMO must not only understand the broader business landscape and align marketing strategies with organizational goals but also possess deep knowledge of digital marketing trends, customer behavior analytics, and brand development. 

Additionally, finding a candidate who fits the company culture, can effectively lead and inspire a diverse team, and has a proven track record of driving growth and innovation adds layers of complexity to the hiring process. The combination of these requirements makes identifying and attracting the right CMO candidate a significant challenge for many organizations.

Hiring a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (FCMO) adds another layer of challenges to this, primarily because the role is designed to deliver high-impact results in a limited capacity, which requires a highly specialized skill set. 

Your FCMO must quickly understand your company's unique challenges and opportunities without the benefit of full-time immersion, making it crucial to find someone with exceptional strategic agility, industry-specific knowledge, and the ability to quickly integrate with existing teams. 

Additionally, ensuring alignment on expectations regarding availability, prioritization of efforts, and measurable outcomes can be complex. The temporary or part-time nature of the engagement also necessitates a candidate with a proven track record of achieving rapid results and the ability to transfer knowledge and strategies to the in-house team for sustained success.

These factors make the selection of an FCMO particularly nuanced, requiring careful consideration of fit, expertise, and the ability to deliver strategic value efficiently.

Interviewing Your FCMO 

Given the FCMO's pivotal role, the interview process must thoroughly assess your candidate's ability to quickly adapt, understand the business landscape, and implement effective marketing solutions. 

This process ensures both a strategic fit and the capability to deliver tangible results within the constraints of the role, making the selection of the right FCMO a cornerstone of your company's marketing success and overall growth.

The Questions EVERYone Asks

When interviewing a Fractional CMO, companies often generate a typical set of interview questions that don’t really provide a deeper and relevant insight into their ability to deliver for your business. 

To be fair, those questions are designed to uncover their expertise and experience, and also their fit with your company's culture, strategy, and specific needs. 

Here are the most common questions companies ask when hiring an FCMO: 

1. Can you share examples of marketing strategies you've developed and executed in our industry or similar markets?
2. What is your experience with budget management, and how do you approach ROI measurement for marketing activities?
3. How do you stay current with marketing trends, and can you give an example of how you've adapted a strategy based on market changes?
4. Describe a situation where you had to pivot a marketing strategy quickly due to unforeseen circumstances. What was the outcome?
5. How do you typically integrate with existing teams, and what's your approach to leadership as a fractional CMO?
6. Can you provide an example of a successful campaign you led and how you managed cross-functional collaboration?
7. What marketing tools and technologies are you most familiar with, and how have you used them to achieve business goals?
8. How do you evaluate and implement new marketing technologies?
9. How do you determine which key performance indicators (KPIs) to focus on for a given project or strategy?
10. Can you share an example where data analysis significantly changed your marketing approach?
11. Describe a challenging situation you faced as a marketing leader and how you addressed it.
12. How do you handle feedback or criticism from team members or executives?
13. What attracted you to our company, and how do you see yourself contributing to our goals as a fractional CMO?
14. How do you align marketing strategies with overall business objectives?
15. How do you balance multiple clients, and what's your availability for our company?
16. Can you discuss a marketing initiative that didn't go as planned and what you learned from it?
17. Share a success story where your marketing leadership directly contributed to revenue growth or another significant business outcome.
18. How do you approach marketing in our specific industry, and what unique challenges do you anticipate?
19. Are there any industry trends or changes that you believe we should be particularly mindful of in the coming year?

These questions are designed to give you a comprehensive view of the candidate's capabilities, how they approach challenges, and whether they're a good fit for your business's needs and culture. 

Yet they don’t give you a clear vision of the capabilities of an FCMO. 

The Problem with These Questions

The initial set of questions often posed during interviews tends to focus more on evaluating the potential for long-term relationships and strategic alignment associated with a full-time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), rather than the unique dynamics and requirements associated with hiring a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (FCMO) for short-term success. 

This distinction is important because an FCMO is typically brought on board to address immediate challenges, capitalize on specific opportunities, or drive rapid growth within a condensed time frame. 

Having worked with 100s of companies over the last 20+ years, I have some thoughts on why this happens. 

Lack of Specialized Knowledge: CEOs, presidents, founders, and sometimes in-house marketers may not have the deep marketing expertise or the current tactical knowledge to delve into specific strategies like educational campaigns or utility-focused marketing. This can lead to a focus on more general, strategic questions rather than detailed tactical discussions.

No Bridge: Leaders often focus on broad strategic outcomes and long-term goals. They may prioritize questions that assess a candidate's ability to align with overall business objectives, rather than bridging the gap between those objectives and the specifics of how to achieve quick tactical wins.

