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Hiring deeply experienced Fractional Executives for your leadership team can have a profound impact on your growth and profitability. They bring fresh ideas, energy and help you avoid wrong turns. And they do this at a significantly lower expense then a full time executive. Check out this Cost Comparison by type of role. Ready to get started? Let us know what Fractional Roles you are considering and our Team will reach out.
Choosing fractional executives offers several compelling benefits, especially for startups, small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), or companies in transition. Here’s a concise breakdown of why fractional executives make sense:
Fractional Executives are 1099 Contractors, and they typically cost ⅓ to ½ of a full time CXO
C-level talent usually comes with top name-brand experience and an exit or two
You can scale a Fractional Executive up or down in hours based on needs
Having worked with businesses in many stages, they know how to deliver results quickly while avoiding pitfalls
Fractional Executives are more cost effective in most scenarios for SMB firms and startups.
A fast growing construction company had a range of challenges. Their credit line got pulled, they had collection issues, and cash flow seemed unpredictable. They were considering a full time controller or a first time CFO at $150,000 a year before benefits. How could hiring a Fractional CFO be more cost effective?
The company hired a Fractional CFO for 8-12 hours a week at $8,000 monthly. This CFO already serviced another construction firm. The new CFO brought in existing banking relationships that solved the credit line issue immediately. He also was able to implement disciplined collection processes and hired a collections agency. After getting control of the books and building financial models, they were able to see shortcomings in project financing before they happened.
Full Time Cost (monthly), salary and 20% benefits
$15,000
Fractional CFO Cost (1099 Basis)
-$8,000
Saving in interest rates and collections
+$2,500
Net Benefit vs. FTE
$8,500 Monthly!
A Software as a Service Company had a great product that they just could not scale. The knew the ROI was great and existing customers were happy. They were considering hiring direct sales reps with industry knowledge. With the sales cycle and expertise they needed, they estimated 6 months before a sale would occur would cost them $10,000 a month for each Account Manager until they produced.
The company hired a Fractional CRO for 16 hours a week at $12,000 monthly. The new CRO built a new go to market strategy that would shorten the sales cycle to 3-4 months. The CRO brought in inexpensive sales development reps, who called and set meetings for the CRO and senior management team to pitch the product. Focusing on quick wins, the company was able to build a scalable sales process and great pipeline.
Account Rep Full Time Cost (monthly), Salary and 20% benefits
$24,000
Fractional CRO Cost (1099 Basis)
-$12,000
Two Sales Development Reps with benefits
-$8,000
Net Benefit vs. FTE
$4,000 Monthly!
A company producing private-label Kombucha was considering its own brand to sell to distributors. They knew the needed an experienced marketer or CMO to build the brand and strategy. An experienced CMO with experience at a company like Coke, Pepsi, or Nabisco would cost $17,000 a month, forcing them to consider a less expensive, junior marketer.
Finding a Fractional CMO with big brand experience was fairly easy. The cost of a CMO for 12 hours a week was about $11,000 a month. The Fractional CMO was able to bring a social media and graphics resource to the table too. The result was world class marketing at an affordable price!
CMO Full Time Cost + benefits
$20,400
Fractional CMO Cost (1099 Basis)
-$11,000
Social Media and Graphics Resource
-$6,000
Net Benefit vs. FTE CMO
$3,400 Monthly!
A fast-growing technology company was thriving, with glowing feedback on its innovative product. But there was a catch: Customer churn was eating away at progress. For every 10 new users onboarded weekly, 5 would leave, citing a "cool product" but not enough value to justify the cost. The CEO, lacking deep expertise in customer experience, struggled to pinpoint the issue- was it pricing, product features, or user experience? Exit interviews offered little clarity. Recognizing the need for strategic leadership but unable to afford a full-time COO, she turned to FractionL for a fractional COO.
With FractionL's community of over 2,000 elite CXOs, the CEO found a seasoned leader who revamped the customer journey. The fractional COO analyzed user data, streamlined onboarding, and introduced engagement tactics that offered upgrade and downgrade pricing choices. The COO implemented regular email communications with great ideas on how to better use the platform. Churn declined by almost 50%!
COO Full Time Cost
$16,000
Fractional COO Cost (1099 Basis)
-$12,000
Net Benefit vs. FTE COO
$4,000 Monthly!
A SaaS Technology company Founder and CEO was struggling with offshore developers, primarily with delivery but also with quality. As a former developer, he knew what it takes to build great code and he was suspicious his applications were not getting priority with his provider. Based on his experience, the CEO did not believe he needed a CTO, but he just did not have the time to run the business and handle the delays and quality problems.
Finding a Fractional CTO who had experience scaling a SaaS platform was pretty easy! The cost of a part-time CTO for 12-14 hours a week was about $10,000 a month. The Fractional CTO put in strict delivery and testing protocols, found an affordable local dev to handle rush projects, and upgraded infrastructure to handle more users.
CTO Full Time Cost + benefits
$21,000
Fractional CTO Cost (1099 Basis)
-$13,000
Local Developer
-$6,000
Net Benefit vs. FTE CTO
$2,000 Monthly!
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