Fractional CMO Near Me
If you searched for a fractional CMO near me, here's the direct answer: SumoLab is a fractional CMO practice led by Jerry Suhrstedt, based in Chandler, Arizona, with 28 years of marketing and business-building experience across twelve companies. Jerry works in person with businesses across Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, and Gilbert — and remotely with clients nationwide.
In-person vs. remote
For fractional CMO work, proximity matters far less than fit, experience, and the quality of leadership. Most of what the role covers — strategy, positioning, pipeline reviews, leading your marketing team — happens in scheduled working sessions that are every bit as effective over video as across a conference table. The best fractional engagements I've run were built on trust, results, and clear communication — not a shared zip code.
So before you filter candidates by city, ask the harder questions: does this person have operating experience deep enough to understand your business? Have they built companies, not just managed campaigns? Can they sit at your leadership table and make decisions that move revenue? That's what you're hiring for — see what a full fractional CMO engagement actually covers before you decide.
Service area
SumoLab is based in Chandler, in the heart of the East Valley, and serves the entire Phoenix metro in person — Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Gilbert, and the surrounding cities. When a strategy session, leadership offsite, or team workshop works better face to face, it's a short drive across the Valley, not a flight.
Beyond Arizona, engagements run remotely with businesses across the US on the same weekly cadence: clear priorities, direct access, and no waiting on geography. And if you're not sure you need a full CMO yet, some teams are better served by a fractional marketing director — a conversation will make the distinction clear.
What to look for
Whether you're comparing Phoenix-area candidates or a shortlist from across the country, the evaluation criteria are the same. Three questions separate operators from theorists.
Marketing strategy from someone who's only ever been inside a marketing department is different from strategy from someone who's owned the P&L. Ask specifically: have they founded or co-founded a company? Carried a number? Made payroll? The answer changes everything about how they'll think about your marketing.
Enterprise CMO experience doesn't automatically translate to the $5M–$50M world. The strategies, the resource constraints, the need to do more with less — these are genuinely different. Look for someone who's navigated that range before, not someone coming down from a Fortune 500 to figure it out on your dime.
Ask for specific examples: a company they worked with at a similar stage, the problem they walked into, the measurable outcome. Not "we improved brand awareness." Revenue growth. Lead volume. Cost per acquisition. That's the standard SumoLab holds itself to — the case studies show the actual numbers.
What SumoLab brings
I've founded and co-founded twelve companies. Taken a home building business from bankruptcy to $12M. Grown a builder from 60 homes a year to over 800. Taken another from $3M to $11M in under three years. The marketing strategies I bring to your business have been tested under real conditions, with real stakes — not in a classroom or a consulting deck.
Every fractional CMO engagement starts with understanding your business first and your marketing second. That order matters. The strategy follows from the business, not the other way around. When you're ready to hire a fractional CMO, that's the standard to hold every candidate to — including me.
Common questions
Prioritize experience over proximity. Look for real operating experience in your revenue range — $5M–$50M looks nothing like enterprise — specific, measurable results at similar companies, and someone senior enough to lead your team. Then treat location as a tiebreaker. A strong fractional CMO an hour away beats a mediocre one down the street.
Most fractional CMO engagements in the US run $3,000–$15,000 per month depending on scope and time commitment — a fraction of the $150,000–$300,000 a full-time CMO costs each year once salary, benefits, bonuses, and overhead are included. SumoLab scopes each engagement around your goals and stage, so you pay only for the level of leadership you need.
Both. Most of the work — strategy, weekly leadership sessions, team direction — happens remotely, which is why fit matters more than proximity. Because SumoLab is based in Chandler, Arizona, Phoenix-metro clients can meet in person whenever it helps; clients elsewhere in the country work with Jerry on the same weekly rhythm, over video.
Expect a deep dive into the business first: revenue model, sales process, current marketing, and team. From there, a prioritized strategy with clear KPIs and a weekly working cadence. By day 90 you should have a plan your leadership team can defend — and early wins already in motion.
SumoLab serves the Phoenix metro in person — Chandler, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, and Gilbert — and businesses across Arizona and the US through remote engagements. Wherever you are, the place to start is a short intro call to see whether the fit is right.
