Fractional CMO Proposal
Fractional CMO proposal with a role description, a 90-day plan and plans for one, two or three days a week.
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A clear structure
A starting point for the scope, pricing and next steps you want to share
Ready to edit
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About this template
This fractional CMO proposal sets out a part-time marketing leadership retainer: growth diagnosis, operating cadence and team direction, and budget review. It is for fractional and interim marketing leaders asking a founder or CEO to agree a mandate, a review cadence and a monthly fee before the first leadership review.
Who this template is for
Use it when a company needs senior marketing ownership but not a full-time hire, and the founder wants to know what you will be accountable for. Much of the template is placeholders, so it suits consultants who will write the mandate, limits and evidence from their own discovery conversation.
What each section covers
- The marketing mandate and leadership priorities
- A progress table with baseline and review window, where the client is today, why it matters now, and who owns the decision.
- Leadership responsibilities included
- A scope boundary note and three cards for the three areas of responsibility.
- Operating plan and leadership operating ledger
- A three-step cycle of activation, delivery and review, and a ledger for audience, spend limits, attribution limits and asset rights.
- Activation, experience and acceptance
- A five-week activation timeline with review gates, relevant experience, and an acceptance table for each responsibility.
- Investment, shared responsibility and next steps
- Monthly pricing, how changes are handled, who owns inputs and approvals, and the route to agree the mandate. An optional proof section is hidden by default.
How to price a fractional CMO proposal
The template prices a monthly retainer, billed in advance, with a line for each area of responsibility. It is based on two days a week, an initial 90-day programme, then monthly renewal with notice.
Tie the fee to time and responsibility, not results. State your weekly allowance and how extra time is agreed. Keep ad spend, paid placements and tool subscriptions outside the fee so the client sees their full marketing budget separately.
Before you send it
- Fill every placeholder
- Baselines, scope limits and decision owners are blank by default. Do not send them empty.
- Set spend authority
- State what you can approve and where the client must sign off.
- Be honest on attribution
- Use the ledger to say what can and cannot be measured.
- Use real proof only
- Fill the verified result card only with an outcome you can source, or leave it out.
What’s in the Fractional CMO Proposal
11 parts, in the order your client reads them. Every part is editable: keep what fits the job, rewrite the rest and add your own.
Overview
Introduction
You asked for senior marketing leadership without hiring a full-time CMO yet. This is how that would work.
Your situation
What we heard in our conversations. I will check each point in the first two weeks.
How the role works
That is enough time to lead the team and agencies every week, and to decide with you which full-time role marketing needs next.
What you get
Everything the monthly fee covers, and what it does not.
The first 90 days
Interviews with your leadership team, sales and a few customers. A review of spend, channels, software and agency contracts.
Who you will work with
Fifteen years in B2B marketing, six of them leading marketing teams of five to twenty people at software and services companies.
Results for a similar client
A company at a similar stage, and what changed in two quarters.
Covers: The company, The work, The result
Monthly fee
Three levels of involvement. I recommend two days a week for the first six months.
Questions
You get senior leadership for a share of the cost of a full-time hire, and we can start in weeks rather than months.
Next steps
Choose the number of days and accept on this page. I send the first invoice and a short questionnaire.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a fractional CMO proposal include?
The marketing mandate, the responsibilities you take on, scope limits, time commitment, review cadence, how success is reviewed, spend and approval limits, who owns the work, the monthly fee and notice terms.
How is a fractional CMO usually priced?
Most work on a monthly retainer tied to a set number of days or hours. This template bills monthly in advance for two days a week, with an initial 90-day programme and renewal with written notice.
Does a fractional CMO run campaigns or manage the team?
Define it in the proposal. This template covers diagnosis, priorities, operating cadence, team direction and budget review. If you will also run campaigns hands-on, add that scope and adjust the time allowance.
How do you measure a fractional CMO’s performance?
Agree priorities with a baseline and a review window, then check progress at set review gates. Targets are goals, not guarantees, because results depend on budget, team and market as well as leadership.
Ready to make it yours?
Add your scope, pricing and brand. Preview the client experience before sharing.