The Complete Guide to Hiring a Fractional Head of Demand Gen

What Is a Fractional Head of Demand Gen?

A fractional Head of Demand Generation is an experienced marketing leader who owns the strategy and execution of your pipeline engine on a part-time or contract basis. Rather than committing to a full-time hire at $120,000 to $180,000 or more in total compensation, you bring in a specialist with 8 to 15 years of hands-on experience building multi-channel demand generation programs -- typically working two to three days per week at a fraction of the full-time cost.

Demand generation is the discipline of creating consistent, measurable demand for your product or service across every stage of the buyer journey. It encompasses paid media, organic content, email marketing, webinars, events, SEO, SEM, and conversion rate optimization -- all coordinated to move prospects from awareness through to qualified pipeline. A Head of Demand Gen does not just run campaigns. They architect the system that connects marketing investment to revenue, ensuring every dollar spent on lead generation is trackable, attributable, and optimized for pipeline output.

A fractional Head of Demand Gen is not a freelance media buyer running your Google Ads account. They are not an email marketing specialist optimizing subject lines. And they are not a consultant delivering a demand generation playbook and moving on. A fractional Head of Demand Gen is an embedded operational leader who designs, builds, and manages the full pipeline engine -- from first-touch acquisition through MQL qualification, SQL conversion, and pipeline attribution. They own the system, manage the channels, and take accountability for the numbers.

The fractional model is particularly well-suited to this role because demand generation is both highly specialized and cyclical. Many B2B companies between $2M and $30M in revenue have enough demand gen work to justify a dedicated leader but not enough to fill five days a week of senior-level attention. They need someone who can design the campaign architecture, build the attribution framework, optimize conversion rates, and manage agencies or internal specialists -- without the overhead of a $180,000 salary plus benefits and equity. A fractional Head of Demand Gen fills that need precisely.

This role has become increasingly critical in B2B environments where buying cycles are long, multiple stakeholders influence purchase decisions, and the ability to attribute marketing spend to pipeline is the difference between a marketing team that gets budget increases and one that gets cut.

What Does a Fractional Head of Demand Gen Actually Do?

Core Responsibilities

A fractional Head of Demand Generation operates at the intersection of strategy and execution, owning the programs that drive qualified pipeline. Their primary responsibilities include:

Pipeline engine architecture. They design the end-to-end system that generates, qualifies, and routes leads into your sales pipeline. This includes defining your ideal customer profile for campaign targeting, mapping the buyer journey, selecting the right mix of channels for each stage, and building the conversion framework that moves prospects from anonymous visitor to marketing-qualified lead to sales-accepted opportunity. This is the foundational work that makes everything else scalable.

Multi-channel campaign management. They plan, launch, and optimize campaigns across paid search, paid social, display advertising, content syndication, organic search, email, webinars, and events. This is not about running one channel well -- it is about orchestrating multiple channels into a coordinated system where each reinforces the others. A LinkedIn campaign drives traffic to a landing page, which captures leads into a nurture sequence, which warms them for a webinar invitation, which qualifies them for sales outreach.

MQL/SQL optimization and lead scoring. They define what constitutes a marketing-qualified lead versus a sales-qualified lead, build lead scoring models in your marketing automation platform, and continuously refine those definitions based on downstream conversion data. This is where most demand gen programs break down -- marketers celebrate lead volume while sales complains about lead quality. A strong Head of Demand Gen obsesses over the MQL-to-SQL conversion rate and adjusts scoring, targeting, and qualification criteria until marketing is delivering leads that sales actually wants to work.

Marketing attribution and analytics. They build the attribution framework that connects marketing spend to pipeline and revenue. This includes implementing multi-touch attribution models, configuring UTM tracking across channels, setting up conversion events in analytics platforms, and building dashboards that show not just impressions and clicks but cost per MQL, cost per SQL, cost per opportunity, and marketing-influenced pipeline. Without this infrastructure, demand generation is guesswork.

Content-driven lead generation. They develop the content strategy that powers top-of-funnel and mid-funnel lead acquisition: gated ebooks, whitepapers, templates, benchmark reports, webinar series, and case studies. They define which content assets serve which campaign objectives, manage the production pipeline (whether internal or through agencies), and measure asset performance by leads generated, conversion rates, and downstream pipeline influence.

