Firing a fractional CMO is harder than firing a full-time one, because the relationship usually started warmer. But hanging on past the right moment costs money and stalls growth. Here are five signals it's time to part ways — and how to do it cleanly.
Five signals: (1) no specific deliverables shipped in the last 60 days, (2) you cannot describe what they did this month, (3) they spend most time presenting, not doing, (4) the team avoids meetings with them, (5) you are 6+ months in with no measurable revenue impact. Two or more = time to end the engagement.
Strategic work is real work, but strategy without shipped deliverables is consulting theater. If you cannot point to specific work product from the last 60 days, the engagement has drifted.
If your monthly check-in feels like "yeah, things are going well" without specifics, the fractional has slipped into advisor mode. They should produce a 1-page monthly summary of what shipped, what didn't, and why.
Slides where there should be drafts, frameworks where there should be tactical recommendations, vision where there should be a launch plan. A good fractional ships and edits more than they present.
If your marketing or sales team starts canceling or no-showing meetings with the fractional, they have lost team confidence. This is hard to recover from.
Marketing impact takes time, but six months should produce visible movement in at least one of: pipeline, conversion, content output, brand awareness, team capability. If none have moved, something is wrong.
Usually not at the 6-month mark. The pattern is set. Cut your losses.
Possible but uncomfortable. Often cleaner to start fresh elsewhere.
Rarely if done cleanly. Operators talk; honest professional endings are respected.
Only if the engagement letter supports it. Usually not worth the friction. Use the energy to find someone better.