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Sales

Fractional CRO

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What is a fractional Chief Revenue Officer?

A fractional Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is a consultant who provides part-time, on-demand leadership and expertise to help organizations drive revenue growth.

According to a study by Frost & Sullivan, companies that invest in revenue growth strategies see a 2-3x higher growth rate than their competitors. Additionally, a report by Deloitte found that revenue growth is a top priority for 94% of companies, highlighting the importance of this area for businesses of all sizes.

A fractional CRO can help businesses achieve these goals by providing strategic guidance and support to optimize their revenue-generating activities.

Why hire a fractional CRO?

Fractional CROs are often hired by small to mid-sized businesses that may not have the resources or need for a full-time CRO, but still require expert guidance to develop and execute effective revenue growth strategies.

By working with a fractional CRO, companies can access the expertise and guidance of a seasoned revenue growth professional without the overhead costs associated with a full-time executive-level employee.

What services can a fractional CRO provide?

Fractional CROs can provide a range of services, including:

  • Market analysis
  • Sales and marketing strategy development
  • Customer relationship management
  • Revenue optimization
  • Working closely with existing sales and marketing teams to align strategies and optimize performance.

Benefits of working with a fractional CRO

Working with a fractional CRO offers several benefits, including:

  • Access to the expertise and guidance of a seasoned revenue growth professional
  • Cost savings compared to hiring a full-time CRO
  • Flexibility to adjust the level of engagement and services as needed
  • Alignment of revenue-generating activities with broader business strategies
  • Increased revenue growth, profitability, and long-term success.

Overall, a fractional CRO can help businesses achieve their revenue growth goals, as demonstrated by the Frost & Sullivan study and the Deloitte report. By providing valuable insights and recommendations, a fractional CRO can help companies optimize their revenue-generating activities and achieve long-term success.

Raise the Revenue

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The textbook answer to increasing revenue looks something like this:

  • Increase the # of sales
  • Increase the AOV (Average Order Value)
  • Increase the LTV (Lifetime Customer Value)

While it’s accurate, it’s not actionable. 

After helping 100s of clients over a 14-year period earn more revenue, I’ve distilled all my experience down into 4 main actionable categories:

Do The Math
Numbers don’t lie. 

  • Raise your prices
  • Reduce your expenses
  • Collect on unpaid invoices

Get Organized
Close more of what you’ve already got. 

  • Utilize a CRM
  • Acknowledge inquiries promptly
  • Follow Up
  • Take prospects all the way to a proposal
  • Offer financing

Get More Active
Most of your competitors are lazy. Use this to your advantage.

  • Pound Social Media
  • Run a Promotion
  • Do Business Development
  • Increase outbound 

Sharpen The Blade
Become a better version. 

  • Improve your footprint
  • Improve your skills
  • Go small, double down on what works. 

By taking action in these four categories, do the math, get organized, get more active, sharpen the blade, businesses can increase revenue and become more successful. Remember, numbers don’t lie, so it’s important to track and adjust accordingly.

Splinter Your Offer

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I took a consulting call early last year where the business owner had just started an automotive ceramic coating business.

He was excited about his new venture but the price point ($3500ish) of the ceramic coating service (and the educational element of why it’s a great value) was a barrier to sales and he needed help.

As the call progressed, I put myself in the shoes of a potential prospect and asked questions.

Out of curiosity, I asked if he ceramic coats the windows too.

He said yes and that’s when a lightbulb went off.

Many vehicles’ headlight lenses get foggy for some reason making them not only look bad but also reduce the performance of the headlights themselves.

I advised him to run a promotion for just the headlights which would be less than 10% of the total cost of the entire vehicle.

This is known as ‘splintering’ your core offer.

Taking a big offer (full vehicle ceramic coating) and breaking it down into the smallest piece (headlight ceramic coating) to lower the barrier to entry and commitment required to get a sale.

The game changer here is that at the $3500 mark, barely anyone was a buyer, but with the $250 headlight promotion, he was in high demand.

