Nikhil Hunshikatti on Building a Fractional CMO Practice the Right Way (Ep. 26)

<p>Nikhil Hunshikatti ran a billion-dollar consumer revenue portfolio at Gannett before going fractional. He did not plan to go fractional. He tried three in-house leadership roles first, lost all three to internal candidates, and only then decided to hang his own shingle. Three years in, he has built a model that works, but not without losing 50% of his revenue in one quarter and spending 18 months too heads-down to do any pipeline work.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>0:00 – Intro</p><p>1:50 – Background: USA Today, Gannett, and running a billion-dollar consumer revenue portfolio</p><p>3:52 – The moment that made him leave and why survival mode was the breaking point</p><p>5:12 – Going fractional by accident after three failed in-house leadership bids</p><p>8:26 – How the first client came in and why the Pro Football Hall of Fame made sense</p><p>12:11 – How fractional CMO engagements are structured and why it is different from a retainer</p><p>17:08 – The five Ps framework he runs through in every immersion workshop</p><p>23:04 – Sitting at the C-suite table as the only fractional and what that dynamic actually looks like</p><p>34:12 – Year one: three clients, full capacity, zero pipeline work, and what he would do differently</p><p>43:37 – Losing 50% of revenue at once and how he is navigating a slow market right now</p><p>44:51 – His advice for fractional CMOs who cannot find their first client</p><p><br></p><p>#FreelanceMarketing #FractionalCMO #ConsultingLife</p><p><br></p><p>Connect with the hosts:</p><p>Tim Davidson –<a href=" https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"> https://linkedin.com/in/tadavidson41</a></p><p>Tas Bober – <a href="https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://linkedin.com/in/tasbober</a></p><p>The Marketer&#39;s Exit – <a href="https://themarketersexit.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://themarketersexit.com</a></p><p><br></p><p>Guest:</p><p>Nikhil Hunshikatti <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilhunshikatti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilhunshikatti/</a></p>