Marketing leadership that stays for the results.
A fractional CMO gives an owner-run business senior marketing leadership for a fraction of a full-time executive hire. SSP's version goes further than advice: we set the strategy, build the systems that execute it, and stay accountable for pipeline, close, and retention.
The whole function, led.
- Strategy and positioning The market story, the buyer, the offer. The work that makes everything downstream cheaper.
- Sales and marketing working as one system One funnel, owned end to end. No handoff at the lead, no wall between the teams.
- Pipeline and reporting infrastructure The cadence, the dashboards, and the numbers leadership actually uses.
- Team leadership and contractor bench We hire, vet, and manage the specialists the plan needs, so you get a full team's output without building a department.
Marketing decided, or marketing done.
Fractional CMO
The function, ledStrategy, systems, and accountability at the executive level. For owners who need marketing decided and driven.
Fractional Marketing Manager
The function, runHands-on execution with ownership, ten to twenty hours a week, inside your business. For teams with direction that need someone senior actually doing the work. A practical bridge while you search for a full-time hire, and often the reason the search gets easier: we sharpen the job description by doing the job.
If your name is on the door, this was built for you.
Owner-operated businesses and specialist practices across the Southeast. Legal, healthcare, home services, construction, food and CPG, outdoor, professional services, technology. If your name is on the door and marketing is on your plate, this was built for you.
Things people ask before they reach out.
If your question isn't here, the call is the right place. We are usually direct about whether SSP is or isn't the right fit.
What does a fractional CMO actually do?
A fractional CMO sets and owns the marketing strategy, builds the operating rhythm, and is accountable for the pipeline number. At SSP that includes the close and the retention motion, not a handoff at the lead. Day to day: positioning and ICP, demand generation, sales and marketing alignment, pipeline reporting, and the systems that execute the plan.
Fractional CMO or fractional marketing manager, which do I need?
The CMO decides and drives: strategy, systems, and accountability at the executive level. The marketing manager runs it: hands-on execution with ownership, ten to twenty hours a week, inside your business. If you need marketing led, that is the CMO. If you have direction and need someone senior doing the work, that is the manager. Both are month to month, and both start with the same diagnostic.
How is South Summit Partners different from other fractional CMO firms?
Two differences. First, we do not stop at leads: we own the full revenue journey through close and retention. Second, the same people who set the strategy build the AI systems that execute it. Most fractional CMOs advise on AI and do not build it. Most AI consultants build and do not understand revenue. We do both, in one engagement.
How long do engagements last?
Month to month, no long-term contract. The first weeks are diagnosis and a prioritized plan. From there we architect and ship, then operate what we build. When you are ready for a full-time hire, we help you recruit and hand off. Graceful handoff is part of the design.
Who is this right for?
Owner-operated businesses and specialist practices across the Southeast that need senior marketing leadership without a full-time executive hire. If your name is on the door and marketing is on your plate, this was built for you. It is a weaker fit for teams shopping purely on hourly rate, or expecting marketing to fix a broken sales motion alone.
What does it cost?
Pricing depends on scope and is discussed on the call, not hidden behind one. Diagnostics are fixed-fee and credit toward your first retainer month if we work together. Retainers are month to month.
Bring us the number you're accountable for.
The call is a working session, not a pitch. We will tell you what we see, what we would do, and whether SSP is the right fit. Often the answer is no, and that answer is useful too.
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