Field Notes
Field Notes.
Operator notes on brand, demand, AI, and the revenue engine — written to answer the question you're actually asking, not to pad a word count.
The 95/5 rule: why most B2B budgets aim at the wrong 5%
Only about 5% of your market is buying now. Build only for them and you starve next year's pipeline.
AEOAnswer Engine Optimization: be the answer, not just a ranking
When a buyer asks an LLM about your category, something answers. AEO decides whether it's you.
AIWhy AI pilots fail to reach pipeline
The demo isn't the hard part. Production is — and most companies skip the integration that gets there.
The roleWhat an AI-native fractional CMO/CRO actually is
Marketing and revenue owned part-time, with AI integrated into the motion — accountable to pipeline.
CostWhat a fractional CMO/CRO costs
The real ranges, honestly — and how not to overpay for a title instead of an operator.
PEFractional CMO/CRO for PE portfolios
Put revenue leadership across a portfolio company without a permanent C-level hire.
DiagnosticThe Revenue AI Audit
Where AI actually earns its budget in your go-to-market motion — and where it's just theater.
FAQ
Common questions
What is Field Notes?
Field Notes is Kyle Hamer's essay series on brand, demand, AI, and the revenue engine. Each piece answers one question a B2B SaaS operator is actually asking. The 95/5 rule. Answer engine optimization. Why AI pilots stall. What a fractional CMO/CRO costs. Seven articles, six to eight minutes each.
Who writes Field Notes?
Kyle Hamer, an AI-native fractional CMO/CRO for B2B SaaS. Two decades carrying a revenue number, from direct sales to senior marketing leadership at On Center Software, ConstructConnect, Asite, and hh2. The articles come out of engagements, not research summaries. The positions are the ones he runs with clients.
Which Field Note should I read first?
Start with the 95/5 rule if the budget question is live. Only about 5% of your market is buying now. Start with answer engine optimization if buyers are asking AI instead of Google. Start with why AI pilots fail if the demo worked and revenue didn't move.
Do I have to give my email to read these?
No. Every article is on the site, open, with no form and no download gate. Read one, read all seven, leave. The point is to be useful while you're not buying. Most of the market isn't, and that's the 95% the writing is built for.
Who is Field Notes written for?
CEOs, CMOs, and CROs at B2B SaaS companies with a strong product and an underbuilt marketing engine. The reader carries a number and has about ten minutes. Every piece leads with the answer, then the mechanism, so you can stop reading once you have what you came for.
Rather talk it through?
Thirty minutes on your number — where the engine leaks, and the shortest path to pipeline.