This page answers the questions owners ask before engaging a fractional CMO: cost, contracts, timing, ownership, reporting and what happens if you have already been disappointed by marketing help. The short answers are in the list; the sections below add context on the four topics that come up most.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a fractional CMO cost?
Monthly retainers run $2,500 to $12,000 a month. Hourly consulting is $175 to $350 an hour, and defined projects run $3,500 to $25,000, in Canadian dollars plus GST/HST based on your province (GST and QST in Quebec).
Is there a long-term contract?
No lock-in. Many clients start with a single project before moving to a monthly retainer. Notice periods and payment terms are confirmed in writing in your proposal.
How quickly will we see results?
You will have a written plan within about four weeks and a first scorecard soon after. Some fixes, such as faster follow-up on enquiries, show up within weeks; channels like search take months. We set expectations per channel in the plan.
We tried an agency before and it didn't work. Why would this be different?
A fractional CMO is not another agency selling a channel. The role is to own the plan, the budget and the accountability for every vendor, including any agency you keep. Most disappointing agency relationships fail for lack of direction and measurement, which is exactly what we provide.
Who owns the website, ad accounts and data?
Your business should own every account, domain, ad account, analytics property and CRM in its own name. We work inside your accounts with access you grant, and we help move any accounts currently held by vendors into your name.
What will reporting look like?
A one-page monthly scorecard covering spend, enquiries, customers won, cost per customer and next month's decisions, plus a quarterly review against the plan. Vendors can keep their detailed reports underneath it.
Can you promise a certain number of leads?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. We agree measurable targets at the start of each quarter and report honestly against them.
Do you work with businesses outside HVAC?
Yes. Our published case studies are results from our HVAC work, but the management method applies to any owner-led business: trades, professional services, retail, hospitality and business-to-business firms.
Do we have to fire our current marketing people?
No. Our job is to direct and support them. Most teams do better work once they have clear briefs and a single point of direction.
How much of our time will this take?
Expect a longer session at the start to share numbers and history, then a monthly review of about an hour. Day-to-day coordination with vendors and staff moves to us.
Do you work in French?
Engagements are run in English. French-language marketing for Quebec and other francophone audiences has to be planned from the start, so tell us your language needs in the first conversation. Your proposal will say in writing how French materials will be produced and reviewed.
Do you meet clients in person?
Yes. Consultations are available in person or by video call, as well as by phone, text and email, for businesses from Victoria to St. John's on the same terms.
What is the Growth Partner Program?
It is the performance-based option: Ali commits his time at the start, and his pay depends on measurable results. Terms are agreed case by case, and places are limited.
Price and value
The real question behind "how much?" is usually "is it worth it compared with what I'm doing now?" Start by adding up what marketing already costs you: ad spend, agency and freelancer fees, software, and the hours you personally spend on it each week. Put a fair hourly value on your own time.
Many owners find they are already paying for a marketing department; they just don't have anyone running it. The pricing page shows the models and a worked comparison with a full-time hire.
Contracts and commitment
We don't believe in lock-in. If the work is useful, you will keep it; if it isn't, a contract shouldn't force you to. A sensible way to start is a defined project such as the 90-day plan, which gives you a finished document whether or not you continue.
Whatever terms apply to your engagement, including notice and payment schedules, are written into your proposal before any work starts.
"We've been burned before"
That is common, and it usually traces back to the same causes:
- the agency was measured on activity (posts, clicks, rankings) rather than customers
- nobody inside the business was senior enough to direct or challenge the agency
- accounts were set up in the vendor's name, making it painful to leave
- reports arrived, but nobody turned them into decisions
A fractional CMO addresses each one directly: outcome targets, senior direction, accounts in your name and a monthly scorecard with a decisions block.
Ownership of accounts and work
Everything should belong to your business: domain, website, hosting login, Google Business Profile, ad accounts, analytics, CRM, social profiles and the brand files. If you aren't sure who holds which login today, listing them is one of the first jobs under marketing operations.
When an engagement ends, you keep the plan, the calendar, the tracking, the briefs and the vendor relationships. Nothing is held back.
Timelines and what to expect when
Owners are often unsure what "soon" means in marketing. As a rough guide:
- Weeks 1–4: discovery, a written plan and a first scorecard. You should understand where marketing stands and what will change.
- Months 2–3: operational fixes such as faster follow-up and better tracking start to show up in the numbers. Paid channels can be tuned quickly.
- Months 3–12: slower-building channels like search and content begin to compound. These need patience, which is why we judge each channel on its own timescale.
The first 90 days guide covers this in much more detail.
Reporting you can actually use
Reports are only useful if they lead to decisions. Ours are built around one page with four blocks: money, demand, customers and decisions. Vendors can keep their detailed channel reports, but you won't need to read them to know whether marketing is paying off.
If you share results with a business partner, a board or a lender, the same page works for them, because it is written for people who aren't marketers.
When a fractional CMO is not the right answer
We would rather tell you early than take on work that won't help. A fractional CMO is usually the wrong choice if your business needs someone on site every day, if marketing spend is very small and a few hours of advice would do, or if the real constraint is capacity rather than demand. In those cases, hourly consulting or a single project is often a better fit, and the pricing page sets out both.
Still have a question?
Ask it directly. The contact page explains what to include in your message so the first reply is useful. You can also read about Ali Sedighi or browse the guides for longer explanations.