Fractional CMO and AI Orchestration, measured in qualified RFQs
Fractional CMO and AI Orchestration is Phase 3 of Communication-IMPACT's Integration Framework. M.J. Plebon runs your marketing as a part-time executive for $8,000 to $20,000 per month, tied to a 90-day SLA measured in qualified technical RFQs.
If the agreed number is not reached, you can end the agreement with no penalty and keep everything built.
What does a Fractional CMO do in Phase 3?
Fractional CMO and AI Orchestration is Phase 3 of Communication-IMPACT's Integration Framework. M.J. Plebon runs your marketing as a part-time executive for $8,000 to $20,000 per month, tied to a 90-day SLA measured in qualified technical RFQs. If the agreed number is not reached, you can end the agreement with no penalty and keep everything built.
What does a Fractional CMO do in Phase 3?
In Phase 3, M.J. Plebon runs your digital marketing as your Fractional CMO. He manages the search work, oversees the content, uses AI tools to do the repetitive work faster, and runs a monthly meeting with marketing and sales in the same room. You get executive marketing leadership without a full-time executive on your payroll.
Traditional agencies report on impressions and website traffic. Your VP of Sales cannot do anything with those numbers.
I report on pipeline.
You get 40 years in B2B sales and marketing, 15 of them in industrial engineering and sales, running your revenue engine.
How does the 90-day SLA work?
The 90-day SLA ties my fee to an agreed number of qualified technical RFQs. Your VP of Sales defines what qualifies before work starts. If the work does not produce that number in 90 days, you invoke the kill clause, end the agreement with no penalty, and keep everything I built.
Step 1: You define the lead
I sit down with your VP of Sales.
We agree on exactly what a qualified RFQ looks like:
- company size,
- title,
- technical criteria.
If a lead does not meet that definition, it does not count.
Step 2: We run a 90-day clock
Before we start, we agree on the number of qualified RFQs it takes to justify my fee.
If the work does not produce that number in 90 days, you invoke the kill clause. No penalty.
You keep everything I built.
Step 3: One report, every month
We review three numbers every month:
- inbound RFQs,
- how fast quotes turn into closed deals, and
- pipeline value.
If a number does not turn into dollars, I do not waste your boardroom's time with it.
How does a Fractional CMO end the fight between sales and marketing?
A Fractional CMO ends the fight between sales and marketing by making both teams answer to the same number.
Marketing wins only when sales gets qualified RFQs it can work.
That is the only scoreboard I keep.
In a lot of companies, marketing blames sales for not following up and sales blames marketing for bad leads. I end that argument with one shared number.
My job is to keep your reps supplied with the right buyers and the right tools. Your reps skip the admin work. They pick up the phone and close.
Questions about the Fractional CMO phase
Before signing a retainer, executives ask what happens if leads do not show up, who defines quality, who does the work, why not hire full-time, and who is responsible for closing. The short answers: you can walk at 90 days, you define quality, I do the work, a fractional contract ends in 90 days if it is not working, and closing stays with your reps.
The objections I hear in the boardroom
What happens if we sign this monthly retainer and the leads don't show up?
You invoke the kill clause. Before we start, we agree on the number of qualified technical RFQs it takes to justify my fee. If we miss that number in 90 days, you end the agreement. No penalty. I carry the performance risk.
Who decides what counts as a qualified technical RFQ?
You do. Before day one, we write down the company size, job title, and technical need a lead must have. If I send you an engineering student or a company with no budget, reject it in the CRM. It does not count toward my numbers. You have the final say on every lead.
Are you doing the work, or just consulting and expecting our team to do everything?
I do the work. I build the strategy, set up the AI tools, and run the day-to-day execution. Your team works beside me from the start, because the end goal is for them to run it without me. That is Phase 4.
For this monthly fee, couldn't we just hire a full-time marketing director?
Yes, you could. You would also take on a full salary, benefits, and the cost of letting that person go if it does not work out. With me, you get 40 years of experience on a contract you can end in 90 days. No payroll. No severance.
What if my team doesn't close the leads you send?
I measure leads delivered, not deals closed. My side of the SLA is done when the right buyer, with the right technical need, lands on your VP of Sales' desk. Closing is your team's job. I do not take credit for your reps' closing skills, and I do not take the blame for a deal lost at the negotiating table.
Quick answers
What is a kill clause in a Fractional CMO contract?
A kill clause lets the client end the engagement with no penalty if the agreed results are not met within 90 days. In my agreements, the client also keeps everything built during the engagement.
How is AI Orchestration different from regular marketing?
AI Orchestration means running several AI tools under one plan, for content, research, and lead review, with a person responsible for quality. It speeds up repetitive work and lowers cost. It does not replace judgment, and a human checks everything technical.
How do you protect lead quality?
Your VP of Sales defines a qualified lead using your Ideal Customer Profile, with more than 20 criteria. Any lead that does not meet them gets rejected and does not count toward my numbers.
Why do weaker products win in B2B markets?
Weaker products often win because they are easier to find online. When a competitor makes its technical data easier to find and compare, busy buyers put that competitor on the shortlist to save time.
Written by M.J. Plebon, Fractional CMO and founder of Communication-IMPACT, Montreal. Last updated October 21, 2026.