Junk Gym Digital · Steve Hebert · Work with me

You're here because
you're trying to hire someone.

Most of the brands I work with didn't start there. They opened a role, found my profile, and started wondering whether the problem they were trying to solve actually required a full-time hire, or whether it needed someone who had already solved it.

That's worth a 20-minute conversation before you finish the interview process.

Book a 20-Minute Call How this works →

01 — The situation

Headcount is hard. Results still have a deadline.

You need a senior retention operator. The role has been open for 60 days. Headcount approval took two quarters to get. And the campaigns that need to run — the win-back, the post-purchase flow, the lifecycle rebuild — are sitting idle while you finish the interview process.

A consulting or fractional engagement moves faster than a hire. No onboarding ramp. No equity negotiation. Work starts in the first week, and you're not locked into a $150K+ commitment before you know whether the fit is there.

Average time-to-hire for a senior marketing role

3–5 mo

Industry standard for Director and VP-level marketing searches. Source: LinkedIn Talent Insights.

Revenue sitting in an unactivated CRM

every month

Every month a retention program sits idle is revenue that doesn't compound. That's the actual cost of the search timeline.

02 — What I actually do

Retention marketing, from someone who has done it.

Not strategy decks. Not agency management. I build and run the programs myself — segmentation, lifecycle architecture, campaign production, ESP migration, list hygiene, flow logic. Senior-level output, operator-level execution.

Project Engagement

Fixed scope · Fixed fee · Defined deliverable

A bounded engagement with a clear start, end, and output. Best fit when you have a specific problem: an audit of the current program, a lifecycle architecture you need built, an ESP migration, or a win-back campaign that's been sitting on the backlog.

→CRM and lifecycle audit with revenue leakage map
→Full lifecycle architecture buildout
→ESP migration and configuration
→Win-back, post-purchase, or re-engagement campaign production
→Segmentation strategy and implementation

Most common entry point

Fractional or Advisor

Ongoing · Embedded · 6-month minimum

I embed in your team on a part-time basis — attending the meetings that matter, working directly in the tools, and owning the retention program the same way a senior hire would. Except you can move in week one, and you're not committing to a full-time comp package before you know what you're getting.

→Weekly strategy and program management
→Hands-on campaign and automation production
→Lifecycle architecture and segmentation ownership
→Direct collaboration with product, creative, and data teams
→Quarterly recalibration tied to business outcomes

03 — The track record

This isn't a pivot. It's what I do.

I've spent 13 years building and running retention programs for DTC and mid-market brands. The consulting practice isn't a side hustle between jobs — it's the practice I've been running alongside a senior in-house role. The two aren't in conflict; they make each other sharper.

At MegaFood, I built the email program from scratch — zero to 200,000 subscribers — and drove 150%+ DTC revenue growth through retention alone. That's not a team result. That's one operator with a clear program.

I'm currently the CRM Engagement Manager at Signet Jewelers, managing lifecycle programs across Kay and Peoples. I work with three to five consulting clients at a time alongside that role.

13+ years in DTC CRM and lifecycle marketing
Built MegaFood's email list from 0 to 200K subscribers
150%+ DTC revenue growth at MegaFood through retention
CRM Engagement Manager at Signet Jewelers (day job)
Platform depth: Klaviyo, Omnisend, SailThru, Attentive, Adobe CDP, GA4
3–5 active consulting clients at any given time
Based in Manchester, NH. Works with brands across the US.

04 — Common questions

What most hiring managers ask before the call.

Can this replace the FTE search entirely?

Sometimes. For programs that need consistent leadership over 12+ months, a full-time hire eventually makes sense. But a fractional engagement often starts the work faster, surfaces what the role actually requires, and gives you a real operator in the seat while the search continues. They're not mutually exclusive.

How many hours per week is a fractional engagement?

Depends on scope. A typical fractional retention engagement runs 10–20 hours per week. The audit before it is a fixed 4-week project. I work with three to five brands at a time and don't take on more than that, so you're not getting a fraction of someone stretched across 12 clients.

What size brand does this work for?

Mid-market DTC is the sweet spot — brands doing $5M–$100M in revenue with a CRM stack that's in place but not fully activated. Early-stage brands without customer data aren't a fit. Enterprise programs that require a team of 10 aren't a fit either. One operator who can run the program is the offer.

What does the first engagement look like?

Usually an audit. It's a fixed-fee, fixed-scope engagement that maps where you're losing revenue and what you're not using. It's designed to stand alone — the findings are yours regardless of what happens next. Most brands that do the audit end up moving into a retainer, but that's not a requirement.

Do you work inside our tools and platforms?

Yes. I work directly in the ESP, the CDP, the analytics stack — not in a Google Doc handing off recommendations. If you're on Klaviyo, Omnisend, SailThru, or Attentive, I've built in it. If you're in something else, I'll get up to speed fast. The operator model means the work gets done, not reviewed.

How do we start?

A 20-minute call. I'll ask about the program, where the gaps are, and what you're trying to accomplish. You'll ask whatever you're asking me now. If there's a fit, we scope something. If there isn't, I'll tell you that directly. No pitch deck required.

You're here becauseyou're trying to hire someone.

Headcount is hard. Results still have a deadline.

Retention marketing, from someone who has done it.

This isn't a pivot. It's what I do.

What most hiring managers ask before the call.

The work doesn't have to waitfor the hire to close.

You're here because
you're trying to hire someone.

The work doesn't have to wait
for the hire to close.