What marketing support really costs, and what you get for it

Only on the Fractional Marketing Director, which has a six-month minimum with an exit at the 90-day review. Everything else is a fixed fee or month to month.

Building the system and training your team takes time, and most of it happens in the first six months. The 90-day review means you're not locked in if it isn't working.

No. After the Fractional Marketing Director's six-month minimum, it runs on 30-day rolling terms, and Portal Management and coaching are month to month from the start.

Invoices are on 30-day terms. HubSpot projects have their final invoice raised only at completion, and Portal Management is billed after each month is done.

Only for the Marketing Diagnostic, where a £500 deposit reserves your place. It counts towards the fee and comes back if our first call shows it isn't a fit.

Yes, in full, if you start a Fractional Marketing Director engagement or a HubSpot project within 90 days.

Yes. You can change your days on a Fractional Marketing Director engagement or move between Portal Management tiers, and most clients need less support as their team takes over.

Yes. A Fractional Marketing Director engagement can pause for up to a quarter if something big changes in the business, such as a leadership change or losing a key person.

No. Instead, each service is billed to keep the risk with me, from refundable deposits to final invoices raised only when the work is done.

Tell me within seven days. I'll redo it, and if it still misses the mark, I'll refund it.

Most agency retainers cost £3,000 to £10,000 a month, and larger agencies often charge £15,000 or more, usually on a 12-month contract.

Part of the fee pays for offices, account managers and junior staff between you and the senior people. Retainers are also built to keep you paying rather than to leave your team able to do the work.

A freelancer usually handles specific tasks without setting the strategy or joining the pieces up. That's good value for a single job, but it rarely leaves your business more capable.

In between. You get senior input directly from me, without paying for agency overheads.

A full-time marketing director typically costs £80,000 to £120,000 a year before recruitment fees and benefits. A fractional director gives you the same seniority for a few days a month, with no recruitment risk.

A £5,000-a-month retainer costs £180,000 over three years, before the time you spend managing it. When you stop paying, the work stops.

If you're happy renting the capability indefinitely, yes. If you want your own team to own it, every year of the retainer is a year you could have spent building it.

Yes. Some clients move work in-house over time, while others keep an agency for specialist jobs such as paid media, with a clearer brief.

Less of it. The work is designed so your team runs the system, and most clients need only occasional support, if any.

Building capability first. The savings follow, because you stop paying for work your team can now do.

Planning sessions, hands-on work, training, progress reporting and support between meetings, plus all the documents, templates and recordings, kept in your workspace.

Software licences such as HubSpot, ad spend, staff salaries and equipment.

Not always, but most of my work runs on it. If you use it, every HubSpot project tells you which tier and seats you need, so you don't pay for more than you use.

No. Licences and tools are paid by you directly, in your name.

No. Everything I create for you is included and stays in your accounts.

Sometimes. Video equipment usually costs £500 to £2,000 if you're new to video, and professional photography £500 to £1,500.

Usually, at some point. Most clients hire a marketer partway through an engagement, into a system that already works, and their salary sits outside my fees.

Yes. Setting up access, agreeing the plan and getting your team started is part of every engagement.

Yes. Every account, document and process is set up in your name from day one.

No. Any change in scope is agreed with you, in writing, before it happens.

It is if you're left with something when it ends. With my services, you keep the plan, the system and the skills, so you need less outside help each year.

Over time, yes. Fractional days step down as your team takes over, and work AI can now do moves in-house instead of being paid for each month.

Especially. Most of my clients are founder-led B2B businesses that want clear priorities and a team that can run marketing without relying on an agency.

That's fine. Some clients keep me on, or move to Portal Management or coaching, as long as it's a choice rather than a dependency.

The Marketing Diagnostic, at £1,500. It tells you what to fix first and where the money should go, and the fee comes off your first invoice if you carry on.

Usually within one to two weeks of agreeing the scope.

Yes. If I'm not the right fit, I'll say so and point you to someone who is.

If you don't know what to fix first, start with the Marketing Diagnostic. If you know what's needed but don't have the people, a Fractional Marketing Director builds it with your team.

Paying for activity without building anything they keep. Content, campaigns and reports stop the moment the payments do.

Book a short call. We'll talk about where your marketing is now and which service makes sense, with no pitch.