SEO and SEM strategy. They own organic search as a demand gen channel -- conducting keyword research, prioritizing content production for search intent, auditing site technical health, and building the inbound traffic engine that generates leads without paid spend. On the paid side, they manage or oversee Google Ads and Bing Ads programs, optimizing keyword bids, ad copy, landing pages, and quality scores for maximum conversion efficiency.

Nurture sequences and lifecycle marketing. They design and optimize the email nurture programs that move leads through the funnel. This includes welcome sequences for new subscribers, stage-based nurture tracks for different buyer personas, re-engagement campaigns for stale leads, and event-triggered automations that respond to prospect behavior in real time. The nurture layer is what converts raw leads into pipeline -- without it, you are paying to acquire attention and then wasting it.

Day-to-Day Activities

On any given day, a fractional Head of Demand Gen might:

• Analyze campaign performance across paid channels and shift budget from underperforming campaigns to those with the lowest cost per SQL
• Review MQL-to-SQL conversion rates with the sales team and adjust lead scoring thresholds
• Brief a content writer on a new lead magnet tied to a high-intent keyword cluster
• Set up A/B tests on landing page headlines, forms, and CTAs to improve conversion rates
• Configure a new webinar promotion campaign across email, LinkedIn, and retargeting
• Audit the nurture sequence performance, identifying drop-off points and rebuilding underperforming flows
• Build the weekly pipeline report connecting marketing spend to qualified pipeline generated
• Evaluate a new marketing technology vendor for intent data or content syndication

Deliverables

Within the first quarter, you should expect your fractional Head of Demand Gen to deliver:

• A full audit of your current demand generation channels, campaigns, and conversion rates
• A documented demand generation strategy with channel priorities, budget allocation, and pipeline targets
• A lead scoring and qualification framework agreed upon by both marketing and sales
• An attribution model implemented in your CRM and analytics stack
• A campaign calendar for the upcoming quarter with projected pipeline contribution by initiative
• A reporting dashboard that tracks the metrics that matter: cost per lead, cost per MQL, cost per SQL, MQL-to-SQL conversion rate, and marketing-sourced pipeline

Signs Your Business Needs a Fractional Head of Demand Gen

You Are Spending on Marketing but Cannot Attribute Pipeline

You have an active marketing function -- maybe a content person, a social media manager, an agency running paid ads -- and you are spending $10,000 or more per month on marketing activities. But when the CEO asks how much pipeline marketing generated last quarter, nobody can answer with confidence. You see impressions, clicks, and maybe lead form submissions, but the connection between marketing spend and sales pipeline is murky at best. A fractional Head of Demand Gen will build the attribution infrastructure and campaign framework that makes every marketing dollar trackable to pipeline.

Your Lead Volume Is Fine but Lead Quality Is Poor

Sales has leads to work, but they are not converting. Your MQL numbers look healthy on a dashboard, but the sales team reports that half the leads are unqualified, wrong persona, or too early in the buying cycle. This is a demand gen problem, not a sales problem. It means your targeting is off, your lead scoring model is inaccurate, or your qualification criteria are not aligned with what actually converts downstream. A fractional Head of Demand Gen will diagnose the quality gap and restructure your acquisition and scoring to deliver leads worth selling to.

You Have Campaigns but No Integrated System

You are running Google Ads over here, posting on LinkedIn over there, sending occasional emails, and hosting a quarterly webinar. Each channel operates in isolation with its own metrics and no coordination. There is no nurture sequence connecting these touchpoints. There is no unified conversion framework. Prospects encounter your brand on multiple channels but the experience is disjointed and there is no systematic way to move them toward a buying decision. A fractional Head of Demand Gen unifies these fragmented efforts into a coordinated pipeline engine.

Your Cost per Lead Is Rising Without Explanation

Paid acquisition costs have crept up 20 to 40 percent over the past year, and nobody is sure why. Your Google Ads account has accumulated hundreds of keywords with no clear performance hierarchy. Your LinkedIn campaigns target broad audiences with generic messaging. Landing pages have not been tested or updated in months. Conversion rates are declining because nobody is systematically optimizing the funnel. A fractional Head of Demand Gen will audit every channel, eliminate waste, and rebuild your acquisition programs around efficiency and conversion rate optimization.

