Frequently asked questions

Answers to common questions about fractional GTM leadership, advisory, engagement models, pricing, timelines, and working with Acton Hunter.

Working with Acton Hunter

  • Acton Hunter works with B2B SaaS and software companies, typically from $25M to $250M in annual revenue, with a sweet spot around $50M to $150M. The best fit is a company with a commercial team in place, real growth ambition, and a specific GTM problem to solve.

    Companies earlier than $25M ARR are generally better served by a different model.

  • Pipeline confidence, GTM operating model gaps, marketing-to-sales handoff and alignment, funnel governance and conversion discipline, outbound and BDR performance, customer growth and expansion structure, planning and measurement discipline.

  • Every engagement is led by senior GTM leadership, not handed off to junior staff or an account team. Depending on scope, that may include Wendy Lowe, Rob Baldwin, or both, but you always have direct access to senior judgment from diagnosis through delivery.

  • Acton Hunter is based in Ottawa, Canada. All engagements are delivered fully remotely, and we work with companies across Canada and the United States. Geography is not a constraint.

  • All engagements are delivered remotely through structured working sessions, async document review, and a regular cadence tied to deliverables and commercial outcomes.

Engagements and scope

  • Diagnose identifies what is breaking down and what to fix first. Build constructs specific GTM systems and operating models. Lead provides ongoing fractional GTM leadership. See the full breakdown on the Services page.

  • No. Diagnose is recommended but not required. Clients with strong internal conviction about what needs to be built can enter directly at Build or Lead. Explore the GTM Revenue Audit.

  • Build engagements are fixed-scope projects that construct a specific part of the GTM system. Each engagement has defined deliverables, a fixed fee, and a clear starting point based on either a Diagnose assessment or a gap the business has already identified.

    Build engagements are organized across six categories: GTM infrastructure, market and product, pipeline creation, funnel and revenue conversion, customer revenue growth, and GTM economics. Start with one engagement, or combine several based on need.

    Explore Build for the full list of available engagements.

  • Lead engagements provide ongoing fractional leadership on a retainer basis for companies that need senior GTM ownership without a full-time executive hire. Depending on the need, Acton Hunter can provide Fractional CMO leadership, sales and business development leadership, or coordinated CMO and CRO/BD support.

    Each engagement combines senior judgment with defined GTM infrastructure work, so the retainer produces tangible operating progress rather than open-ended advice.

    There are three Lead structures depending on what the business needs: Full Fractional Leadership, Strategic Advisory Retainer, and Post-Project Embed. Scope, cadence, and term are agreed at the start.

    Explore Lead for full details on each structure.

  • It depends on the engagement. For Diagnose and Build, the focus is on building the operating model, processes, and measurement, not running campaigns or managing a team. For a Lead engagement, the assigned leader runs the relevant function day to day, setting priorities, reviewing performance, and managing the people, but tactical execution itself, content production, paid media, outbound tooling, and similar work, stays with your team or agency and vendor partners.

    "Operator, not advisor" means we personally build and run the operating model and lead the team where engaged to do so, not that Acton Hunter functions as an outsourced execution team.

Cost, timeline, and commitment

  • Pricing depends on the type of engagement and the scope of work.

    Diagnose is a fixed-fee GTM Revenue Audit. Build engagements are fixed-scope projects with defined deliverables and a fixed fee. Lead engagements are structured as monthly retainers based on the level of senior GTM leadership required, the cadence of involvement, and the length of the engagement.

    In every case, scope, deliverables, timing, and fees are agreed to before work begins. Acton Hunter does not use open-ended advisory models where the business is unclear on what will be delivered. Book a GTM consultation.

  • Typically within two to three weeks of a signed agreement. The initial consultation clarifies the problem, the right engagement model, and scope. Once agreed, work begins promptly. Book a GTM consultation.

  • Diagnose: two to four weeks.
    Build: three to ten weeks.
    Lead: one to twelve months depending on structure.

    Book a GTM consultation.

  • The first 30 days focus on diagnosis and orientation. That means understanding the commercial situation, reviewing existing strategy and performance data, interviewing key stakeholders, and identifying the highest-leverage gaps. By the end of the first 30 days there is a clear picture of where the system is breaking down and what needs to happen next. Book a GTM consultation.

  • Every engagement ends with a clear view of what was built, what changed, and what to do next. There is no automatic renewal and no lock-in beyond the agreed term. Book a GTM consultation.

  • A fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive who works with a company on a part-time or project basis rather than as a full-time hire. They bring the same level of strategic leadership, commercial judgment, and operating experience as a full-time CMO, but at a fraction of the cost and commitment.

    In practice, a fractional CMO sets marketing strategy, builds or improves the GTM operating model, oversees execution, aligns marketing with sales and executive leadership, and takes accountability for pipeline and revenue contribution. The work is senior, hands-on, and commercially grounded, not advisory at a distance.

  • A full-time CMO is an employee with a broad remit, full organizational authority, and typically $300,000 or more in fully loaded annual cost. A fractional CMO works on defined scope, with a fixed fee and specific term.

  • A marketing consultant typically provides recommendations and advice. A fractional CMO takes operating responsibility for marketing leadership, including strategy, execution oversight, team direction, pipeline accountability, and executive-level reporting. Acton Hunter engagements are scoped around specific commercial outcomes, not deliverable documents or advisory hours.

  • A marketing agency executes. A fractional CMO leads. Acton Hunter does not execute campaigns, manage vendors, or produce content. The work is senior leadership and operating architecture.

  • When there is no CMO in seat, a marketing leader needs senior counsel, a GTM transition lacks infrastructure, pipeline targets are being missed without a clear diagnosis, or the CEO/CRO needs clearer marketing accountability.

  • Both are senior operating roles, not advisory ones, the difference is which side of the GTM engine they lead.

    A fractional CMO takes operating responsibility for marketing: demand creation, positioning, campaign architecture, and pipeline accountability from the marketing side.

    Fractional CRO/BD leadership takes operating responsibility for the commercial side: sales strategy, business development, outbound performance, and revenue conversion. Companies can engage one or both, depending on where senior ownership is missing, and where both are engaged, the two roles work from one shared operating model rather than as separate functions reporting in parallel.

The fractional CMO leadership model

  • Fractional CRO/BD leadership brings senior sales and business development leadership to companies that need commercial ownership without a full-time hire. It covers sales strategy, pipeline generation, outbound performance, and revenue conversion, with direct accountability for how those motions connect to targets, not just recommendations on how to run them.

  • When there is no senior sales or BD leader in seat, pipeline creation is inconsistent or overly dependent on a single channel, sales and marketing are misaligned on what qualified pipeline actually means, or leadership needs a clear-eyed read on whether commercial investment still matches how buyers are actually buying.

Fractional CRO/BD leadership

Know what needs to change. Decide where to start.

Start with a 30-minute conversation about your GTM gap and whether Diagnose, Build, or Lead is the best fit.

Book a GTM consultation →