FAQ
Questions,
answered.
Straight answers about how I work, what it costs and what I can help with. If your question isn’t here, just ask.
Working with me
Working with me.
How it works, who I work with and what to expect.
What does a freelance marketing consultant do?
I take the lead on marketing work that needs senior time or expertise your team doesn’t have. That could be setting strategy, leading the function as a fractional CMO, fixing a specific problem like pipeline or CRM, or delivering a big project like a launch or an event.
When should a business bring in a marketing consultant?
Usually when marketing isn’t delivering the pipeline it should, when the team needs senior direction, when there’s a big project nobody has time for, or when you want an honest outside view before investing more.
How is a consultant different from a marketing agency?
An agency delivers what you brief. I help decide what should be briefed in the first place, own the strategy and answer for the commercial results. I can also manage your agencies so you get more from them.
Do you work with in house marketing teams?
Yes, most of the time. I can lead the team, support a marketing manager who needs a senior sounding board, or add capacity on specific projects.
Can you support both strategy and delivery?
Yes. I set the strategy and get hands on with delivery, from campaigns and events to CRM and automation. You can have one or both.
Do you outsource any work?
The strategy, leadership and most of the hands on work is me. For specialist skills like design, development or paid media, I either work with your existing suppliers or bring in trusted specialists and manage them for you.
Where are you based?
I’m based in Reading and work with businesses across the UK, mostly remotely, with time on site when it helps.
Is a Mostadon a real animal?
Not quite. It’s Moss plus mastodon, with a bit of woolly mammoth thrown in. Mostadons has also been my Fantasy Football team name for about 15 years. The full story is on the About page.
What types of businesses do you work with?
B2B and SaaS businesses: scale ups and challengers, established B2B companies, and leadership teams who want marketing to drive pipeline and revenue.
Fractional CMO
Fractional CMO.
What it is, how it works and when it makes sense.
What is a fractional CMO?
A senior marketing leader who joins your business part time. You get the strategy, leadership and accountability of a CMO for a set amount of time each month, without hiring one full time.
What’s the difference between a fractional CMO and a freelance consultant?
A consultant often delivers a piece of advice or a project and moves on. As your fractional CMO I’m part of the leadership team on an ongoing basis, owning the strategy, leading the work and reporting on the results.
How much time will you spend with us?
It depends on the project and the scope. It could be a couple of hours a week or a few days a week, and we can flex it up or down as priorities change.
Do you offer interim cover too?
Yes. If you need full time or near full time cover while you recruit, or to lead through a big change, I can step in as interim Marketing Director.
How quickly can you start?
Usually within a week or two. Depending on the scope, it could even be the next day.
Cost and contracts
Cost and contracts.
No surprises, and no long lock in.
How much do your services cost?
Pricing always depends on the level of involvement, so until we talk, any figure here would only give you a false idea. For context, a full time CMO is well into six figures, usually £120k to £200k+ a year, plus benefits and notice periods. Working with me gives you the same calibre of thinking for a fraction of the cost and commitment.
How do you charge?
Depending on what suits the work, either a day rate, a monthly retainer for ongoing support, or a fixed price for a clearly scoped project. You’ll get a short proposal with the cost before anything starts.
Do I have to commit for a long time?
No. Engagements are flexible, so you can scale up or down as your needs change. But fair warning, clients tend to ask me to stay. Turns out a Mostadon is hard to shift.
Is the first call really free?
Yes. It’s a free, no obligation conversation. I’ll tell you honestly whether I think I can help, and if I’m not the right fit, I’ll say so.
Services
What I can help with.
A few of the questions people ask about specific services.
Do you provide digital marketing services?
Yes. Email, automation, content, SEO, paid search and LinkedIn all form part of the programmes I run, always tied back to pipeline rather than vanity metrics.
Which CRM and automation platforms do you know?
Salesforce and Pardot, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics, Spotler, Workbooks, Pipedrive, ActiveCampaign and Salesloft, plus LinkedIn and Google tools.
Can you run our events and exhibitions?
Yes. From exhibitions and trade shows to your own conferences, seminars and roundtables, including promotion, follow up and measuring the return.
Do you speak at events?
Yes. I speak and host at marketing events and run seminars, masterclasses and webinars, on email, automation, lead generation and B2B marketing.
Can you clean up our data?
Yes. I’ll find every place your data lives, merge it, remove the duplicates, fix the formatting, fill the gaps and set it up properly in your CRM. It’s the same job a data cleansing tool does, done by someone who knows what the data is actually for.
Can you pull our data together into one CRM?
Yes. Spreadsheets, old systems, event lists and inboxes, consolidated into one clean database and imported into a CRM that’s set up to keep it clean. I can help you choose the CRM too.
Can you do a marketing review or audit?
Yes. An honest, independent look at what’s working, what isn’t and where to focus first, with a clear, prioritised plan at the end.
Can you help with lead generation?
Yes. I build demand generation programmes that bring in the right conversations and turn activity into pipeline, using the channels that suit you, from events and email to content, paid and outbound.
Do you do account based marketing?
Yes, lots of it. I help you pick the accounts you most want to win, research them properly and run tailored campaigns with sales, from one to one plays to whole target lists. More on account based marketing.
Can you help with email marketing?
Yes. I spent 13 years in the email marketing and automation world. I can sort your strategy, journeys, deliverability and copy, and get your email channel earning its keep.
Can you help with one off marketing jobs?
Yes. Campaign fixes, CRM clean ups, reporting, research, website updates, whatever has been sat on the to do list. Often a power hour or a short fixed project is all it takes.
Do you have testimonials?
Yes. You can read what the people I’ve worked for, worked with and managed say about me on the testimonials page.
Let’s talk
Still got a question?
Book a free natter and ask me directly.