You Are Preparing for a Growth Phase and Need Pipeline Infrastructure

You have closed a funding round, hired new sales reps, or set aggressive revenue targets for the next four quarters. Your current marketing is not structured to support the pipeline volume those targets require. You need someone who has built demand generation engines at companies that went from $5M to $20M or $20M to $50M -- someone who knows which channels scale, how to build repeatable campaign playbooks, and how to put the systems in place to triple pipeline without tripling spend. A fractional Head of Demand Gen has done this before and can build the infrastructure your growth plan depends on.

Fractional Head of Demand Gen vs. Related Roles

Understanding how a fractional Head of Demand Gen compares to adjacent roles prevents expensive hiring mistakes.

Fractional Head of Demand Gen vs. Fractional CMO. A CMO operates at the strategic and executive level -- defining brand positioning, setting overall marketing strategy, allocating the total marketing budget, managing analyst and press relationships, and representing marketing in the C-suite. Demand generation is one discipline within the CMO's portfolio, alongside brand, product marketing, corporate communications, and marketing operations. A Head of Demand Gen goes deep where the CMO goes wide. They are the person in the trenches building and optimizing the pipeline engine, not setting the overarching marketing direction. Many companies benefit from having both: a fractional CMO defining the go-to-market strategy and a fractional Head of Demand Gen executing the pipeline programs.

Fractional Head of Demand Gen vs. Fractional VP of Marketing. A VP of Marketing has operational oversight across the full marketing function -- content, demand gen, marketing ops, brand execution, agency management, and team leadership. A Head of Demand Gen is more specialized, focused specifically on the programs and channels that generate and qualify pipeline. If you have a VP of Marketing and need deeper expertise in pipeline generation, a Head of Demand Gen adds that specialization. If you need broad marketing operational leadership, the VP of Marketing is the better fit. A Head of Demand Gen often works under or alongside a VP of Marketing in larger organizations.

Fractional Head of Demand Gen vs. Fractional Head of ABM. These roles target pipeline from opposite directions. A Head of Demand Gen casts a wider net -- building programs that attract and qualify leads from the broader market through paid media, organic search, content, and events. A Head of ABM targets a defined list of high-value accounts with personalized, account-specific campaigns designed to penetrate specific organizations. Demand gen is one-to-many; ABM is one-to-few or one-to-one. Some companies need both, and the best demand gen programs include an ABM component. But if your primary challenge is generating pipeline volume across your total addressable market, you need a Head of Demand Gen. If your challenge is breaking into a defined set of enterprise accounts, you need a Head of ABM.

Fractional Head of Demand Gen vs. Growth Marketer. A Growth Marketer is typically more tactical and experiment-driven, focused on rapid testing across channels to find scalable growth loops. A Head of Demand Gen is more systematic and infrastructure-oriented, building the sustainable pipeline engine that operates at scale. Growth marketers tend to thrive in early-stage companies where the business model is still being proven and speed of iteration matters more than operational scalability. A Head of Demand Gen is the right hire when you know your market and need a reliable, repeatable system for converting that market into pipeline.

What to Expect: Outcomes and Timeline

First 30 Days: Audit and Foundation

Your fractional Head of Demand Gen will spend the first month conducting a thorough audit of your current demand generation infrastructure. They will review every active campaign across paid and organic channels, analyze conversion rates at each stage of the funnel, audit your marketing automation and CRM data quality, assess lead scoring models against actual downstream conversion data, and map the full lead-to-pipeline journey. They will identify the biggest leaks in your funnel -- the campaigns that are burning budget, the landing pages with poor conversion rates, the nurture sequences with high drop-off, and the scoring models that are misqualifying leads. By the end of month one, expect a documented assessment with a prioritized action plan and quick wins already in progress.

Days 30-60: Infrastructure and Optimization

With the audit complete, the fractional Head of Demand Gen will rebuild the operational foundation. This includes implementing or refining attribution tracking, restructuring campaigns around the highest-performing channels and audiences, building or overhauling lead scoring models, launching A/B tests on critical landing pages and conversion points, and establishing the reporting infrastructure that will guide decisions going forward. During this phase, they will also align with sales on lead definitions, handoff processes, and feedback loops. Expect to see early improvements in conversion rates and cost per lead as the most obvious inefficiencies are eliminated.

