Advisory Retainer
A senior outside voice on the calls that matter.
The Advisory Retainer is for CEOs who already have a marketing leader in the seat and want a senior outside voice in the room for positioning calls, hiring calls, budget calls, and the moments when the operating plan is about to wobble.
Contact for pricing
What you walk away with
Outcomes, not deliverables.
We measure the engagement by what changed in the business, not by what showed up in a folder.
Sharper decisions on the hard calls
Positioning, pricing, hiring, budget, and org design get the second opinion of a three time CEO who has carried the growth number before.
A coach for your marketing leader
Chris makes your CMO or marketing lead better. They get the senior peer they cannot get inside the building.
A steady operating cadence
Monthly working session. Async access in between. Quarterly check on the scorecard and the plan.
Confidence on the AI question
A clear point of view on where to use AI inside the marketing function, where to wait, and how to brief the team.
How it works
A simple operating cadence.
Step 01
Onboard
Two hour kickoff. Chris reads the data, meets the team, and understands the operating plan and the open questions.
Step 02
Operate
One 60 minute working session per month with you, plus async access on email between sessions. Topics set by you a week in advance.
Step 03
Review
Quarterly review. Run the scorecard. Reset the next quarter. Decide whether to continue, pause, or move to a deeper engagement.
Who this fits
A clean yes if any of these are true.
- You are the CEO, founder, or president of a B2B company at 10M to 50M.
- You already have a marketing leader in the seat.
- You want a senior outside perspective without bringing a vendor into the meetings.
- You want a coach for your CMO or VP of Marketing.
- You value plain English advice from someone who has been in the seat.
Who it does not fit
Honest no. We will point you to a better fit.
- You need a CMO inside the business. That is the Fractional CMO engagement.
- You need an outside team to build the strategy. That is the Growth Strategy Sprint.
- You are looking for daily access. The retainer is monthly plus async, by design.
- You want us to manage your agency or vendors. We give input. We do not own their work.
Common questions
Asked and answered.
- How much access do I get?
- One scheduled working session per month, async access by email between sessions, and a quarterly review. Most clients send two to three async questions per month. We reply within one business day.
- Can my CMO join the sessions?
- Yes. Many clients use the retainer as a coaching relationship for the marketing leader plus a sounding board for the CEO. We design the cadence so both get value.
- What is the minimum term?
- Six month minimum, month to month thereafter. Advisory work compounds when the relationship is steady. Two months is not enough to be useful.
- How does pricing work?
- Set on the discovery call based on scope and frequency. Tell us about the company and the open questions and we will give you a number.
- Is this the right step before hiring a CMO?
- Sometimes. If you are trying to figure out what to hire for, the Growth Strategy Sprint is usually a better fit. The Advisory Retainer is for when you already have the leader and need a steady senior perspective.
Ready when you are
Bring the question. I will bring the playbook.
30 minutes. No pitch. If we are not the right fit, I will tell you and point you to a better one.