Early-Stage Startup Fractional CMO
Overview
JobStep was an early-stage startup that applied to jobs on behalf of job-seekers. The company guaranteed job-seekers 5 interviews in 6 weeks, and was selling directly to consumers.
Objectives
JobStep wanted to test the long-term viability of selling directly to consumers and wanted to compare that to selling to educational institutions. JobStep needed a strategic marketing thought partner to think and do.
As with all startups, for JobStep, time and money were of the essence. Testing approaches quickly and with intention was critical.
“Francesca was instrumental in freeing up my time to focus on fundraising, overall business strategy and plan, and product. More than that, her straight-to-the-point communication, management skills, efficiency, and analytical acumen enabled her to become part of the team and a strategic partner immediately — despite only working 10 hours/week. ”
Implementation
I joined the JobStep team as a Fractional CMO to help run B2C and B2B sales. In this role, I had weekly conversations with the CEO to collaboratively evolve the marketing and sales strategy. I implemented the strategy we established by:
Testing customer demand for product versions through digital ads
Writing web copy for landing pages
Writing and optimizing demand generation email campaigns
Running business development calls
Pitching JobStep with the team during an accelerator meet-and-greet event
As Fractional CMO, I was truly part of the team. I managed the company’s marketing associate and participated in team meetings.
Results
Over the course of 12 weeks, I helped JobStep identify priority customer markets and the best messaging to use to reach those audiences.
In 2 weeks, I set up the outbound sales process and used it to reach out to 200 institutions per week.
I ran weekly sprints to test messaging, channel, and visuals on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Reddit.
“I could trust Francesca to take on initiatives and run with them, and feed the lessons learned back up to me such that I could take immediate action. I’d highly recommend working with Francesca.”
Does your business need marketing leadership?
I’d love to use my learnings from this Fractional CMO project to add value to your business.