After over 30 years of working in sales and marketing at companies like Acxiom and American Express and different forays into #consultantlife, Jeff Wilcox started Wilcox Strategic Partners, a fractional sales leadership firm for startups, in January. Right now he’s working with 500 Sixth, a real estate and coworking company in San Antonio, Texas.
Fractional C-suites—CISO, CFO, CMO, CPO (chief people officer)—provide “cost-effective access to high-level talent for companies that may not be in a position to hire that talent full-time,” Wilcox told Revenue Brew. For many companies, it’s just a less risky option, he said.
Revenue Brew spoke with Wilcox about the rise of fractional CROs and how he’s approaching companies ready for revenue leadership but not quite ready for a full revenue structure.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
What are the advantages beyond just cost-effectiveness of bringing somebody in via a fractional CRO role?
It’s an opportunity for me to come in with an objective perspective and see all the things that they’re working on and bring that together. So they’re telling a unified story, and they’re spending their time identifying the things that work and getting rid of the things that don’t, so setting up a list of priorities that make sense for them, as opposed to trying to attack everything all at once. That helps them scale intelligently rather than just throw money at their growth and not know what’s working and what isn’t.
What learning curves should people be aware of when thinking about either hiring a fractional CRO or going into a company as a fractional CRO?
What is absolutely critical is setting expectations up front. I would do a proposal that I’ve invested time in to let them know where I think I should spend my time so that it will be most efficient,identify some performance indicators that they agree with, and so that there are no surprises. I think where people run into trouble is if it’s left open-ended and murky.
Where do you see companies having the most success with fractional CROs?
Companies [that] have a proven product or service. They have maybe a big initial customer, and they’re having some success with that customer. They need to figure out how to replicate that. What other customers should they be calling on? Are they clear on what the benefits to those customers are so that they can have intelligent questions going into a prospective relationship?
Does being a fractional CRO allow you the flexibility to accept those projects that you’re perhaps very passionate about, or think you could be very passionate about, while not having to wait for them to come along and in a full-time role?
Yeah, exactly. I pride myself on being a good coach as well. So when I create a relationship like this, I’m not competing against anybody. I’m looking at the talent that already exists and trying to determine, “how can I make them more successful?” So, I go into this with a kind of a service mindset, really trying to figure out how to make not only revenues grow, but everybody who’s there more successful.
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What tips and tricks would you give somebody who’s looking to become a fractional CRO?
I think that we need to do our homework. We need to buy into the fact that a company has a great idea, has had some success, or not, and if they haven’t, I go into this with eyes wide open. I won’t accept a position with a company that I don't think I can help. The other thing is I personally need to make sure that the senior leadership of the companies that I work with have an open mind that they’re going to be willing to accept my objective snapshot of where they’re at, where they need to go, and so forth.
How much can fractional CROs expect to make in different kinds of settings?
I prefer to set up monthly retainers that are going to range between $6,000 a month to double that if I’m working one day a week or two days a week, and then I also want to create a minimum of “I’m going to come in for three months to start, and we can assess the situation at that point to determine what else needs to be done.”
What is the process and day-to-day like for a fractional CRO to come in and work with other executives?
For me, it’s critical to have a clear picture of where they’re at, so doing some kind of audit in the proposal stage, so that I’m clear on what I’m going to be recommending: Do they need sales strategy? Do they need team coaching? Do they need skills on how to build and monitor a pipeline and what other types of scaling systems need to be put into place?
Speaking a little bit from your own perspective,what do you enjoy the most about being a fractional employee?
I think it’s the range of opportunities that I can work on: different types of companies, different offerings, different needs, different target audiences. I get bored working on the same project for multiple years. It’s an opportunity for me to work with all different types of companies. That’s a benefit for me as well, to gain additional experience. But, I think companies run into problems when they put too much of a box around who they’re looking to help them. The fact that I have a ton of financial consumer packaged goods, credit card, [and] insurance experience doesn’t mean that I can’t work on a tech company. In fact, I can bring such a fresh perspective to them that they’re not going to get if they’re only looking for people who have worked in the tech industry.