The Fractional CMO Advantage: Marketing Strategies for Independent Consultants
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In our episode # 20 of Landa Talks, we had the pleasure of speaking with Margarita, a seasoned fractional CMO with over 20 years of marketing experience. After launching her fractional career in 2023, she secured her first client within just two weeks and hasn't looked back since. Her journey offers valuable insights for independent consultants looking to leverage their expertise in today's competitive market.
This article explores the key takeaways from our conversation, focusing on marketing strategies, personal branding, and the advantages of the fractional model.
The Power of Personal Branding for Consultants
Personal branding isn't just a buzzword—it's a fundamental business strategy for independent consultants. Margarita emphasizes that founders and consultants often underestimate the power of their personal brand to drive growth and create emotional connections with their audience.
"I would say that the first [mistake] is that founders underestimate the power of their personal brand to drive growth and humanize the brand and create an emotional connection with their audience," Margarita notes.
For consultants hesitant to invest in personal branding, Margarita offers practical first steps:
- Take the leap and don't fear exposure
- Define how you want to be perceived and what you want to be known for
- Start by showcasing your work and expertise
- Choose 2-3 concepts you want to own in your industry
- Build content around those concepts consistently
The key insight?
"If you don't show what you're doing, nobody's going to do it for you."
Content Strategy: Quality Over Quantity
Creating effective content is challenging, especially for busy consultants. Margarita highlights content repurposing as an underutilized strategy that can dramatically increase your ROI on content creation efforts.
When creating content, focus on:
- Defining 2-3 key concepts you want to own in your industry
- Creating content around these concepts
- Repurposing successful content into multiple formats (images, carousels, videos, infographics)
- Consistently repeating your core messages
"Creating content takes a lot of effort. When you find content that is working, transform it into different formats."
This approach maximizes reach while minimizing the time investment required. Remember that your audience likely sees only a fraction of what you publish. Margarita shares an anecdote where someone thought she was still traveling based on a post about a past trip—illustrating how people often catch only glimpses of your content. The takeaway? "You have to repeat and repeat and not be afraid of repeating. If you want to own a concept, you have to repeat it."
B2B Marketing: Regional Differences and Effective Tactics
For consultants targeting different markets, understanding regional differences is crucial. Margarita conducted her own study comparing B2B marketing effectiveness in Latin America versus the United States, revealing important distinctions:
U.S. Market:
- More competitive and noisier environment
- Requires sharper positioning and differentiated messaging
- People are generally open to connecting and helping
- Having someone on the ground is highly effective
- Marketing is seen as strategic from earlier stages
Latin American Market:
- Connections are harder to establish but extremely valuable
- Networking is key as the market is relationship-driven
- B2B marketing is still maturing
- Marketing is often seen as purely executional in early stages
For effective B2B marketing regardless of region, Margarita recommends:
- Leveraging personal branding
- Focusing on positioning as a foundational element
- Implementing content repurposing to maximize your efforts
- Understanding that people buy from people, not logos
The Fractional Advantage: Positioning Your Services
When positioning fractional services against full-time alternatives, Margarita highlights several distinct advantages:
"Being a fractional, you don't get involved in internal politics and internal operations, so you're not stuck on those cycles," she explains. This freedom allows fractional consultants to:
- Bring a fresh outside perspective
- Import best practices from other companies and industries
- Focus on strategy rather than getting bogged down in daily operations
- Avoid time-consuming internal meetings and politics
- Maintain flexibility to adjust to changing business needs
This positioning helps potential clients understand why a fractional arrangement might be more beneficial than a full-time hire in many situations. For independent consultants, communicating these advantages can be key to landing new clients.
Building Success: Habits and Practices for Independent Consultants
What makes for a successful independent consulting career? According to Margarita, consistency in network building has been fundamental to her success. Her habits include:
- Scheduling 2-3 non-work-related meetings every week
- Maintaining relationships with past colleagues and connections
- Approaching networking with a win-win mindset
- Using conversations as inspiration for content creation
These consistent networking habits have created a foundation for her business success and continuous learning. "I always take the time to have these conversations because they bring a lot of value and they inspire me," she shares.
The rewards of the fractional model extend beyond business success. Margarita cites time management freedom, work-from-home flexibility, and exposure to diverse industries as key benefits. However, she emphasizes that personal life improvements have been her greatest gain—being present for family while building a successful consulting practice.
For independent consultants, Margarita's journey demonstrates that with the right approach to marketing, personal branding, and networking, the transition to fractional work can be both professionally rewarding and personally fulfilling.
