Scaling Mid-Market Success with Fractional CMO Solutions: Insights from Sheila Kloefkorn

Phillip Lanos Podcast

In this episode, Sheila Kloefkorn, founder and CEO of KEO Marketing, shares her journey of building a B2B marketing agency that empowers mid-market companies to compete with larger competitors. Through the innovative fractional CMO model, KEO Marketing provides executive-level marketing leadership and a team of specialists, offering cost-effective and strategic solutions tailored to businesses with revenues between $5 million and $50 million.

Sheila highlights how the post-pandemic shift in business dynamics has driven the demand for fractional leadership, enabling companies to optimize resources while addressing customer pain points. KEO Marketing’s holistic approach integrates marketing strategy, recruitment, product development, and operations, ensuring sustained growth for clients.

Key accomplishments include scaling a client’s business from $15 million to $35 million in one year, supporting a business sale through turbocharged systems, and helping a data center company raise $30 million during their IPO. Sheila emphasizes the importance of aligning marketing with overall business goals, fostering strategic partnerships with clients, and leveraging a collaborative agency model to act as an extension of in-house teams.

For entrepreneurs transitioning into leadership roles, Sheila advocates for mentorship and coaching to navigate the challenges of scaling businesses effectively. The episode concludes with actionable insights on prioritizing customer needs and reshaping business communication to focus on solving pain points rather than promoting products.

Key Ideas:

- Fractional CMO Model: Provides part-time executive marketing leadership and an outsourced team, enabling mid-market companies to compete with larger competitors.

- Post-Pandemic Shift: The demand for fractional leadership and resource optimization has increased due to rising costs and changing work dynamics.

- Client Success Stories:

- Grew a client’s business from $15M to $35M in a year.

- Turbocharged systems for a business sale.

- Supported a $30M IPO for a data center company.

- Strategic Focus: Beyond lead generation, the agency addresses broader business challenges like operations, hiring, and product development.

- Customer-Centric Marketing: Emphasizes solving customer pain points over promoting features and services.

- Collaboration with Clients: Acts as a strategic partner and an extension of in-house teams, fostering executive-level conversations.

- Entrepreneurship Advice: Sheila stresses the value of mentorship and coaching for leaders transitioning into entrepreneurship.

- Key Offerings: Services include recruitment marketing, product development, software development, and fractional CMO leadership.

- Call to Action: Visit [keomarketing.com](http://keomarketing.com) or connect with Sheila on LinkedIn for details.

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