Fractional CRO — B2B SaaS — $1M–$20M ARR

Stop selling.
Start building the machine that sells.

I compress 2–3 years of revenue leadership into 6–12 months. Install the systems. Hire the permanent leader. Exit. No dependency. No retainer.

$45K
$0 → MRR in 10 months
30–50%
Lower Acquisition Cost
$1.9M
Annual Cost Savings
105–115%
Net Revenue Retention
100%
Account Retention on $12M+ ARR

You have the product.
You don't have the engine.

You're past product-market fit. Customers love what you've built. But revenue still depends on the founder, one star rep, or brute force. Nothing is documented. Nothing is repeatable. Every month without systems compounds the problem.

Founder Still Running Sales

No defined process, no pipeline stages, no forecasting discipline. Revenue lives in the CEO's head.

Win Rates Below 20%

Sales cycles exceed 90 days with no clear diagnosis. Pipeline is full of bad-fit deals that churn.

Failed First Sales Hire

Brought in a rep or VP Sales who didn't work out—because the systems weren't in place first.

Churn Eroding Growth

NRR below 100%. Upsell and cross-sell are ad hoc, not systematic. CS isn't connected to revenue.

A defined transformation.
Not an indefinite retainer.

Every engagement has a beginning, milestones, and a defined exit. When the systems run without me, that's the proof it worked.

01
Days 1–60

Revenue Architecture Audit

"We're growing but I don't know what's actually working or where we're leaking revenue."

Comprehensive audit of conversion rates, sales cycles, expansion revenue, churn, pricing, and segmentation. Identify the single highest-impact lever—which is rarely "more leads."

Proven Impact

−3.6% → +26%

Margin transformation at CareerBuilder. Pricing optimization drove 18% ARR increase across 14 verticals.

02
Months 2–6

Repeatable Systems Installation

"Revenue depends on me or one star rep. Nothing is documented or repeatable."

Build the operating cadence—pipeline reviews, forecast discipline, rep scorecards. Document the playbook. Install CRM as a single source of truth.

Proven Impact

$0 → $45K MRR

HALO: Zero to meaningful recurring revenue in 10 months with full CRM deployment and board-ready reporting.

03
Months 2–4

ICP Narrowing & Pipeline Velocity

"We sell to everyone. Our pipeline is full of bad-fit deals that take forever and churn."

Kill the "we sell to everyone" mindset. Focus on 1–2 segments with the highest win rates and shortest cycles. Rebuild pipeline around proven ICP.

Proven Impact

$1.5M+ Pipeline

Qualified pipeline built in 9–12 months at Cmind and CloudQuant. 30–50% reduction in CAC.

04
Months 3–6

Cross-Functional Revenue Alignment

"Marketing, Sales, and CS are three separate kingdoms. Nobody owns the full customer journey."

One shared revenue model. Marketing owns pipeline. Sales owns revenue quality. CS owns net retention. One dashboard. One target.

Proven Impact

105–115% NRR

Net revenue retention moved from sub-100% to 105–115% with $12M+ ARR and 100% account retention.

05
Months 4–9

Revenue Leader Hire & Onboarding

"We've never hired a real sales leader. Our last VP Sales hire didn't work."

Define the role based on the systems now in place. Run the search. Onboard the hire. Stay in advisory capacity for 1–2 quarters to ensure the hire sticks.

Proven Impact

8 Launches

8 products launched from $0 to meaningful ARR. Companies scaled 2x–6x under structured revenue leadership.

06
Months 9–12

Defined Exit & Sustainability

"I don't want to be dependent on an outside consultant forever."

Engagement terms set upfront: direct CEO access, board visibility, real authority, 90-day milestones. Exit criteria defined from Day 1. Systems run without Tom. That's the proof.

Proven Impact

Clean Exit

Every engagement structured as a transformation with a defined exit—across HALO, Cmind, CloudQuant, and fractional CSO/COO roles.

12 months. Defined milestones.
Then I'm gone.

Days 1–60
Diagnose & Plan

Revenue audit. Highest-impact lever identified. CRM deployed. Prioritized execution plan delivered.

Months 2–4
Install & Narrow

Operating cadence built. ICP narrowed. Pipeline rebuilt. Pricing optimized. Playbook documented.

Months 4–6
Align & Search

Cross-functional alignment. Shared dashboard live. Revenue leader search begins.

Months 6–9
Hire & Transition

Revenue leader in seat. Ownership transferred. Advisory mode activated.

Months 9–12
Exit & Prove

Leader operating independently. Exit report delivered. Board presentation complete. Systems running.

Compared to the alternatives.

Alternative

Full-Time CRO Hire

$250K–$400K+ cost. 12–18 month ramp. 50%+ fail rate at this stage.

Tom: Fraction of the cost, results in 60–90 days. Then hires the right permanent leader.

Alternative

Strategy Consultants

Deliverable is a PowerPoint. No execution. No accountability for revenue.

Tom: Installs systems that work without him. Owns outcomes, not slide decks.

Alternative

Outsourced SDR Firms

Low-quality pipeline. No ICP rigor. No conversion optimization.

Tom: Fixes funnel architecture so every meeting counts. Quality over quantity.

The Difference

Tom Opper

8 zero-to-revenue launches. Documented playbooks. Defined exit, not dependency.

Doesn't advise on revenue—builds the engine. Systems, not promises.

Ideal Engagement Fit

IndustryB2B SaaS / AI-powered SaaS
ARR$1M–$20M (sweet spot: $2M–$10M)
StagePost-PMF, pre-scale
FundingSeed → Series B
Team10–100 employees
Commitment6+ months, CEO access required
Investment$15K+/month minimum
"We just need more leads."

In 90% of engagements, the problem isn't lead volume—it's conversion, pricing, or a leaky mid-funnel. The revenue is hiding in your existing pipeline.

"We can't afford a CRO."

A full-time CRO costs $250K–$400K+ and takes 12–18 months to produce results. This delivers transformation in half the time at a fraction of the cost.

"We tried a VP Sales and it didn't work."

It failed because the systems weren't in place first. Build the infrastructure, prove the model, then define the role correctly so the hire succeeds.

"How do I know you won't become another consultant?"

The measure of success is making Tom unnecessary. 90-day milestones and exit criteria are defined before signing. When the systems run without him, that's the proof.

The fastest path to your next ARR milestone
isn't more leads.

It's fixing the revenue architecture you don't have. Let's talk about compressing 2–3 years into 6–12 months.

Book a Conversation