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What this costs, before you have to ask

Three shapes, three figures, published so you can judge fit before we talk.

Every figure below is a starting point rather than a ceiling; the section beneath says what moves them.

£4,000

Audit and roadmap, from

Fixed fee · 3–4 weeks

I interview your team, review what you are running now and what your competitors do, and hand back a 90-day plan your team could execute without me. It covers one product in one market; a larger scope is quoted before we start. Most consultancy engagements start here.

  • Up to five interviews with your leadership, sales and product teams
  • A review of your marketing, website and analytics, and three to five competitors
  • A 90-day plan, each action with an owner and a measure
  • A walkthrough, one round of revisions and a check-in call 30 days later

£4,000

Ongoing retainer, from

Per month · no lock-in

Strategy plus execution across the channels that matter for your stage. Two or three disciplines working together rather than all five at once.

  • Roughly two days a week
  • Agreed priorities, reviewed monthly
  • Direct access, with no account manager in between
  • Thirty days’ notice, both ways

£450

Advisory, per day

By arrangement

For teams with people in place: a senior review of the strategy, the priorities and the work, as working sessions or a structured strategy day.

  • £450 a day for review and working sessions
  • £650 for a structured strategy day, including preparation and a written follow-up
  • Booked as you need it

The first step on each service

These are the figures you pay, with nothing to add on top. Expenses are billed at cost and only when agreed in advance.

What moves the number

Four things, in roughly the order they matter.

Scope

The work is done by me whatever the shape, so the number moves only with how much ground it has to cover.

How much is already in place

A team with clean analytics, a working site and a clear proposition needs less of my time than one where those have to be built first.

Pace

Compressing a four-week audit into two costs more, because it displaces other work rather than fitting alongside it.

Regulatory load

Financial and regulated categories carry review cycles that ordinary marketing work does not. That is real time and it gets quoted.

What I don’t charge for

None of these carries a charge.

  • The first conversation, however long it runs.
  • Scoping, and writing the proposal that comes out of it.
  • Being asked a question between sessions.
  • Re-explaining something I did not explain well the first time.

Common questions

Something not covered here? Ask me directly.

Do you charge by the hour?

No. Hourly billing rewards the wrong thing. It pays for time spent rather than the problem going away, and it makes people hesitate before asking a question. The rate is £450 a day, and thinking time is part of the day.

What does a first engagement usually look like?

Almost always the audit and roadmap. It is fixed-fee, it runs three to four weeks, and it ends with a plan you could hand to someone else and execute without me. If the audit shows you do not need ongoing help, it says so.

Is there a minimum term on a retainer?

No. Thirty days’ notice, in either direction, from the first month. If the work is worth continuing you will want to continue it, and a contract is the wrong reason to stay.

What does £4,000 a month buy?

Roughly two days a week, spent on priorities we agree at the start of the month and review at the end of it. You work directly with me throughout.

Do you work as a fractional CMO?

Yes, as a fractional head of marketing or marketing director. The retainer is the usual shape: roughly two days a week from £4,000 a month, leading the function alongside your team.

Do you work with companies outside the UK?

Yes, and most of the work on this site was. The engagements written up here span global SEO and paid across multiple markets, a US-headquartered platform, and protocol launches with no single home market. Rates are the same wherever you are.

If none of these shapes fits what you need, say so. The useful conversation is usually about scope rather than price.

Tell me what you’re working on·See what the work involves