Days 60-90: Scaling and Pipeline Impact

By the end of the first quarter, your demand generation engine should be operating with measurably better efficiency. Campaigns are targeting the right audiences with optimized messaging and creative. Lead scoring is tuned to deliver higher-quality MQLs that sales accepts at higher rates. Attribution is in place so you can see exactly which channels and campaigns are generating pipeline. Nurture sequences are actively converting leads through the funnel. Your fractional Head of Demand Gen should present a clear performance report showing improvements in key metrics -- cost per MQL, MQL-to-SQL conversion rate, and marketing-sourced pipeline -- along with a roadmap for the next quarter focused on scaling what is working.

6-12 Months: A Mature Pipeline Engine

Within six to twelve months, you should have a demand generation operation that is both scalable and predictable. Channel mix is optimized based on months of performance data. Campaign playbooks are documented and repeatable. Content assets are mapped to funnel stages and performing against lead generation targets. Lead quality is consistently high, with MQL-to-SQL conversion rates stabilized above 25 to 35 percent. Marketing can forecast pipeline contribution with reasonable accuracy. At this stage, you can continue the fractional engagement for ongoing optimization, bring in a full-time demand gen leader to run the engine, or scale the engagement up as you enter new markets or launch new products.

How Much Does a Fractional Head of Demand Gen Cost?

The cost of a fractional Head of Demand Generation varies based on their experience, the complexity of your channel mix, and the scope of the engagement. Here are the typical ranges as of 2026:

Monthly retainer: $4,000 to $10,000. Most fractional Heads of Demand Gen work on monthly retainers reflecting both their experience level and the number of days per week dedicated to your business. At $4,000 to $6,000 per month, you are getting a strong operator with 8 to 10 years of experience dedicating one to two days per week -- appropriate for companies with a focused channel mix and a smaller team. At $7,000 to $10,000 per month, you are getting a seasoned leader with 12 or more years of experience working two to three days per week, managing a broader channel portfolio, overseeing agencies, and driving more complex multi-channel programs.

Full-time equivalent comparison: $120,000 to $180,000+. A full-time Head of Demand Generation at a mid-market B2B company commands a base salary of $120,000 to $150,000, plus benefits, bonus, and sometimes equity -- totaling $155,000 to $200,000 or more in fully loaded compensation. A fractional Head of Demand Gen at $7,000 per month costs $84,000 annually, representing a 45 to 55 percent savings while delivering the same strategic and operational expertise during the days they are engaged.

ROI framework. The value of a fractional Head of Demand Gen is directly measurable because their output is pipeline. If they cost $84,000 per year and improve your marketing-sourced pipeline by 40 percent -- taking it from $2M to $2.8M -- the $800,000 in additional pipeline more than justifies the investment, even at conservative win rates. Beyond pipeline growth, they create value through efficiency: reducing cost per MQL by 20 to 30 percent through better targeting and optimization, eliminating waste on underperforming campaigns, and improving conversion rates across the funnel so more of your existing leads become opportunities.

Be cautious of candidates priced below $4,000 per month. Effective demand generation leadership requires deep experience across multiple channels, fluency with marketing automation and attribution tools, and the strategic judgment to allocate budget across competing programs. That expertise does not come cheap, and underpaying typically means you are hiring a channel specialist with a leadership title rather than a genuine demand gen leader.

How to Hire the Right Fractional Head of Demand Gen

Demand multi-channel experience. The value of a Head of Demand Gen lies in their ability to orchestrate multiple channels into a unified pipeline engine. Ask candidates to walk through the channel mix they have managed and how they determined budget allocation across channels. Be skeptical of candidates whose experience is concentrated in a single channel -- even if they are excellent at paid search or email, they lack the breadth needed to build a complete demand generation program.

Verify attribution and analytics depth. A Head of Demand Gen who cannot build and interpret attribution models is flying blind. Ask how they have set up attribution in previous roles, which models they prefer and why, and how they have used attribution data to make budget allocation decisions. They should be able to discuss first-touch, last-touch, linear, and time-decay models with practical perspective on when each is appropriate.

Assess their approach to MQL/SQL alignment. The ability to align marketing and sales on lead definitions and quality standards is a make-or-break capability. Ask how they have handled situations where sales rejected marketing-qualified leads, and what changes they made to scoring, targeting, or qualification criteria as a result. The best candidates treat this as an ongoing feedback loop, not a one-time definition exercise.

