Fractional CMO Services for Emerging Life-Science and Diagnostics Companies
You built the science. We build the pipeline.
Emerging life-science and diagnostics companies reach a point where the science is validated but the commercial function isn't yet built, or the existing function needs senior leadership it can't justify hiring full-time. Higgins Beach Marketing provides embedded fractional commercial leadership - sales, marketing, go-to-market strategy, and ABM execution. Purpose-built to close the commercialization gap between validated science and scalable pipeline.
Twenty-plus years of hands-on B2B commercial experience across diagnostics and life sciences, plus a bench-first career foundation in antibodies and lateral flow diagnostics before moving into commercial leadership. That's the operator profile most emerging life-science companies can't hire into a single seat: strategic breadth across sales, marketing, GTM, ABM, channel, and marketing operations, with tactical depth in each backed by an evidence-led, ROI-architected operating philosophy.
"Pipeline is the proof that your science has a market"
What Embedded Fractional Leadership Looks Like
We don't just consult. We embed. Higgins Beach Marketing's default engagement is retainer-based fractional leadership with a 3–6 month minimum — long enough to embed, diagnose, and execute; not so short that strategy leaves with the consultant. During an engagement, we sit inside the commercial team, not next to it: running the operating cadence, owning pipeline accountability, and building the systems that keep working after the engagement ends.
HBM's operating toolkit includes CRM, MarTech, and AI implementations. We optimize playbooks and CRM systems so the team focuses on the most promising opportunities, introduce automation that enables efficient multi-channel prospecting, and build the measurement layer that turns marketing from a cost center into a pipeline contributor. In one recent engagement, this approach produced a pipeline of qualified opportunities across 50+ target companies inside six months.
Pipeline is the proof that your science has a market. Everything else is a story.
When to Hire Fractional vs. Full-Time
Fractional fits when:
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The company has validated science and early commercial traction, but hasn't yet justified a full-time executive marketing or sales seat.
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The commercial function is being built or rebuilt and needs senior design, not just senior execution.
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Budget supports 1–2 days a week of executive-grade leadership for 3–6 months, not a full-time hire plus benefits.
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The board or founder wants evidence the commercial machine works before committing to a permanent CMO or VP Sales hire.
Full-time fits when:
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Pipeline is established, the commercial operating cadence is in place, and the role is primarily execution and team leadership.
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The company is at revenue scale that supports a full-time executive seat with fully-allocated attention.
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Strategic commercial design work is already done and the next twelve months are about running, not building.
Interim fits when:
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A permanent CMO has departed and the seat needs to be held at full intensity until a replacement is hired.
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An acquisition or inflection event requires a full CMO presence for a defined transition window.
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Leadership needs to be held for 8–16 weeks at full allocation rather than part-time over 3–6 months.
Engagement Models: Retainer, Interim, Project
Three engagement modes, scoped to how the commercial machine actually needs to be built, held, or fixed.
Retainer. The default engagement. Embedded fractional leadership.
1–2 days per week over a 3–6 month minimum. Embedded in the commercial team. Owns the operating cadence, pipeline accountability, and the systems that outlast the engagement.
Fits:
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Retainer-based fractional leadership
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Fractional CMO, fractional marketing director, or fractional VP of sales seats
Interim. Full-intensity leadership for a defined transition.
Full-time or part-time executive coverage for 8–16 weeks, typically scoped as diagnose → stabilize → execute. Used when a permanent CMO has departed, an acquisition is integrating, or a commercial inflection needs senior hands without a 12-month full-time hire.
Fits:
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Interim executive contracts (full-time or part-time, 3–6 months)
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Interim sales manager / director (fractional or full-time contracts)
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See the dedicated /interim-cmo page for full interim scope
Project. Defined-scope work against a specific commercial problem.
Scoped project engagements for discrete commercial problems — a sales process audit, a playbook rebuild, a CRM implementation, a pipeline health check. Used when the team is intact but a specific capability needs to be built, fixed, or installed.
Fits:
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Sales process audits and optimization
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Playbook construction
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CRM audit and optimization (one-time)
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CRM implementation and training packages
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Ongoing pipeline health checks and reporting (monthly / quarterly)
Twenty Years of Bench-To-Market Fluency
R&D in antibodies and lateral flow diagnostics, then two decades of commercial leadership across Fortune 500 strategic accounts and channel programs. The operator profile this page describes is a real career, not a persona.
