Fractional CMO

Fractional CMO Services for B2B Professional Service Firms

Senior marketing direction for firms with no marketing leader. One working session a month, one scorecard across every supplier, and one price: £1,750 a month.

Who it's for

You own or run a 10 to 50 person B2B professional service firm, and nobody senior owns the marketing. An agency, a marketer, or a freelancer does the work, and you brief them between client meetings.

Something has usually changed. Your marketing manager has left. You have arrived as MD with a mandate and no plan. Funding has closed, or an agency contract is up for renewal and nobody in the business can judge it. The gap is the same each time: a senior person to set direction, hold the suppliers to a number, and report to the board, without the cost of a full-time hire.

The retainer closes that gap. You keep your suppliers and your team, and you gain one senior person who sets the direction, holds every supplier to a number, and reports to the board each month. One option at £1,750 a month, on a six-month initial term. The rest of this page shows what that covers and how the first six months run.

Direction and oversight

One option, at one price. The retainer is the direction of the marketing function and the oversight of whoever does the work. It is priced as a scope rather than a day rate, and execution sits outside it.

  • Every month A working session with you What moved since last month, what did not, and the decisions that need making before the next one. Our Founder, Tom, runs it.
  • Every quarter Priorities set and written down Three priorities for the quarter, each with an owner and the money attached, agreed with you and reviewed at the end of the quarter.
  • Every month One scorecard across every supplier Agency, freelancer, and in-house marketer on one page, measured on the same numbers each month. The board reads one report, not three.
  • Ongoing Suppliers briefed and held to a number Every supplier works to a written brief with a figure they are accountable for. When the figure is missed, the brief is reviewed before the invoice is.
  • Ongoing The content pipeline owned What gets made, by whom, and in what order. The pipeline has a named owner, so it keeps moving when you are with clients.
  • Every month A report the board can read One page: what was spent, what came back, and what changes next month.

What's included

Six areas of responsibility sit inside the retainer. Each one is run for you, with the suppliers held to a number and the output documented so it stays with your business.

  • Marketing strategy

    Full marketing strategy development. Positioning, messaging, channels, content, campaigns, and measurement. The whole picture, not fragments.

  • Team management

    Direct leadership of your marketing team and external suppliers. Setting priorities, running meetings, reviewing output, developing capability.

  • Infrastructure building

    Processes, systems, templates, and workflows that keep running when we step back. Nothing held in one person's head.

  • Budget oversight

    Marketing budget management and ROI tracking. Knowing where the money goes and what comes back.

  • Stakeholder reporting

    Board and leadership reporting. Translating marketing activity into business language that decision-makers understand.

  • Handover planning

    A structured transition plan. Whether you're hiring a permanent CMO, promoting internally, or restructuring, we prepare the ground.

Your fractional CMO

Tom Pearson is the fractional CMO on every retainer. He runs the working session, builds the scorecard, writes the supplier briefs, and writes the board report. Nobody else picks it up after the call.

He has spent twenty years in marketing and growth: running agencies, leading marketing teams, and sitting in the boardrooms those teams reported to. The sectors run from property development and B2B delivery logistics to fintech and RegTech platforms, so your firm gets someone who has met its problem before, in several other shapes.

More about Tom
Tom Pearson leading an advisory session

Six months, then month by month

  1. Before The review The usual first step. Ten working days, £2,500, and the retainer is only proposed after the readout.
  2. Month 1 Set up First-quarter priorities agreed. Scorecard built. Every supplier re-briefed against it.
  3. Month 2 Run Working session, scorecard, report.
  4. Month 3 Quarter review First quarter reviewed against its three priorities. Next quarter set.
  5. Month 4 Run Working session, scorecard, report.
  6. Month 5 Run Working session, scorecard, report.
  7. Month 6 Term ends Second quarter reviewed. The initial term is complete, and the retainer runs month to month from here.
  8. After Month to month Rolling. Everything built is documented and stays with you, whether the retainer continues or not.

£1,750 a month

Direction and oversight. The one option.

Six-month initial term, then rolling. Execution is briefed to your existing suppliers or scoped separately, so this figure does not move.

Most firms start with the review. It costs £2,500, takes ten working days, and the retainer is only proposed after the readout, with the plan yours either way.

Start with the Independent Marketing Review Book a discovery call

Questions before a call

What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who works with your business on a part-time basis rather than as a full-time hire. You get the direction and the accountability of a CMO without the salary, employer NI, and benefits of a full-time appointment. For most 10 to 50 person B2B professional service firms, it is the right level of marketing leadership for where they are.
How much does a fractional CMO cost?
Highland Edge charges £1,750 a month for its fractional CMO retainer, Direction and oversight. There is one option and one price. The initial term is six months, then it runs month to month. Execution, where you need hands as well as direction, is briefed to your existing suppliers or scoped separately, so the retainer figure does not move.
Should we start with the review or the retainer?
If nobody independent has looked at your marketing in the last twelve months, start with the Independent Marketing Review. It costs £2,500, takes ten working days, and gives you a written review, a scorecard, and a 90-day plan that are yours whether or not you go any further. The retainer is only proposed after the readout. If the plan already exists and the gap is a senior person to own it, start with the retainer.
What's the difference between a fractional CMO and a full-time CMO?
The role is the same. The engagement model is different. A full-time CMO is employed by your business and works exclusively for you. A fractional CMO works across a small number of clients, so the cost is lower, senior experience is available sooner, and there is no recruitment risk. The trade is depth of presence: a fractional CMO sets direction and holds people to it, and does not sit in your office every day.
Do we need a fractional CMO or a fractional marketing director?
A fractional CMO suits you if you want ongoing senior direction, supplier accountability, and board-level reporting on a part-time basis. A fractional marketing director sits closer to the work, planning and running campaigns, and suits you if you already have direction and need a hands-on lead. If you are unsure which gap you have, the discovery call is the place to work it out.
How much of your time does the retainer include?
The retainer is priced as a scope, not as days. Each month includes the working session, the scorecard, and the report; in between, the supplier briefs and the content decisions are handled as they arise. Early months are heavier, as priorities are set and every supplier is re-briefed, and the rhythm settles from the second quarter.
Will you manage our existing team and suppliers?
Yes. Briefing your agency, freelancers, and in-house marketer, and holding each to a number, is most of the job. They remain your suppliers and your team. Highland Edge sets the direction they work to and reports on what they deliver against it.
What happens if we stop?
After the six-month initial term, the retainer runs month to month. Everything built during the engagement, the priorities, the scorecard, the supplier briefs, and the reporting, is documented and stays with your business. The aim is a marketing function that runs on its own rhythm, whether or not Highland Edge is still in the room.
Can this lead to a permanent hire?
Often, yes. Part of the role is building the case for what your permanent marketing leadership should look like, whether that is a full-time CMO, a head of marketing, or a restructured team, and preparing the ground for whoever takes it on.

Higher Ground. Clearer Edge.

Start with the review

Ten working days, £2,500, and a plan that is yours whichever way you go. The retainer is only proposed after the readout. If you already know what you need, book a discovery call instead.

Start with the Independent Marketing Review Book a discovery call