Key interview questions to ask:

• "Walk me through a demand generation program you built from scratch. What channels did you prioritize, how did you allocate budget, and what pipeline results did you achieve?"
• "How do you decide when to invest more in a channel versus cutting it? Give me a specific example."
• "Describe your approach to lead scoring. How do you balance demographic fit versus behavioral signals, and how often do you recalibrate?"
• "What is your attribution setup process? Walk me through how you would implement attribution in our stack."
• "Tell me about a time when MQL-to-SQL conversion rates dropped significantly. How did you diagnose and fix the problem?"
• "How do you evaluate and optimize landing pages? What conversion rate benchmarks do you target?"

Red flags to watch for:

• They cannot discuss specific pipeline numbers or conversion metrics from previous roles
• Their experience is limited to one or two channels with no multi-channel orchestration
• They are unfamiliar with marketing automation platforms and cannot discuss lead scoring mechanics
• They focus on lead volume as the primary success metric rather than pipeline contribution
• They have no process for aligning with sales on lead quality and qualification criteria
• They cannot explain their approach to attribution or how they have used attribution data to make decisions

How a Fractional Head of Demand Gen Engagement Works

Time commitment: one to three days per week. Most fractional Head of Demand Gen engagements are structured around two days per week. This provides enough time for campaign strategy, channel optimization, performance analysis, team or agency management, and cross-functional alignment with sales. Companies with a narrower channel focus or smaller operation may start at one day per week and expand. Companies with complex multi-channel programs and larger teams may require three days per week, especially during initial setup or major campaign launches.

Retainer model. Fractional Heads of Demand Gen work on monthly retainers, not hourly billing. The retainer creates the right incentives -- you want a leader who is invested in your pipeline outcomes, not someone rationing their time. Most engagements begin with a two to three month initial commitment, providing enough time for the audit, infrastructure build, and initial optimization cycle. After the initial period, retainers are typically month-to-month with 30 days notice.

Onboarding process. A strong fractional Head of Demand Gen will have a structured first two weeks. They will request access to your marketing automation platform, CRM, ad accounts (Google, LinkedIn, Meta), analytics tools, content management system, SEO platform, and any project management tools in use. They will pull historical performance data across all channels, review lead flow and conversion rates at every stage of the funnel, audit the tech stack configuration, and meet with sales leadership to understand the pipeline from the opportunity side. This immersion period is critical -- it is what allows them to make informed decisions about where to invest and where to cut.

Working with your existing team. A fractional Head of Demand Gen works with and through your existing marketing resources, whether that is an internal team, agencies, or contractors. They will set campaign priorities, brief creative teams, manage media buying (either directly or through an agency), oversee content production tied to demand gen objectives, and coordinate with any marketing ops or automation specialists on lead flow and scoring. If you do not yet have specialized demand gen resources, they will identify what you need and help you hire or contract for it.

Reporting and communication. Expect a weekly performance update covering campaign metrics, pipeline contribution, conversion rates by stage, and any budget or strategy adjustments made. Monthly, they should deliver a comprehensive demand gen report that connects marketing spend to pipeline generated, compares performance against targets, and identifies optimization opportunities for the coming month. The weekly check-in with sales leadership is non-negotiable -- this is where lead quality feedback flows back into campaign and scoring adjustments. Your fractional Head of Demand Gen reports to the VP of Marketing or CMO if you have one, or directly to the CEO if marketing leadership is not yet in place.

Why Fractional Instead of Full-Time?

A full-time Head of Demand Generation commands $120,000 to $180,000 or more in total compensation when you include base salary, bonus, benefits, and equity. The recruiting process alone takes two to four months, during which your pipeline engine sits without dedicated leadership -- campaigns drift, ad spend goes unoptimized, and the gap between marketing activity and measurable pipeline widens. And if the hire turns out to be a channel specialist who lacks the strategic breadth to orchestrate a full pipeline engine, you face six to nine months of wasted compensation and underperforming campaigns before making a change.

A fractional Head of Demand Gen at $4,000 to $10,000 per month eliminates that risk while delivering the same strategic and operational depth. Because fractional demand gen leaders have built pipeline engines at multiple companies, they arrive with a pattern library that a single-company hire simply does not have. They know which channels scale for B2B, how to structure attribution from day one, what lead scoring thresholds actually predict downstream conversion, and how to align marketing and sales on lead quality before it becomes a source of organizational friction. This experience translates directly into speed: where a new full-time hire spends their first quarter learning your business and developing a plan, a fractional leader spends their first 30 days auditing and is already optimizing campaigns and rebuilding conversion paths by day 45.