Yes, he would have to do a lot of headlights to equal the revenue from one car but in this scenario, something is better than nothing and once he got vehicles in for the headlight service, he had many opportunities to upsell.

He made recommendations for both the windows and the entire vehicle, established rapport and repeat business with customers, and asked for online reviews and referrals to help build momentum rapidly.

Problem solved.

I received a follow up text recently that made me happy to hear he’s doing well.

It’s not possible for every product or service to be splintered, but if it is, you may want to try that to get more exposure and opportunities to create relationships with customers.


Value of Positioning

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The first time I drove out to the hangar at Palm Beach F45 back in 2016 to meet with the Stinson family who owns and operates Aircraft Maintenance Specialists was a memorable experience.

Even though I stuck out like a sore thumb dressed up like a city slicker with slacks, button up, and leather attaché case among teams of aircraft mechanics, the father and son duo made me feel right at home since I came highly referred from a trusted friend and colleague (Thank you Tyler, Source One Solution).

The Stinson’s wanted to expand their operations and reposition their business to target a higher-end clientele because they kept attracting less-than-ideal jobs because their marketing and collateral were dated and generic and (gulp!) they weren’t online yet.

Johnny, the dad, said, “look young man we need people to know we’re not just trunk slammers.”

Meaning that they didn’t work out of their trunk and indeed had a large campus with a hangar that houses many aircraft which you can see in the image.

So we revamped everything and repositioned their branding, built out all their digital assets, and celebrated the launch over lunch at Guanabanas once it went live.

Shortly after, their online presence gained momentum they hadn’t experienced before and the business went next level.

The atmosphere quickly shifted from ‘we want more, better, higher paying jobs’ to ‘were so busy we have to keep raising rates.

Not only is it a great feeling to make a positive impact but also to do business with a reputable family that keeps its word over what’s basically been a handshake deal all these years.

AMS is doing great and today they are *the* preeminent aircraft maintenance company in the region.

Johnny, the father has since retired after 33 years running the business with his wife Laura, and his sons John and Brandon moved up.

Now when I ask John, the son, if he has any problems he just says ‘yea some people say we’re too expensive’ and I tell him that’s a great problem to have.

Gamify Your Moves

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Vintage shot of my client: Palm Beach Shores Resort

When I first opened my practice in 2009 I didn’t imagine that I’d be advising a 256-suite oceanfront resort.

In 2012, I helped a startup paddle board rental company (Paddle Boarding Palm Beach) blow up online.

They became so dominant that Get Wet Watersports (one of their competitors) made a defensive acquisition to acquire them circa 2016.

Get Wet Watersports retained me to do the same thing for them online that I had done with the paddle board co.

Word spread to the Palm Beach Shores Resort brass… and for them, I was able to rapidly identify, diagnose, and solve a hiccup in the resort’s online booking checkout process.

That single improvement translated to a 23% increase in their annual online booking revenue (going on seven years now).

From there I attracted interest from the likes of the Sailfish Marina, Blue Heron Fishing Fleet, and the Bahamas Paradise Cruiseline in the port of Palm Beach among others.

In 2018, the CEO of the cruise line called my cell and said that he had a problem.

The stakeholders had purchased a second cruise ship that was about to come online but the first ship still wasn’t at capacity.

He was spending a fortune on advertising and asked if I could review the website for potential bottlenecks.

Even though they had an internal marketing team and a vendor agency of record (AOR) with a well-known firm out of Miami – they were stuck spinning their propellers.

Within a week, I diagnosed the root cause of the problem (which had nothing to do with their website) and submitted a sales deck that offered to reveal the solution in exchange for points on the move.

Good times.

That single thread of events started with a startup paddleboarding client and escalated to an emerging watersports company, an iconic fishing fleet, a landmark resort, an expanding cruise line, and many layers in between that continue to this day.

One thing I always advise business leaders on is to look at their business from a strategic perspective and to ‘gamify’ their moves.

Have fun with it.

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Alan Boyd

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