Assumption of Expertise: There might be an assumption that a seasoned marketing professional, especially a fractional CMO, inherently understands and will address these areas without needing explicit prompting. As a result, the conversation might not drill down into detailed strategies for quick wins.

Resource Constraints: Implementing detailed tactical plans for quick wins often requires specific resources, including tools, content, and personnel. There may be an assumption or concern about whether these resources are readily available, leading to a focus on strategies that seem more feasible in the short term without deep exploration of specifics.

Overemphasis on Long-Term Planning: While long-term strategic planning is crucial, it can overshadow the importance of achieving short-term successes. Leaders may prioritize setting the stage for future growth over discussing tactics for immediate impact, underestimating the value of quick wins in building momentum and demonstrating value.

Communication Gaps: In some cases, there may be communication gaps between the leadership team and the marketing function, leading to a lack of understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities within marketing that could be leveraged for quick wins.

Addressing these oversight areas requires a conscious effort to balance strategic alignment with tactical execution, ensuring that the potential for quick wins through specific marketing strategies is fully explored during the interview process.

With this in mind, your interview process for an FCMO needs to be tailored to uncover your candidate's capability to deliver quick wins, adapt swiftly to the company's current marketing landscape, and effectively transfer skills and knowledge to the in-house team. 

This approach ensures the selection of an FCMO who can not only execute on the company's immediate objectives but also set the stage for sustained success beyond their tenure, making the nuanced focus of the interview process vital for achieving short-term goals and long-term benefits.

Better Questions to Ask Your FCMO 

When a Fractional CMO starts, it's important to ensure they can deliver quick wins to demonstrate value and build momentum. Here are some questions you can ask to explore their ability to achieve this:

1. Based on your experience, what are common areas for quick wins in a company's marketing efforts that we can capitalize on in the first 90 days?
2. How do you prioritize marketing initiatives to ensure quick wins without sacrificing long-term strategy?
3. What metrics or KPIs do you typically focus on to measure the immediate impact of your marketing efforts?
4. Can you provide an example of how you've quickly adapted a marketing strategy to leverage an unexpected opportunity or mitigate a sudden challenge?
5. How do you plan to engage with internal teams and stakeholders to identify quick wins and implement changes rapidly?
6. How would you leverage existing customer data and insights to identify opportunities for quick wins?
7. What is your approach to conducting a swift competitive analysis to uncover areas where we can quickly outperform our competitors?
8. Which marketing channels do you think offer the fastest turnaround for visibility and engagement improvements, and how would you optimize them?
9. What quick adjustments can we make to our content strategy to improve engagement and conversion rates in the short term?
10. How do you plan to leverage marketing technologies to automate processes and achieve quick wins?

These questions will help you gauge the fractional CMO's ability to identify and execute on opportunities that can deliver tangible results quickly, demonstrating their value and building confidence in their strategic approach. 

If you want to guage your future FCMO’s ability to set your marketing on fire, ask these questions: 

1. Can you describe how you have previously created utility for customers through marketing efforts, and how you see that applying to our business in the first 90 days?
2. What strategies would you employ to quickly launch an educational marketing campaign that positions our brand as a thought leader in our industry?
3. Given the importance of bottom-of-funnel content in driving sales, what specific content types or topics do you prioritize to address this sales stage effectively?
4. How would you map our customer journey in the first few weeks, and identify key touchpoints for integrating educational content that drives to a sale?
5. What quick wins can we achieve in improving lead qualification through educational content, and how would you measure success?
6. How do you plan to align with our sales team quickly to ensure our marketing content directly supports closing sales?
7. Can you provide examples of interactive or utility-driven content you've implemented that shortened the sales cycle, and how might we replicate that success quickly?
8. How would you approach gathering and leveraging case studies or customer testimonials in the first 90 days to bolster our bottom-of-funnel content?
9. What processes or tools do you recommend for quickly producing high-quality educational content that can impact sales?
10. How do you establish a rapid feedback loop between marketing and sales to continuously refine our bottom-of-funnel content for better conversion rates?

The right FCMO can transform your marketing efforts, providing the leadership and insight needed to drive short-term success while laying the groundwork for long-term growth.

Remember, the interview process is critical; it's your opportunity to ensure alignment on goals, expectations, and the FCMO's fit with your company's culture and needs. 

So, if you're ready to take your marketing strategy to the next level with the guidance of an experienced FCMO, don't hesitate to reach out. 

Contact me directly to explore how engaging me as your FCMO can unlock new growth for your business and what our first 90 days looks like. 

As always, be safe and save yourself.

— B

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