The fractional model is particularly well suited for demand generation because the role's intensity varies with business cycles. A product launch, a new market entry, or a funding-driven growth push demands concentrated effort -- restructuring campaigns, launching new channels, and building the attribution infrastructure to measure it all. Between those peaks, the ongoing optimization and management work may not fill five days a week of senior-level attention. Companies between $2 million and $30 million in revenue are in the sweet spot: spending enough on marketing that optimization produces meaningful returns, but not yet at the scale where a full-time demand gen executive has a consistently full calendar. The fractional structure lets you invest in senior pipeline leadership when it matters most and scale involvement to match the rhythm of your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly will a fractional Head of Demand Gen impact our pipeline?

Demand generation improvements follow a predictable curve. Quick wins from campaign optimization, landing page improvements, and lead scoring adjustments typically show results within 30 to 60 days. More substantial pipeline impact from new channel launches, content programs, and nurture sequence optimization takes 60 to 120 days. Within six months, you should see a meaningful and measurable increase in marketing-sourced pipeline, with clear attribution connecting specific programs to opportunities in your CRM. Organic channels like SEO take longer -- 6 to 12 months for material results -- but a good Head of Demand Gen starts that work early while driving near-term pipeline through paid and direct channels.

Do we need a fractional Head of Demand Gen if we already have a marketing agency?

An agency is not a substitute for demand gen leadership. Agencies execute specific deliverables -- running your Google Ads, producing content, managing email sends -- but they do not own your pipeline strategy, align with your sales team on lead quality, build your attribution infrastructure, or make cross-channel budget allocation decisions in your interest. A fractional Head of Demand Gen provides the strategic leadership and operational accountability that makes agency execution effective. In practice, most companies get significantly better results from their agency spend once they have a Head of Demand Gen directing the work, setting clear briefs and targets, and holding the agency accountable to pipeline metrics rather than channel-level vanity metrics.

What tools should a fractional Head of Demand Gen be familiar with?

At minimum, they should have deep experience with a major marketing automation platform (HubSpot, Marketo, or Pardot), CRM systems (Salesforce or HubSpot CRM), analytics platforms (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, or similar), and advertising platforms (Google Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, Meta Ads Manager). Beyond the basics, strong candidates will have experience with attribution tools (Bizible, HockeyStack, or Dreamdata), SEO platforms (SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz), conversion optimization tools (Unbounce, Optimizely, or VWO), and intent data providers (Bombora, 6sense, or G2). The specific tools matter less than the conceptual fluency -- a strong Head of Demand Gen can evaluate and learn new platforms quickly because they understand the underlying principles.

Can a fractional Head of Demand Gen work with our fractional CMO or VP of Marketing?

This is a highly effective pairing. The CMO or VP of Marketing provides the broader marketing strategy, brand direction, and cross-functional leadership, while the Head of Demand Gen focuses exclusively on building and optimizing the pipeline engine. The Head of Demand Gen operates as a specialized function within the marketing organization, taking strategic direction from the CMO or VP and translating it into campaign execution, channel optimization, and pipeline results. Clear role boundaries are important: the CMO or VP owns overall marketing strategy and budget, the Head of Demand Gen owns pipeline programs and channel performance.

How is a fractional Head of Demand Gen different from a growth marketer?

A growth marketer typically operates with a broader mandate that includes product-led growth, viral loops, activation optimization, and rapid experimentation across the full customer lifecycle. A Head of Demand Gen is more focused and systematic, concentrating specifically on building the pipeline engine that generates qualified leads and opportunities for the sales team. Growth marketers tend to be most effective at early-stage companies still searching for product-market fit, where speed and experimentation outweigh process and scalability. A Head of Demand Gen is the right hire when you have product-market fit, a sales team to feed, and a need for a reliable, repeatable system that converts marketing investment into pipeline at scale.

What should we have in place before hiring a fractional Head of Demand Gen?

You should have a functioning CRM with your sales pipeline defined, a basic marketing technology stack (at minimum a marketing automation platform and website analytics), and enough marketing budget to invest in demand generation programs -- typically $5,000 or more per month in campaign spend beyond the fractional leader's retainer. You should also have clarity on your ideal customer profile and target market, even if it needs refinement. If you lack these basics, a fractional CMO or VP of Marketing may be a better first hire to establish the strategic foundation that demand generation builds on. A Head of Demand Gen creates the most value when the strategic direction is set and they can focus their energy on building and optimizing the pipeline engine.