Skip the Website: Smarter Ways for Fractional Experts to Land High-Value Clients

When you're launching your fractional executive business, conventional wisdom suggests you need a professional website. It feels like a non-negotiable first step – after all, how else will potential clients find you and take you seriously? But what if I told you a website might actually be distracting you from the activities that truly drive client acquisition?

The Website Trap: A Time and Energy Sink

Let's walk through the typical website creation process. You start with good intentions: "I need a professional presence online. I need a place to direct people to." Then the real work begins.

You spend time and money designing the site. Even with user-friendly platforms like Squarespace, you're still responsible for creating compelling copy, sourcing professional visuals, perfecting your messaging, selecting colors, and possibly even designing a logo. Before you know it, you've invested thousands of dollars and several months into this project.

But the work doesn't end with launching your site. Now you need to drive traffic to it. This opens another can of worms:

• You need to promote your URL across platforms
• You might start blogging for SEO purposes
• You need to set up lead capture forms
• You should probably create a lead magnet
• That lead magnet requires an email nurture sequence
• Your site needs regular maintenance and updates

All this effort for what ultimate goal? A phone call or meeting with a potential client. Because let's be honest – no one in the history of consulting has ever landed a project without having a conversation first.

The Harsh Truth About Most Personal Websites

Here's something most people won't tell you: the majority of independently created websites don't look particularly good. Creating a truly professional, sleek website that properly represents your brand is extraordinarily difficult. Many DIY websites end up with issues like:

• Poor mobile responsiveness
• Broken formatting on certain browsers
• Inconsistent design elements
• Typos and content errors that linger
• Outdated information

In these cases, your website might actually harm your professional image rather than enhance it.

How Successful Fractional Experts Actually Land Clients

When I talk to successful fractional executives, they consistently mention just a few effective client acquisition channels:

1. Network Referrals

This remains the gold standard. When someone in your network refers you to a potential client, the trust is already established. You don't need to prove yourself from scratch, and the conversation starts from a completely different place.

While referrals won't sustain your business indefinitely, they're the lowest-hanging fruit when you're starting out. And notably, they don't require a website.

2. Outbound Outreach Combined with Content

Cold outreach rarely works in isolation. The most successful approach combines targeted outreach with consistent content that establishes your expertise.

By creating valuable content – whether that's LinkedIn posts, podcast episodes, or video content – you build credibility over time. When you reach out to potential clients who've been exposed to your content, they already have a sense of your capabilities and thinking.

3. Specialized Strategies (For Experts Only)

Some fractional executives do find success through channels like SEO, YouTube, podcasting, LinkedIn roundtables, or even paid advertising. However, these approaches typically work best if you already have specialized expertise in these areas.

If you're a paid media expert, by all means, use your skills to drive your own business. For most people, though, these represent advanced strategies that come after you've mastered the fundamentals.

Your LinkedIn Profile: The Website You Already Have

Here's what many fractional executives miss: you already have a "website" that gets dozens of views every day – your LinkedIn profile.

Your LinkedIn profile likely receives more organic traffic than any website you could build from scratch. Yet many fractional experts don't optimize this valuable asset to its full potential.

Your LinkedIn profile should clearly communicate:

• Who you serve (your target clients)
• How you serve them (your methodology)
• What specific problems you solve
• Your relevant experience and results

This is the true low-hanging fruit. Before investing in a website, make sure your LinkedIn profile is working as hard as possible for you.

Better Ways to Invest Your Limited Time

As a fractional executive, time is your most precious resource. If you're spending 30 hours weekly serving clients, you might only have 10-15 hours for everything else – including business development, invoicing, bookkeeping, and project tracking.

Instead of maintaining a website that few people will visit, consider these higher-impact activities:

1. Publishing Thoughtful LinkedIn Content

Share your expertise, insights, and experiences directly where your potential clients already spend time. This builds your reputation and creates opportunities for engagement with decision-makers.

LinkedIn content requires no additional promotion – it's already on the platform where your professional audience lives. The algorithm helps distribute your content to relevant viewers without additional effort on your part.

2. Launching a Simple Podcast

Modern podcasting has become remarkably accessible. With a decent microphone and a podcast producer (which isn't as expensive as you might think), you can create a professional show without elaborate equipment.

The brilliance of podcasting is that it combines content creation with relationship building. By interviewing potential clients or influential people in your target industry, you effectively turn content creation into a sales activity. If you record one episode weekly with potential clients, that's essentially four sales conversations monthly – with the bonus of creating valuable content.

Resources like PodMatch.com make finding relevant guests straightforward, eliminating one of the biggest challenges of consistent podcasting.

3. Organizing Industry Roundtables

Another effective strategy is organizing roundtable discussions with decision-makers in your target industry. This positions you as a connector and thought leader while building relationships with potential clients.

By bringing together people facing similar challenges, you demonstrate your understanding of their problems and establish yourself as someone who can facilitate solutions.

The Professional Presence Myth

Many fractional executives worry that without a website, marketing collateral, and polished materials, they won't be perceived as professional. This concern misses a crucial point: when companies hire fractional talent, they're intentionally choosing an individual over an agency or consulting firm.

Your clients know they're hiring a person, not a corporation. In fact, that's often precisely why they're looking for fractional help – they want direct access to expertise without the overhead and bureaucracy of larger organizations.

There's power in authenticity. You don't need to pretend to be a large firm with fancy designs and elaborate materials. Your value lies in being a smart, experienced professional who can solve specific problems.

As I often tell fractional executives: I've worked with clients paying $25,000-$30,000 monthly without ever having a website. The lack of a website never held me back – if anything, it freed me to focus on activities that actually generated client relationships.

Embracing Your Individual Value Proposition

Your professionalism shows through in how you communicate, the insights you share, the questions you ask, and the solutions you provide – not in having a perfectly designed website.

Your LinkedIn content doesn't need elaborate production values. Your communication doesn't need to be flawless. In fact, showing up as your authentic self – occasional "ums" and all – builds more trust than an overly polished presence that feels inauthentic.

The most successful fractional executives lean into their individual expertise and personalities rather than trying to mimic larger organizations. When potential clients choose to work with you, they're choosing your specific experience and approach. Let that be your selling point.

The Bottom Line: Focus Where It Matters

Instead of spending months building a website that few people will visit, invest that time in activities that directly build relationships and demonstrate your expertise. Optimize your LinkedIn profile, create valuable content, and engage directly with potential clients.

Remember that the ultimate goal is meaningful conversations with decision-makers who need your help. Every business development activity should be evaluated based on how efficiently it generates those conversations.

By skipping the website and focusing on high-impact activities, you'll not only save time and money – you'll likely see better results in growing your fractional practice.

Mylance

‍This value-added article was written by Mylance. Mylance takes your marketing completely off your hands. We build the marketing machine that your Fractional Business needs, but you don't have time to run. So it operates daily, growing your brand, completely done for you.Instead of dangling numbers in front of you, our approach focuses on precise and thoughtful input: targeted outreach to the right decision makers, compelling messaging that resonates, and content creation that establishes trust and legitimacy.To apply for access, submit an application and we'll evaluate your fit for the service. If you’re not ready for lead generation, we also have a free, vetted community for top fractional talent that includes workshops, a rates database, networking, and a lot of free resources to support your fractional business.