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Who I work with · B2B SaaS
Fractional CMO for B2B SaaS
Marketing leadership for B2B SaaS companies from seed to listed. I’ve delivered 164% of an international marketing-originated revenue target at Bullhorn, doubled annual SQL volume, and helped build the partner ecosystem behind Xero’s UK growth from c.£20m to £50m+ operating revenue.
The scoreboard
SaaS growth is an economics problem
B2B SaaS marketing has one honest scoreboard: efficient, repeatable pipeline. Every quarter, the same questions decide the budget. What does a qualified opportunity cost by channel? How much pipeline coverage does the number need? Which motions still work now that buyers self-serve most of the journey before ever talking to sales?
The failure mode is doing a bit of everything: some paid, some content, some events, some outbound, none with enough concentration to compound. The fix is rarely more activity. It’s choosing the two or three motions your economics can win, integrating marketing with sales properly, and measuring in a way the board believes.
At Bullhorn that meant a tiered GTM, account-based marketing integrated with sales, and repositioning the category conversation from ATS to Recruitment CRM: 164% of the marketing-originated revenue target and double the SQLs, with a team of 20+ hired and managed across EMEA and APAC.
Pipeline the board believes, at a CAC the model can afford. Everything else is supporting cast.
The work
What I bring to a SaaS team
The CMO job, fractionally: strategy, demand, sales alignment, ecosystem and measurement.
Positioning and category
A sharper ICP and a position competitors can’t copy cheaply. Bullhorn’s international repositioning from ATS to Recruitment CRM reframed the category conversation.
Demand generation that compounds
Inbound engines, ABM where deal sizes justify it, and outbound that respects the buyer. Annual SQL volume doubled at Bullhorn; inbound leads tripled at Contis.
Marketing-sales integration
Shared pipeline definitions, honest service levels between teams, and SDRs pointed at accounts marketing has warmed. Marketing-originated revenue is the target, not MQL theatre.
Ecosystem and partnerships
Platform and partner motions where they fit the model. At Xero, app-attach marketing added £1.4m of incremental LTV in the first 12 months.
Team and measurement
Hiring, structure and coaching for the team, plus attribution the board trusts. At Uncapped, marketing-sourced revenue rose from c.50% to c.80% of recognised company revenue.
What truly sets Julian apart is his dual capability: he’s as comfortable strategising at the ExCo level as he is rolling up his sleeves for hands-on work. He’s a genuine player/coach.
FAQ
B2B SaaS founders ask
PLG or sales-led?
Both, and the honest answer is usually a blend that shifts with deal size. Self-serve motions need lifecycle and product marketing; sales-led needs ABM, SQL quality and tight sales integration. The audit works out which mix your economics support before any budget moves.
How do you work with our sales team?
As one revenue engine: shared pipeline definitions, marketing-originated revenue targets rather than MQL counts, and SDRs fed with accounts marketing has warmed. At Bullhorn, marketing carried a revenue target and beat it at 164%, with inbound SDRs sitting inside my team.
Can you fix our attribution?
I can make it honest. Perfect multi-touch attribution is a myth in long-cycle B2B. Useful attribution blends first-party data, self-reported sources and revenue-based reporting the board can trust; my approach is written up in the attribution essay on the blog.
What stage of SaaS do you work with?
Seed to listed. Early-stage SaaS gets the zero-to-first-hire engagement, scale-ups get strategy reset and team direction, and at Xero I operated inside a listed business. The pattern recognition transfers; the playbook adapts.
What does it cost?
£800 per day on a 30-day rolling contract, for ongoing fractional leadership or a focused project. No equity, no lock-in. Typical engagements run two to four days a month, which most teams weigh against the £150k-plus cost of a full-time CMO.
Building a SaaS growth engine?
Book a 30-minute call. Bring your pipeline numbers; I’ll tell you what I’d do with them, and whether I’m the right fit.