Note: This is an illustrative example based on typical client outcomes. Specific figures represent composite data from multiple engagements, not a single client.
A £500k B2B professional services business came to us with a problem.
Revenue had plateaued. The founder was doing all the marketing themselves — when they had time, which wasn’t often. They’d tried two agencies. Neither had worked.
Twelve months later, revenue was £1.5m. Here’s what happened.
The Starting Point
Company profile:
- B2B professional services (consulting)
- £500k annual revenue
- 4 full-time employees plus contractors
- No dedicated marketing person
- £3,000/month spent on “marketing” (mostly random agency activities)
The real problems:
- No marketing strategy — activity without direction
- Founder doing everything — sales, delivery, and “marketing”
- No lead generation system — all business came from referrals and the founder’s network
- Previous agencies focused on tactics (social posts, emails) without understanding the business
The founder knew marketing mattered but didn’t know what marketing should look like for a B2B services business.
The Engagement
We started with a fractional CMO at 2 days per week, £5,500 monthly retainer.
Month 1: Discovery and Strategy
Week 1–2: Deep dive into the business. We reviewed everything:
- Financial data (revenue, margins, client lifetime value)
- Sales process (how deals actually happened)
- Client profiles (who bought, why, and how they found the business)
- Competitive landscape
- Previous marketing attempts and results
Key insight: 80% of clients came from referrals, but the founder had never systematised referral generation. The remaining 20% came from the founder’s LinkedIn presence — sporadic but effective when they had time.
Week 3–4: Strategy development and alignment.
The strategy was simple:
- Systematise what was already working (referrals, founder LinkedIn)
- Add one new acquisition channel (content marketing for inbound leads)
- Stop everything else (the random agency activities)
We killed £2,000/month of ineffective agency spend immediately.
Months 2–4: Foundation Building
Referral system:
- Created a formal referral programme (incentives, tracking, communication)
- Built email sequences for post-project follow-up
- Trained the team on asking for referrals naturally
Founder LinkedIn:
- Established consistent posting schedule (3x per week)
- Created content pillars aligned with service offerings
- Engaged strategically with target prospects and referrers
- Founder time commitment: 4 hours per week (down from sporadic 10+ hours)
Content marketing foundation:
- Launched company blog targeting 5 high-intent keywords
- Created 3 cornerstone content pieces (guides, frameworks)
- Built email list with lead magnet
- Published 2 blog posts per week
We added a freelance content writer (£1,500/month) to handle production.
Months 5–8: Scaling What Worked
Results emerging:
- Referral rate increased 40% (from ~2/month to ~3/month)
- LinkedIn engagement up 300%, DMs from prospects up 5x
- Blog generating 500 organic visitors/month, 15–20 leads/month
Adjustments:
- Doubled content production (4 posts/week)
- Added a case study creation process
- Launched a monthly newsletter to nurture leads
- Created a simple sales enablement system (templates, follow-up sequences)
The founder was now spending 6 hours per week on marketing (structured) instead of 10+ hours (chaotic).
Months 9–12: Acceleration
Organic growth compounding:
- Blog traffic: 2,000+ visitors/month
- Email list: 1,500 subscribers
- Inbound leads: 40–50 per month (up from ~5)
Conversion optimisation:
- Improved lead qualification (not all leads were equal)
- Shortened sales cycle through better nurturing
- Increased proposal win rate from 30% to 45%
Team development:
- Hired a part-time marketing coordinator (£25k/year pro-rata)
- CMO began transitioning knowledge and processes
The Results
| Metric | Month 1 | Month 12 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual revenue run rate | £500,000 | £1,500,000 | +200% |
| Monthly leads | ~5 | 45–50 | +800% |
| Referral rate | 2/month | 4/month | +100% |
| Sales win rate | 30% | 45% | +50% |
| Marketing spend | £3,000/month | £7,500/month | +150% |
| Founder marketing time | 10+ hours (chaotic) | 6 hours (structured) | -40% |
Return on investment:
- 12-month marketing investment: ~£90,000
- Revenue increase: £1,000,000
- ROI: >1,000%
What Made the Difference
1. Strategy Before Tactics
The previous agencies had jumped straight into doing things. Post on social media. Send emails. Run ads.
We spent a month understanding the business before doing anything. That month determined everything that followed.
2. Building on Strengths
The business already had working channels — referrals and founder LinkedIn. Instead of inventing something new, we systematised what was already effective.
Most businesses have hidden assets. They just haven’t documented or scaled them.
3. Stopping Ineffective Activity
We cut £2,000/month of wasted spend in month one. That money went toward activities that actually drove results.
Sometimes the best marketing decision is to stop doing things.
4. Founder Time Liberation
The founder was doing marketing reactively, between other responsibilities. By creating systems and processes, we freed their time while improving results.
This created a virtuous cycle: more time for sales and delivery → more capacity → more revenue.
5. Building Internal Capability
By month 12, the business had a part-time marketing coordinator who understood the systems. The fractional CMO could reduce involvement knowing things would continue.
The goal was always independence, not dependency.
What Could Have Gone Better
Conversion optimisation took too long. We should have focused on lead quality earlier. Months 5–8 generated lots of leads, but many weren’t qualified. Better qualification upfront would have accelerated results.
Content ramp-up was slow. We were conservative with content production initially. In hindsight, we could have moved faster.
Sales enablement was an afterthought. We added it in month 7. Should have been month 2. Marketing and sales alignment matters from day one.
Is This Result Typical?
Honestly? 3x in 12 months is above average.
This business had strong fundamentals:
- Good product-market fit
- High client lifetime value
- Untapped referral potential
- Founder with strong industry credibility
Not every engagement delivers 3x. But well-matched fractional CMO relationships typically deliver:
- 50–150% revenue growth over 12 months
- Significantly improved marketing efficiency
- Founder time liberation
- Sustainable systems that outlast the engagement
The specific numbers vary. The pattern of strategic clarity → focused execution → compounding results is consistent.
Lessons for Your Business
1. Strategy first. Don’t start doing things until you know why.
2. Build on strengths. What’s already working that you haven’t systematised?
3. Cut the waste. What are you doing that isn’t producing results?
4. Measure what matters. Vanity metrics hide problems. Revenue and leads don’t lie.
5. Build for independence. The goal is a marketing function that works without dependency on any single person.
FAQ
How much did the fractional CMO engagement cost?
£5,500/month for 2 days per week, totalling £66,000 over 12 months. Additional marketing costs (content writer, tools, ads) brought total investment to ~£90,000.
Could we have achieved this with an agency instead?
Unlikely. The previous agencies lacked strategic direction. They executed tactics without understanding business context. A CMO provided the direction that made execution effective.
What happened after the 12 months?
The fractional CMO reduced to 1 day per week (advisory), then monthly check-ins. The internal marketing coordinator handles day-to-day execution. Systems continue running.
Is 3x growth realistic for our business?
Depends on your starting point. Businesses with strong fundamentals but weak marketing often see dramatic improvement. If you’re already marketing well, gains may be more incremental.
Related: Fractional CMO: The Complete Guide for UK Businesses | What Does a Fractional CMO Actually Do? (Week in the Life) | How to Work With a Fractional CMO (Get Maximum Value)
