How to choose a fractional CRO: twelve questions
Choose on evidence, not on charm: ask every candidate the same twelve questions about what they have built, what they will own, how they will measure it and how they will leave — and hire the one whose answers are specific.
- 01RecordWhich company did you take from founder-led selling to a repeatable motion, and what did the playbook look like at the end?
- 02RecordWhich deals did you close personally in the last three years, and at what ACV?
- 03FitHave you sold to our buyer — regulated, enterprise, technical — and what did discovery sound like?
- 04FitWhat would make you tell us not to hire a CRO yet?
- 05OwnershipWhat will you own outright, what will you share with the founder, and who is accountable if the quarter is missed?
- 06OwnershipHow many days a week, for how long, and how many other clients at the same time?
- 07MethodShow me the ICP document, the discovery set and the forecast model you would build for us.
- 08MethodWhat does day thirty, day sixty and day ninety look like, in evidence rather than activity?
- 09TeamWho have you hired as a first AE, and how did they do?
- 10TeamHow will you work with our existing sales leader, if we have one?
- 11ExitHow does the engagement end, who owns the work product, and how do you hand off to a full-time hire?
- 12ExitWhich two former clients will take my call this week?
What good answers sound like. Specific: names, numbers, documents on the table. What bad answers sound like: frameworks without examples, “it depends” without a follow-up question, and any reluctance on questions four, eleven and twelve.
My answers to all twelve are on Work With Me, About and in the Field Guide; the references are available on a call.
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