How I think about fees
You're not buying time. You're buying outcomes.
I don't bill by the hour and I don't pad statements of work. The fee for any engagement reflects the complexity of what needs to be built, the level of involvement required, and the commercial impact it's designed to produce, not how many hours it takes.
Every engagement starts with Discovery Week, which is separately priced. That's deliberate: before I know what needs to be built, I can't give you an accurate number for building it. And you shouldn't trust anyone who can.
What I can tell you is the typical range for each engagement type, enough to give you a sense of whether this makes commercial sense before we talk.
Fixed fees
Project and Discovery Week engagements are fixed-fee. No surprises, no scope creep billing.
Monthly retainer
Fractional engagements run on a monthly retainer. No billing by the hour or by deliverable.
Scoped after diagnosis
The fee for any follow-on engagement is agreed after Discovery Week, not before.
No long lock-ins
Fractional engagements are typically structured in rolling 3-month blocks. You're not locked in indefinitely.
Engagement models
Three models. One entry point.
Discovery Week
The entry point for every engagement
A structured 5-day diagnostic of your revenue function. The output is a prioritised roadmap: what's broken, why, and in what order to fix it. Priced on the size and complexity of the revenue function.
- Full revenue function diagnostic
- CRM audit and pipeline review
- Stakeholder interviews
- Written, prioritised roadmap
- Engagement model recommendation
Fractional
Embedded commercial leadership · Most common
I step in as your fractional commercial leader, embedded, accountable, and running the revenue function. Scope and fee agreed after Discovery Week based on what the business needs.
- Revenue strategy and execution
- Pipeline and forecast accountability
- Team management and coaching
- CRM and RevOps ownership
- Board reporting
- Typically 2 days/week
Project
Fixed-scope build
A defined scope with a clear start, end, and deliverable. Scoped based on what Discovery Week reveals. Good when you know what needs to be built and want it done properly.
- Sales process design
- CRM architecture and build
- ICP and qualification frameworks
- Proposal and closing process
- Documentation and handover
- Scope-dependent duration
Advisory
Structured guidance
For businesses with the execution capability that want structured external challenge, honest feedback, and an experienced commercial brain for the decisions that matter.
- Monthly or bi-weekly strategy sessions
- Pipeline review and deal coaching
- RevOps audit and recommendations
- Ad hoc availability for time-sensitive decisions
- Commercial input on hiring and fundraising
- Flexible cadence
Fees shown are indicative ranges. The specific fee for any engagement is agreed after an initial conversation, based on scope and complexity.
What affects price
What drives the fee up or down.
Team size and complexity
A revenue function with five reps, a marketing team, and CS requires more involvement than one with a founder and a single AE.
Depth of build required
Starting from scratch (no process, no working CRM, no qualification framework) takes more than iterating on a foundation that mostly works.
Speed requirements
If there's a fundraise in 90 days or a pipeline that needs cleaning before a board meeting, the intensity of work increases accordingly.
Clear scope coming in
If Discovery Week reveals a specific, bounded problem (one broken CRM, one process gap), the project scope is tighter and the fee reflects that.
A capable team in place
If you have reps and managers who can execute with direction rather than needing hands-on coaching, my time is spent more efficiently.
The comparison that matters
What does a full-time CRO cost?
A full-time CRO or VP Sales in the UK typically costs £120,000–£180,000 base salary, plus NI contributions, pension, benefits, equity, and 3–6 months before they're fully effective. Before they've built anything, you've spent £100k+.
A fractional engagement at £4,000–£10,000/month gives you the same level of commercial leadership for roughly a third of the cost, with no hiring risk, no notice period, and a clear scope from day one.
The right question isn't whether a fractional engagement is expensive. It's whether a full-time hire is the right answer yet, and what it's costing you to have no senior commercial leadership in place right now.
Start with Discovery Week.
The right way to scope any engagement is to understand the business first. Book Discovery Week, a fixed-fee diagnostic that ends with a clear roadmap and a specific proposal for what comes next.
Book Discovery Week